12

As of yesterday,my family and I have been in Bellingham WA for a year. A year! A whole year!

We've realized a dream and now, here we are, a year later. (did I mention this? I don't think I did) The last 12 months have brought many things into focus for us. We have a reasonably clear picture of what we want and where we're headed. The how is still a little blurry. So, we're trying things. Jumping into new working arrangements, getting our food in different ways, tweaking a knob here, turning a dial there. Basically, committing to new processes for a time to see if they get us closer to the life we'd like. I'm enjoying this experiment, honestly. It's a low pressure way to adopt something new, adjust as needed, try something else, and practice taking the uncontrollable in stride. I'm liking the variety of it all. I'm thankful for the opportunity to live life this way.

Moving was a good decision. We've had many challenges along the way, some stemming from the decisions we've made. Others have simply come because life is indeed, a box of chocolates. If this last year has taught me anything, it's that you *must* take the good with the bad, the mundane with the amazing. Neither can exist without the other as a measuring tool. This life, our life, is one I'm happy to be a part of, with its own unique set of challenges, but also its unique set of rewards. 

SO, without further adieu, a visual year in review, if you will (and you will, you have no say here. Also, I love you and thanks for reading, really).

**End note** One image a month doesn't seem quite fair. We've had many visits from family, made friends, taken side trips.. All of our life isn't reflected here. Many times I've purposely chosen to put down the camera. I also don't want to exclude anyone... OR I've already shared the images in another post... OR I don't want this post to go on for days.  

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July- the most whirlwind month of our lives and many "firsts"

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August- several visitors and bunches of exploring, all on virtually NO sleep (three words- six month old).

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September-a chill month, both literally and metaphorically.

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October- the gateway into what felt like constant sickness, but fall is so beautiful in the PNW

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November- back to AL for a visit!

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December- a white Christmas, lots of packages, a birthday, many colds, but we enjoyed  the season!

January- can't remember too much from this month, because we were sick constantly. Welcome to new germs.

February- we celebrate a year with this one, who, as it turns out, is a cake-enthusiast.

March- the sun shines again!

April- more visitors, fun places, and great spectating (not us with that hang-glider, just FYI)

May- Bryan has a big birthday and we drive through Cascade National Park. Next time, there'll be more hiking.

June- Parks, friends, art-projects, and some preschool home-schooling going on!

July- Happy 4th, and woah, wait a minute, where did the year go?!

Jaxon

Jaxon. 12 weeks (ish). 

He was such a gentleman, well-behaved and friendly, with so many smiles. AND to top it off, content to just sleep when he needed it.

Babies. Happy Babies. They spoil this photographer.

Skagit Valley Spring

Some friends of ours invited us on the Skagit Valley Tulip Route back in April. We were a little early to the tulip party since this past winter was colder than normal. Still, it was a fun trip. I didn't get too many photos, obviously. Between keeping an eye on kids in the crowds,making sure the one strapped to me was happy, and conversing with our travel buddies, there wasn't much time to shoot. That's totally fine. It was great to explore a new area with some great friends we've made.

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It's windy, or sunny, or overcast, or all of the above. This place has many emotions. Lots of things it may or may not choose to reveal through light, texture, and color. Last Sunday, for example, was a beautiful variable. A misty, wet morning, which gave way to a cerulean sky and mild temperatures. The northwest can't decide some days. This is a place that changes, shifts, and grows as much as we aspire to. It's mysterious, and uncertain, but at ease.. 

Kate & Charlotte

 Meet Kate & Charlotte. Two independent, smart, energetic, and stylish gals who make a trip to Boulevard Park super enjoyable.

 Charlotte is an expert runner, climber and explorer. And man, let me tell you, Kate can keep up like it's nothing, all while growing a human. I'm impressed. Growing people is hard work.

So glad I was able to photograph this special time before Charlotte becomes a big sister, and Kate has two to chase after. Thank you for being great photo companions, ladies!

Larrabee State Park

Galavanting in Larrabee State Park on a day when it wasn't raining. 

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Fresh Air is a Key

to a short but fulfilling

Time on this Earth.

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Jacob

So this is Jacob, and my first set of "official" photos after a looooong hiatus. We took to the streets of downtown Bellingham for a short but uber successful senior session. Jacob is a friendly, but quiet fella who likes to ride invisible flying bicycles. You'll see what I mean in the slideshow ;-) He's a gifted theater performer, an excellent student, and plays a mean Scrabble game. Downtown Bellingham, with its subdued excitement, seemed like a fitting location for this guy.

I've decided this place is basically a portrait photographer's dream.  There're so many fantastic backgrounds, both natural and manmade, and it seems completely possible to find a location to suit just about anyone. And the light , oh my word, the light!!!!!

Looking forward to stretching my photography muscles and getting out there more to explore! Interested in coming along? Fill out the messaging form on my contact page and I'll be in touch!

Solitude or, 27 Ways to Photograph a Sunset

A couple weeks ago I took a solo outing to Boulevard. I needed to think in the quiet, eat a treat, and drink a coffee. I also wanted to stretch my photography muscles by adding variation to a scene I've seen over and over again the last several months. (Not a complaint, by the way). 

