In August I went back to Minneapolis to visit family and I couldn’t wait to get my fill of amazing rooftop restaurant terraces and take advantage of the only time of the year worth visiting Minnesota (just kidding, Mom! Sort of.) It was summery warm without being too humid and there weren’t too many mosquitos so we could all still hang out in the warm evenings. My brother and his fiancé were fast coming up on their wedding in October so we snuck in a few photos.

Airfare Watchdog struck again with another stellar airfare so Jake and I jetted off to Bermuda for a long weekend in September. Seriously, how has Bermuda kept itself such a secret from me for so long?! Maybe it’s more of an East Coast getaway or the people who make it their annual rejuvenation location want to keep it to themselves. Whatever the reason, I’m glad we stumbled upon it. What a paradise! It’s quite possibly the closest to paradise I’ve ever been, moreso even than Hawaii. Such brilliant turquoise water and pristine beaches!

Tucked away in the middle of the Atlantic, the Spanish passed it over as being of the devil – probably owing to the high percentage of ships that wrecked trying to navigate the reef-ridden waters. The British were the first to deem the island a good place to live and since there were no indigenous people, they had it all to themselves. Foreigners aren’t allowed to rent cars but there’s a decent transportation system and we braved the whole driving on the left thing and rented a scooter to toodle around the beaches and towns. You’d think with only 2 or 3 main roads on a long skinny country only about 20 miles long, it would be hard to get lost. Wrong. But that’s part of the fun!

I flew to Minnesota – via Mexico to visit a friend for a few days – for my little brother’s wedding. So crazy that we got married only two month apart! No trip home is complete without a lot of laughing and hangout in my aunt’s backyard.

We spent a good part of December on the Big Island of Hawaii. Ohhh Kona, you hold such a special place in my heart. I spent many months there studying photography, and Jake and I raced our first triathlon there a couple years ago. We couldn’t think of a better place for us to get married on the last date of its kind this century – 12.12.12 – than Kona with our closest family! It was a fun fun fun week of hanging out with family poolside at the amazing vacation home we booked (again, LOVE VRBO!), heading up Mauna Kea for sunset and stargazing, and LOTS of happy hours at Huggo’s on the Rocks. We couldn’t get enough of Huggo’s, I mean how can you go wrong with literally sitting oceanside while digging your toes in the sand and tipping back a nice cold Kona Brew. Ahhh, I could so go back there right now.

Our wedding day was everything we could have imagined! We got married in the morning in the beautiful backyard of the home where we were staying with my brother Adam officiating (ordination via the internet is quite possibly the coolest thing to happen to weddings since big poofy white dresses went out of style). All eight of our guests stood with us and witnessed Jake and I promising our lives to each other and then we celebrated with a mimosa toast and confetti toss. We all ate brunch at our favorite place in Kona before heading up the coast for a little jungly oceany hike/walk thingy at Spencer Beach. Every wonderful day in Kona includes some shave ice so we made a stop downtown to eat some on the seawall just like I’ve done so many times in years past. Ahh, memories…

Dinner was held poolside back at the house, and the image I have in my mind of that evening is of lots of laughter and good food shared with our families, surrounded by flowers and the warm glow of candles and cafe lights. There was even some impromptu dancing!

What Jake and I wanted most on our wedding day was for it to be small and intimate, and to have an amazing time all day long with our closest family who will always be there for us and we them. Those are memories to last a lifetime and I will carry them with me always. I’m so thrilled to have Jake as my life partner, to experience all the ups and downs, adventures, and day-to-day-ness together. I love you, babes!

For more photo goodness from Kona, check out our wedding day as captured by Hugh Forte.

First up in 2012 was a trip to NYC for New Years. If any place in the States felt most like home, New York is it for me. On my first trip there years ago, I really liked it but it was also a bit too much “city” for me at the time. But each trip back it grew on me more and more, and now I can’t help but smile when I first step on the subway because feel like I’ve come home.

Next up in February was a trip to LA/Santa Barbara. We stayed in a suite at this amazing villa overlooking the city with the most amazing warm glowy sunsets. Oh how I love VRBO and AirBnb, sites for booking accommodations from private owners. We’ve stayed in places that are so much better than hotels and met some really cool people to top it off. I highly recommend them if you are the independent traveler-type!

In March we flew to Jordan simply because we found a great deal on airfare (thank you Airfare Watchdog!), we’d heard it was an awesome place, and my brother just so happened to be there during that time as well. Growing up he was soooo annoying but I love spending time with him now and how amazing to explore and photograph together on the far side of the world.

