hawaii 2018

i don't think i ever got around to posting last year's hawaii trip but i did blog half of hawaii 2016.  i really wish i blogged more, like real blogging.  i still love going back & revisiting old posts & reliving old vacations or milestones.  my posts these days are pretty much just me popping in once or twice a year to dump a bunch of random photos, make some comments about how quickly time is flying, how fast the boys are growing up & wow, i wonder if i'll ever be able to actually catch up on blog posts.

the answer is no, this is probably the new normal.  time isn't slowing down (despite our best efforts), there just isn't ever enough time & when we do manage to take a deep breath & enjoy life a bit, i'm trying to do it unplugged.  while these moments are fleeting, i'm so grateful to have photography to help me capture it.

hawaii this year was amazing.  every year is better than the last.  the boys are more comfortable in the ocean, parker learned to swim & snorkel & it actually all feels much more like a relaxing vacation as opposed to just parenting in a different setting.  this is our family's happy place.

can't wait to go back.

camping part 2 // cape lookout

am i seriously going to just randomly throw down three new posts tonight after months of silence?  you bet i am.  what else do i have to do at midnight on a tuesday night?  work?  laundry?  sleep?  nah.  blogging sounds better.

our second camping trip of the summer was at the coast.  we'd never camped at the beach before & the experience got some mixed reviews.  we love camping & we love the beach, but i'm just not convinced i love camping at the beach.  but still, we had so much fun despite the sand in every tent crevice.

we camped at cape lookout & got poured on our first night which led to an early morning escape to oceanside for breakfast.  the hidden beach in oceanside was a huge highlight of the trip... it was gorgeous!  we felt like we were in ireland or iceland or somewhere way more exotic than the oregon coast.  also this was our first time taking brooks camping & i had some major anxiety leading up to that but he did great!  he was a little overwhelmed by all the sights, sounds & craziness of the campsite but he loved running on the beach & slept through the night in the tent so i can't complain.

oh yeah, i've never mentioned brooks on the blog.  i mean i assume if you're here reading this you also follow me on either instagram (@amy_nielson) or facebook or snapchat or something so it's not a total shock to you that we have a dog.  he'll probably get his own post at some point but today isn't that day.  for now, just know that we have an 8 month old german shorthaired pointer and he is CRAY.  and if you want to know more about him feel free to check him out on his own instgram here: @brooks_gsp.  yes he has more followers than i do, no i don't care.  moving on.

here are some pics from this last camping trip.  and now don't expect me to blog for a few months.  or maybe i'll post 5 more updates tomorrow, you just never know.

seabrook // round 1

one of our family's all time favorite places to escape to is seabrook.  we've gotten to go a couple times this year already & are going at least once more before summer is over.  i will fight anyone who dares to argue that it isn't the cutest little town ever.  it's a bit of a hike from portland but it's always worth it.  our last trip was probably my favorite yet & it just gets more & more fun each time as the boys get older & love it more each time as well.

also on this last trip i brought along a brand new lens, the canon 24mm f/2.8 and shot with it the whole time.  it was fun playing with a new lens & shooting a bit wider than i'm used to.  here are a few of the pics from that trip... enjoy!