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.
Between the fantastic weather we have been experiencing this Summer and enjoying a slew of fun activities this Summer is turning out to be just plain awesome. I know we are only less than a month into Summer, but here are some of the highlights so far.
Before our little one starts to express an opinion in the clothing department, I am going to enjoy to the fullest extent dressing him in whatever suits my fancy. Here are some of the outfits I have put together for our little one. Much like my own wardrobe I am drawn to bright, happy colors for our little guy.
For our gender reveal party I wanted to make something new. I have a bad habit of thinking it is a brilliant idea to try something new the morning of a party and then serve it to all my friends and family without hesitation. I suppose my cooking style is best described as fearless, but I know deep down inside if something doesn't turn out I can always make an old standby. I saw this recipe of S'mores Cookies from Downtown Cookies Co. and automatically deemed it the perfect treat to make. Once the guests arrived at the party it was obvious to see the "smookies" were a grand success and might even eventually make their way in as an old standby.
A highlight of our Summer is spending a long weekend camping on the Washington coast. It is rural, rugged and teaming with both sea and wildlife. Many an afternoon may be spent watching bald eagles fly overhead or exploring tide pools. Summer is such a fantastic time to live in Washington state that we try to limit all our out of state travel during those precious several months of Summer. In the Summer there is nowhere we would rather be than hiking familiar trails and camping amongst the starry clear skies.
When I was a teenager I enjoyed constantly being surrounded by my friends. As I have gotten older I have discovered the wonderful regenerative feeling which comes from spending quality time alone. Whether it be a hike, a run or shopping I have come to appreciate and understand the benefits of investing in quality time with myself. This time alone allows me the ability to think, reflect and most importantly learn to be comfortable in my own skin.
If I kept a list of all things I would like to buy a sailboat would pretty much top any list I could create. When the temperature rises around here, there is no place I would rather be than on the water. Over the past couple of years we have made it an annual tradition to go sailing with Let's Go Sailing at the start of every Summer. It is a fun, convenient, inexpensive and easy way to get out on the Puget Sound. They offer both day and sunset cruises and are unique in that they allow you to bring your own food and drink aboard for your enjoyment.
Last week the world lost a good woman. My grandmother, Elizabeth Jean, after living a long and vibrant life passed away in her sleep. Upon hearing of her passing so many memories flooded my mind. As the only grandchildren on my mother's side, we were given the rare opportunity to be spoiled, visited, and loved like crazy. My grandparents made the effort to be present for almost every milestone in my life and when they could not be they would phone to see how it was or went. We always knew we were top priority in their lives. As I grew older and got married I was delighted when my grandparents came to love my husband as dearly too.
I wanted to make our Gender Reveal party special without going over the top on budget or time, so decided to focus my attention on a few key elements to make the event fun and memorable for guest and ourselves alike.
This year, on the Summer solstice we were in Utah celebrating the wedding of Cameron's cousin. I can think of no better way to kick start Summer then by attending an outdoor wedding reception. The evening was a quintessential Summer soiree, including warm weather, a festive atmosphere and relaxed environment. A color palette of whites and green dotted the backyard where there was enough food and entertainment to keep even the most discerning guest happy.
Almost two years to the date we held a gender reveal for when we were pregnant with our first child, Asher. My parents at the time only had granddaughters, so the announcement of the first grandson was really a reason to celebrate. As simple and last minute as the party was it has remained one of our favorite parties we have ever hosted.
With Summer in full swing I have been itching to get out and go hiking on a more regular basis. As our schedule has settled down and my baby bump continues to grow larger, we plan to spend the majority of the next several months in Seattle. For those of you who are itching to do a little Summer hiking here are a few of my all time favorite places to go hiking:
This Spring we had the opportunity to visit the wonderful city of Amsterdam. I instantly feel in love with its charm, like something out of a fairytale. I enjoyed taking a boat through it many waterways, walking over its many bridges, looking out as a pedestrian for its many bicycles and photographing its unique buildings. One of the things I really loved about Amsterdam was it fantastic shopping.
Time has flown by, we have not been home very many weekends these past few months. We just returned from a whirlwind trip to Utah this past weekend. At the last minute, we decided to drive there for Cameron's cousin's wedding. Despite our lack of planning or time we decided we would just make it work. The weather was gorgeous, the wedding was flawless and it left me wanting to get married all over again.
Every year in celebration of our anniversary we have dinner at Ray's boathouse. Ray's is a special place to us because this is where we had our wedding reception. Adjacent to the restaurant is a private building which can be rented out for events. It is nice to have such a scenic and special place to return to year after year. After a cloudy day the skies momentarily parted and we were able to enjoy dinner outside on the deck.
For our anniversary I usually try to make a delicious and visually appealing cake. Several years ago, in lieu of gift giving, we decided to spend our money on things we could enjoy together (ie. eating out at a fancy restaurant, going away for the weekend, attending a musical or a concert etc.) Making this cake has turned into a small token of my love on our special day.
Cameron and I are happy to be celebrating our nine year anniversary today. I am grateful for the decision we made to consciously invest in each other on a daily basis. Through good times and bad, it is nice to have a soft place to fall at the end of each day. I make no qualms about it, he is my better half.
We love to go on weekend getaways, but when we have reason to celebrate it is even more fun. With Father's Day, our anniversary, and just having found out the gender of baby #2 within a few days of each other there was a lot to celebrate. There is something inherently relaxing about being at the beach, it is not a fast paced environment. Our weekend to do list consisted of tide pool exploring, beach combing, finding a good ice cream place, and getting plenty of fresh air.
Moments after loosing our son my husband and I embraced. In a rare moment of strength I assured him everything was going to be okay, that we were going to be okay. Admittedly, deep down I was worried, we were entering the unknown. The only thing I knew for sure in that moment was of our love and that it could withstand the greatest heartache. I remember seeing the pain in his eyes and how I wanted to make it all go away. In the coming weeks and months our roles reversed. Often I would burst into tears and repeatedly say "All I want is our son back. I miss him so much it hurts." He would loving say, "I know, so do" and he would hold me all the tighter.
Growing up we spent many a Summer day picking strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. Aside from berry picking making me nostalgic for my childhood, I love to have access to loads of fresh fruit on a daily basis. I think if I could only eat one food the rest of my life, it just might be some type of berry.
