A Mountain Getaway

We always try to squeeze in a mountain (or beach) getaway at the beginning of the year to rest, relax and basically just unwind as a family of four. It's always a little hard to leave home with everything still in "frantic holiday mode", but once we get there, we remember it's so worth it.

This year we traveled to Mountain City, Tennessee and stayed in an awesome mountain top log cabin. We had the place all to ourselves and I can't even tell you how many hours we spent reading books and putting together puzzles. The kids had their own loft area and we basically had to beg them to leave.

There is something so refreshing about mountain air and being away from everything. We had no cell service or no internet and it was so nice to disconnect and just "be" for a week. It was the perfect start to the new year! 

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Seattle

I spent the weekend in Seattle at the Click Away conference, and like I say every time I visit the west coast - if it wasn't for my kiddos, I'm pretty sure I would have just stayed.  The weather wasn't the best in Seattle (which I hear is pretty typical), but the conference was phenomenal and the people I met were amazing!

I got to see some of my favorites in action, including Meg Loeks, Anna Larson and Mae Burke; and heard some amazing speeches from a lot of inspiring artists, like Amanda Jane Jones (woah, right?) Summer Murdock (total fangirl of Summer and I'm pretty sure she might think I'm a stalker...), Jesh De Rox (absolutely phenomenal) and Kellie Bieser (I wanna be her when I grow up). The conference was uplifting not only from a photography perspective, but a personal perspective as well. I have so many ideas and so much inspiration running through my brain and I can't wait to put all of these into action!

Until then...here's a little photo recap of my weekend!

Oregon Part III

If you haven't purchased a ticket to Oregon yet, what are you waiting for? 

We spent the last few days hiking and traveling the Oregon Coast and along the Columbia River to Hood River.  (Here's

Part I

and

Part II

incase you missed them.)

The Oregon Coast Trail was nothing short of breathtaking. It was a little foggy out in the distance, but the views were amazing nonetheless. I'd imagine that a clear day would be mind blowing crazy. There had been some rain the days before, so the trails were pretty muddy and mucky. BUT. In case you were wondering, I wore my tennis shoes! Shocker, right?

From the coast, we hopped in the car and made our way to Hood River stopping by Multnomah Falls for a little detour. I still have no idea how to really say this name, so thank goodness I'm typing this and not telling you. Otherwise, I would be saying "this awesome waterfall"....

Whoa, right?

It was a little misty, but the falls were gorgeous. And so green. It was like being in a rain forest. We hiked to the top of the falls, which is only at about 620 feet high, but so worth it. I made the journey AGAIN in my flip flops, but whatevs...you can't get that close and NOT hike to the top. In my defense though, you could see the waterfall from the parking lot so I just assumed there was no hiking. I was wrong. (And yes - the picture below is looking DOWN from the top!! Yikes!)

After our stop, we hopped back in the car and made our way into Hood River and our PENTHOUSE view. Well, it was our friend's view, but who really cares.

Looking out across the river into Washington State was the best. This view. The penthouse. The sunshine. The people. All of it was the best and we pretty much had to convince ourselves to even leave and find dinner. 

WHEN we go back (not if, because, um...we're already planning our return trip), we will be staying here again. The place was so perfect and I really just want to make a pot of chili, turn on football and call that couch my home. 

So long Oregon. It was amazing. Thanks for being so awesome. We can't wait to come back and visit.

And you made it all the way through my Oregon posts! Yay! So what do you think? Have you ever been to any of these beautiful places?? Are you searching for tickets now?? We sure are! xo

Oregon Part II

Let's do this.

For the second part of our trip (

you can see Part I here

) we ventured north to check out Astoria, Washington and Cannon Beach. I can't even begin to tell you the most spectacular part of this leg because it was all amazing. Our first stop (as pictured above) was the Columbia River where it ran into the Pacific. The Columbia River is something in and of itself to see. You really just can't describe how beautiful it is to see the water with mountains on the other side. Gor-geous.

We stopped in Astoria for lunch at a the Buoy Beer Company and ate with....wait for it... sea-flippin-lions. Yep. Sea Lions. I tried to take one with me, but no such luck. Such a fun lunch place if you're ever passing through!

