Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest I feel most alive surrounded by trees and breathing in the fresh mountain air.
When I am not working you will most likely find me spending time outdoors, volunteering with my church and exploring this beautiful planet with my family.
This is my place to share my passion for life and to encourage you to take time to find the extraordinary in your life.
All tagged Family
One of my new year's resolutions was to spend more time photographing the everyday moments. I typically reminder to bring along my camera when we go on an adventure, but I want to do a better job at capturing some of our quiet moments at home. These are the days I will fondly reflect on when I am old and I want to have a photographic record of some of these times spent tougher.
With a young child it is easy to get caught up in the cycle of meals, laundry, errands, cleaning repeat. This year, I wanted to make it a point to break the daily grind and really celebrate those moments where we don't just spend time together, but really connect. Baking has been one of those moments for us and it has been so rewarding to see Jasper's growth and confidence in the kitchen. He is always ready to get right in there, get his hands dirty and act like he 100% knows what he is doing. I am in such awe of his confidence and self love. Being around him makes me feel like I can conquer the unfamiliar and unknown one day at time.
After a tough day of snowshoeing with Jasper a couple weeks ago we both felt like throwing in the towel on future trips this Winter. However, later that week we were able to take him and have such a fun time. At the spot where we took our break Jasper insisted on me lifting him high in the sky over and over again. All while telling Cameron "one more cheese" meaning take another photo please. There are so many highs and lows when it comes to parenting, a happy day on the trail is such a high for me! One of my New Year's Resolutions is to get out from behind the camera more often and these photos of Jasper and I are such treasures to me.
I always appreciate hearing different point of views on parenting because usually that means I can find something which resonates with me. Traveling with kids was one of those big question marks for my husband and I. We had traveled extensively before having children and we weren't certain how it would be after having them. It wasn't until my son was 1.5 years old that we took the leap of faith and brought him on his first flight. However, in his first year and a half of life we did a lot of traveling starting when he was just shy of two months old. I remember the first time we packed the car with baby stuff and we were like. "Wow, this is a lot of stuff for one tiny person!" In that first year and a half of his life we went to the coast, the mountains, the city and everywhere in between. Although we did not fly anywhere we took him on a ton of road trips and learned loads about how to keep a baby and then eventual toddler entertained while in the car.
I know today is the first day of December, but much like the rest of world I have been enjoying all things pumpkins for the past month or two or three. On Thanksgiving, I knew I wanted to bring something to the table so I turned to my Better Homes and Garden magazine and stumbled upon this recipe. It was easy to make, I already had all of the ingredients in my pantry and it tasted even better the next day. In my opinion, pumpkin recipes do not have to be reserved solely for Fall. With the addition of a pile of toasted pecans on top this recipe can easily march its way into Winter. And anything you can bring to your hostess which does not have to be fussed with or sliced is always a win in my book.
As a photographer I take a lot of photos, but the photo which has been missing from my vast collection was the most important one- a family photo. Over the years there have been many excuses as to why have not taken family photos. Many years it was just not a priority, it seemed like a luxury, and sadly, it didn't seem to make sense to get photos taken of just the two of us etc. Before I knew it years and years have gone by. Regrettably, we have not had professional photos taken of us since our wedding. In the end, it took the passing away of a dear friend to be the catalyst to finally get some family photos taken. If anything happened to any of us, I did not want to live with the regret of not having our joy captured. When I think of our family I think of how blessed I am to be surrounded by such handsome, funny and sweet guys. Out of everything good in my life- these two are the best! Jasper has created such light, happiness and joy in our lives I wanted that captured.
Although I never dreamed of it I have quickly become THAT parent. The one who takes a million photos of their child, misses their child when they are asleep, and who talks about them incessantly to their spouse or anyone else who listen about the one MILLION adorable things he did on that particular day. I am the one whose Instagram account is littered with photos of my child and the one who often sends photos to my parents or anyone else who has chosen to stay away from the clutches of social media.
Although I am constantly taking photos of Jasper I do not think there will ever come a time when he is grown that I will declare, "Geeh, I wished I wouldn't have taken so many photos of him" It is easy to remember to snap photos of him when we are out and about, but I am trying my best to make a conscious effort to capture him in his every day element. Like when he wakes up from a nap and is super playful and expressive. Also, there are so many things I want to remember about him in the here and now that taking a few photos will help jog my memory later on. For starters, I want to remember his gorgeous sun kissed skin and bleached blond hair from all our Summer adventures. I want to remember how tenderly kissed his animals good night when he thinks they should be resting or how he always wakes up happy and smiling. I even want to remember how he refuses to have his nails trimmed and ends up scratching his face by accident. The transformation from newborn to baby to toddler has been a remarkable and awe inspiring thing to watch. I can't wait to see what the next two years will bring.
