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.

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!

camping part 1 // timothy lake

we realized today that we've had six weeks of summer so far & still have exactly six weeks left.  it feels like we're just starting to get in our groove so of course it must be half over.  we've had beach trips, camping trips, kayaking adventures, summer camps & lots of lazy at home days too.

here are a few pics of our first camping trip up at timothy lake in the mt. hood national forest.  we loved this campground!  we kayaked the lake, fished & hiked.  not pictured but also there: nana, papa, auntie, jason & me.  making sure i capture everyone who was there (including myself) is a work in progress... whattyagonnado.