From Astoria, we traveled back south again to Cannon Beach. I'm not sure if there are any other Goonies fans here ("Hey you guys!!), but going to Cannon Beach was about as exciting as seeing New Kids on the Block when I was in fifth grade. Goonies never say die...  First, you gotta do the truffle shuffle...

Sorry. I'll stop. I'm weird.

The weather was little dreary and misty (which apparently is pretty common), but Cannon Beach was awesome nonetheless. Haystack Rock (pictured above and IN GOONIES) was absolutely amazing. It's just so random sitting there on that wide, long beach. 

The overall town had a very New England feel and I couldn't get enough of the cute cabins, ship lack houses and wooden condos. I picked out our future vacation home already.

We spent our evenings in Cannon Beach either huddled by a bonfire eating our bodyweight in s'mores or riding beach cruisers on the beach and through the town ogling all of the hydrangeas and beautiful flowers. Guess that's what happens to vegetation when it's misty every morning and only 75 during the day. Good to know...I'll pass that on to NC. It could use a little help in the cooling department.

Have you ever tried to ride a bike on the beach? In sand? It's not easy folks. Oh...and I bet you wouldn't believe me if I said I wore flip flops now would you? Best workout ever. 

OMG. What about this photo doesn't just scream Goonies. I can hear Chunk and Sloth right now. Anyone else?

Final photo overload and recap coming tomorrow. And I might even talk about flip flops too... #sorry

Oregon Part I

We're just getting back from our Oregon vacation and I'm gonna warn you now that I like to take pictures so I'm hijacking this blog for the week with plenty of Oregon eye candy. 

We had so much darn fun in Oregon! Have you ever been? If not, stop reading this and go book a trip. Seriously. It is breathtakingly amazing. And don't tell California, but it's my new favorite. Scott and I talked through ALL of the reasons why we should pack up our bags and move and let me tell you, the list is long. We loved every single minute of our vacation and if it weren't for those sweet babies at home, we likely would still be there. 

First up was Portland. 

One word. Amazing.

The city is just fantastic and the people there....ssshesh...just so crazy nice. Everyone we met was the best. From Uber drivers to waiters to random homeless people on the street. Sweet as pie.

Most of our time in Portland was spent walking. I have blisters on my feet as proof just in case you were interested. Portland is a walking city and they really make it so easy to get all of over town. We started our first day with what is called the 4T. Basically it's taking a train, trail, tram and trolley all over town. It took us about 3 or so hours and yep. I wore my flip flops (this will be a common occurrence if you make it all of the way through these posts and I apologize now).

We loved the 4T and apparently it's not really well known amongst tourists. I heard someone tell me it's the "secret walking tour", so if you go, Google it and find out more. It will not disappoint (but flip flops will...).

We stayed in the Westin right downtown and really loved being immersed in the city. We walked all over, ate at lots of yummy places and enjoyed every minute.

Before we went, I asked on Instagram for suggestions for places to go while we were in Portland and I think we hit up every spot that was recommended. Our faves were: Blue Star Doughnuts (hands down better than Voodoo Doughnuts), Imperial (absolutely amazing), Caffe Mingo (cute, quaint, yummy), Portland City Grill (for the view, not so much the food).

Our final stop of the Portland leg of our trip was a visit to BOTH Blue Star and Voodoo Doughnuts for a little doughnut throw down . We bought 22 doughnuts between the four of us. Well, three really because Scott's weird and doesn't like donuts. I questioned our marriage when he said that, btw. I mean. Who doesn't like doughnuts, but whatevs....

Blue Star rocked it. So good. Those two "old fashioned" in the bottom left hand corner?? I ate both of those. Oh...and the blueberry one, and maybe the chocolate one....and that maple bacon, lemon poppy seed....yikes. I'm going to the gym now.

And not to get into a phone love-fest, but I almost exclusively used my iPhone for this trip. I love my big camera something fierce, but that thing is big, bulky and heavy. I wondered if I would regret not lugging it around, but nope. Phone photos rock. The end.

Part II coming tomorrow...stay tuned.