In June we made a last minute trip to “Mexico” and were engaged by the end of the trip! I knew it was coming and every time we walked through a town square I secretly hoped Jake wouldn’t do it there with so many people around. He proposed in a romantic little restaurant lit with lots of little candles and a pianist playing in the background. He told me all the things he loved about me and how he couldn’t imagine life without me to share all the adventures. Of course I said yes :)

Every summer we try to make it down to Oregon’s Willamette wine country and Airlie winery is always at the top of our list. It’s the perfect little boutique winery set in the hills and we always luck out with the most perfect weather. Zoë came along and had so much running around with the other dogs and swimming for the very first time in their pond. She never ceases to make me laugh. So many warm fuzzies from that evening – the perfect weather, beautiful warm evening light, having so much fun with Jake and Zoë, a great bottle of bubbly, the Brazilian band playing – it ranks up there with the top three days of 2012!

Next up is 2012 Part II…

How do you capture the little moments of your fabulous life that are so easy to take for granted? You grab the ones you love, go do the things you enjoy, and bring me with you! :)

We had a blast on this sunny day wandering all over their stomping grounds and I felt so honored to glimpse a sliver of her world. They live on a beautiful farm with an amazing view of the passage (I could totally sit on their porch for hours staring at the water below, soaking in the sounds of life away from the city). I loved meeting her chickens and ducks and seeing the ponies’ personalities shine through- animals are so fun!

With the help of the questionnaire I’ve developed to get the creative juices flowing, together we designed a great plan for her session. We started with the most important things just in case we ran out of time, but I’m so glad we got to everything because doesn’t it all tell a great story?!

In twenty years, she’ll have these images to help her remember just how it felt riding her favorite ponies with the wind blowing through her hair, cuddling with her chickens, and then seeing the house she grew up in will bring back all those memories of hanging out with mom and dad on the porch laughing.

Discovery Park is a beautiful place that encompasses so much of what is great about the Pacific Northwest: majestic mountains, the water, salt-scented driftwood, forests thick with trees, and even a lighthouse! It’s full of trails and nooks and crannies where you never know what might be around the next bend.

It was the perfect place for this family’s lifestyle session. They’re from Australia and wanted images to help bring back all the feelings and memories from the time they spent living here once they move back. I love it!

Zoë loves Jake and I love how these images show that. Of the thousands of photos I’ve taken of her (and you were thinking I posted a lot of puppy pictures, pfffft – shows what you know!), these are some of my top faves.

All three of us were actually taking a snoozer on the couch (not much room on there for me, was there?!) and I couldn’t resist risking the beautiful moment to capture a few frames. I can’t believe she slept on top of him like that for so long!

Zoë hasn’t been with us for that long, but already I can’t imagine life without her. Jake thinks I’m so weird when I start to think about this and then start to tear up at the thought of her leaving us. “That’s a long ways away, we just got her,” he says. Men, how logical and void of emotion they can be. You never know what each day may bring, good or bad, and nothing in life is guaranteed. So while I’ll do everything I can to help her live to a super happy old age (I’m thinking 20 or 25! Hey, it’s possible.), you just never know.

But then there’s that sign on a closed (as in folded) business I drove by the other day that said “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” I like that. And I like all the photos I’ll always have to help me remember, no matter what happens.

So stoked about this session! More to come!!

Isn’t she stunning?! We had a grand time wandering around the Woodland Park Zoo and surrounding grounds on a beautiful afternoon to commemorate Courtney’s graduation from high school. Have a great freshman year, girl, college will be lucky to have you!

I just love bright, fun, happy colors and couldn’t resist these portraits on Jake’s and my trip to the Caribbean this month. Getting away for us is a great way to unplug and have time together without competing with cell phones and email and all the other distractions the modern life brings. We do our best to do this at home, but there aren’t any excuses when we’re away and the interwebs aren’t at our fingertips!

In this crazy online world we live in, sometimes I find myself getting burnt out on keeping up with social media and don’t really like the addictive feelings it often triggers. Must check Facebook! Who’s commented on my posts? What comments and likes are there on my Instagram photos?

So things have been a little quiet for me on the online front lately as I’m taking a little break from it all, using the extra time to enjoy living in the moment in the world around me, take Zoë to play fetch in the park and soak in the Seattle summer sun while we’ve got it! But there have been some fun things going on and I’ll be sharing them when I return from my little online hiatus. :)

The bullet holes in this building are a reminder of the ravages Beirut went through during their civil war (1975-1991). I can’t even imagine.

Amazing flight deal + visiting two new countries + seeing for ourselves a region that’s largely overlooked for travel from the US + lots and lots of hummus and shwarma + last minute flight to Beirut + getting to meet up with my bro on the opposite side of the world (just so happened to be there at the same time) + the discovery of lemonade with mint + eye-opening stories + super hospitable people + floating in the super salty water of the Dead Sea + wandering among Roman ruins + the quietest night of my life in Wadi Rum + seeing the ancient wonder of Petra = an awesome experience!

That’s the nutshell version, but a really long non-mathematical equation. :) If any of that sparks a deeper curiosity, post your question in the comments and I’ll be sure to elaborate with a story. Oh, and for the iPhone version of the story, check out my Instagram.