halloween to the election & all the things in between

let's just look at pretty pictures & pretend everything is ok.  yeah?  are you ok?

i'm alright.  trying to just keep going through the motions & find the time to do it all.  work, kids, husband, dog, repeat.  somewhere in there i find time to shower & take creative photos.  i've been trying to post on instagram more & that brings a whole weird level of self-criticism with it, too.  it's hard not to get caught up in likes & followers & the feeds of everyone else who's doing it better than you.

what was the world even like before social media?  i mean, if you wore a cute outfit & had perfect beach waves did anyone even know about it?  it has at least inspired me to get out of my yoga pants & wash my hair at least twice this week.  so it's good for something!

the boys had a blast representing the dark side this halloween.  it was declared "best halloween ever in the galaxy" & i'd have to agree.  every year it gets more & more fun.  fall has been wet but we've found little pockets of sunshine & dry weather which allowed us to get out & hike a bit here & there.

brooks is almost a year & has settled into our house pretty well.  he's insane, don't get me wrong, but we're getting there.  he's chilling out.  and the boys constantly tell him they will love him forever & ever no matter what he'll always be our puppy so i guess he's staying.

work has been great.  so many amazing families this fall & brides booking for next year.  i love what i do & am totally feeling a surge of excitement for what next year will bring as i ramp it up a bit for 2017.  this year was a bit of a regrouping & rebuilding year after the move & a primary focus on portland clients.  next year?  bring it.  it's gonna be a good one.

here are a few pictures from the last couple weeks.  i'm gonna try to take my camera out more & more & work on shooting on these darker days even when it feels too dark & dreary out.  buck it up buttercup.

We got a dog // BROOKS

well this post has been a long time coming... about eight months in the making?  this post should catch you up from the time we got brooks in january to present day.

for the most part of 2015 i spent all my days researching, planning & looking for dogs.  i wanted a dog SO bad.  sam however, did not.  we'll skip over most of that part of the story for reasons but cut to the chase, for better or for worse, we got a dog.  it's been a giant lifestyle change & transition for our family but it has also been so fun.

brooks is a german shorthaired pointer (gsp) & is currently nine months old.  he's crazy you guys.  gsp's are known to be one of the most high energy breeds of all the breeds.  i repeat, i did months of research on breeds before deciding on a gsp and none of it prepared me for the craziness that is living with one.  kinda like pregnancy?  you think you know but you have no idea.

daily walks & trips to the dog park are just the beginning.  hours spent running on the beach don't seem to phase him.  he is the definition of high energy.  but he's so sweet & the boys love him & he's so great with them so he's here to stay.

his favorite activities are chasing light flecks, running like a madman endlessly at the beach or at our local 1,000 acre dog park & meeting up with his fur friends.  brooks has redefined my "active" lifestyle, has gotten me out of my shell & forced me to make new friends, he gets me out of bed in the morning for a run when i'd rather sleep & he gets me out to the park when i'd rather watch tv.  it's a love/hate thing.

here are a few (ha!) pictures of brooks starting at our first day with him at nine weeks until just last week at nine months.  they don't stay little for long but they sure stay crazy.

enjoy.