Hopefully these images are different enough to post without boring anyone. Sorry, they're aren't 27. Or maybe, you're welcome? With the sheer amount of content online, and all of the various pictures, stories, comments we consume daily, I try to limit how much I'm throwing out into the internet.

Also, if I wasn't careful, this blog would just turn into one big document of Boulevard Park, established summer of 1980. ;-) 

^^^^^this was AMAZING^^^^^

ONE

Eliza at One

She's a hoot. A complete ham. Loves attention, laughing, making others laugh, and bopping to a good beat. She's very animated and talkative, communicating to us all in her own little language while sometimes trying to mimic our words. 

Eliza loves to climb. She makes a beeline for any un-gated stairwell and enjoys seeing how far she can get before she's caught (yikes). She also really likes food and currently has 6 teeth with more poking through.

This little bear is such a fun little soul. Can't wait to see how she grows!

Samish Overlook

Over the weekend we found another gem in our area. A spot where on a clear day the San Juans, Olympic Mountains, and even Rainer to the South are visible. The landscape in this part of the United States is just unreal.

Some lovely people even offered to shoot a few photos with all of us, which I appreciated. Thank you, whoever you are!

This One

Our second-born will be 11 months in 4 days. Eliza's an adorable rascal- she's animated and downright hilarious in the way she tries to make other people laugh. She's congenial- doling out kisses and hugs and cuddles to people (as long as she's the one doing it- independence runeth in our family). Her favorite things are food (SOOO my child), music (with a good beat, mind you. She'll break that beat down), and climbing on just about anything.

We love this little bear :-)

By the way, Happy New Year! I hope your 2017 is smashing ;-)

Our Month

We've been coughing, hacking, sniffling, breathing heavy all of December. Oh my goodness are we tired of this. I cannot stress enough the bummer that occurs when you go from a person who is never ever EVER sick to constant congestion, runny nose, and nastiness. People have told us it will get better. New place=new germs. Gosh, I hope so.

We've gotten out quite a bit despite sickness, on good days when symptoms aren't as bad or things seem to turn a corner. I hate how inconsiderate this seems, but we try to be careful. Cabin fever is real, especially when the world outside your door is so awesome. I hope we haven't spread anything. Maybe we aren't contagious anymore, just adjusting to a new location.

So, here's a mash up of random photos from late November and December.  Christmas is almost a week away, which is pretty incredible. I love this time of year; despite sickness it's always a magical time.

Notice my husband can levitate snowballs in the last few photos. Kind of amazing, eh? 

4

Four. To Infinity and Beyond

A Hike in the Snow

(Yes, those are my gloves in the pictures, and yes, we are going tomorrow to get her some of her own) 

It has snowed here twice in the last few days, which is more than we've seen in quite a while. It did snow on occasion in AL, but rarely in December. Today, Charlotte and I went for a quick walk/hike down the street and found a pretty neat place to explore. I'm digging Bellingham in the winter, so far.

 You've noticed the change around here, no? Amandapowell.net needed a major refresh. Halfway through the update, I realized I couldn't share anything new until the site was finished. SO, I'm going to be playing catch up this week. More posts to come!

Shuksan in the Fall

These photos are from our last trip up to Picture Lake before the snow set in. We weren't there too long, and it wasn't the smoothest of visits, but it was definitely beautiful. Looking forward to seeing this area covered in snow. Hopefully we can get out there soon!

BOO! 2016

I'm not sure how October passed without a single blog post. All I know is, we were sick for about a third of it, and now it's November. Yikes.

Yesterday was Halloween, and Charlotte was completely into it. She talked most of the month about trick-or-treating and "spooky stuff." 

We took her and Eliza to Fairhaven for a local business-sponsored trick or treat. It was kind of magical. Growing up in the 90's, I watched all those seasonal movies, like Casper and Hocus Pocus. These movies were set in fictitious small towns decked out in Halloween paraphernalia, with a backdrop of beautiful fall colors, and a chill in the air.  Being from the South, I figured towns with this atmosphere were a Hollywood myth. Halloween in Alabama was warm and not a big deal. The people, in ever-lingering flipflops, didn't think too much of afore mentioned "spooky stuff" for various cultural reasons I won't go in to. It really just wasn't a "thing". Fall festivals and trunk or treat, yes. Halloween "stuff," no. Which is fine, I'm not saying good/bad either way.

BEST costume ever.

Fairhaven though. The stuff of movie legends. It was so neat to see this little historic district so colorful, the shop owners completely in costume, laughter, excitement, and fun in the air. It sounds corny I know, but really. It was too cool. I'm an adult and I was excited. I think Charlotte had a pretty great time too.

Table Mountain Trail

A couple weekends ago we went back up to Artist Point for some mountain time. We ended up hiking Table Mountain Trail with Charlotte leading the charge. Her stamina and enthusiasm were impressive. THEN, she started in with the mountain goat noises. It was a very good hike.

We turned around half way up because the non-kidfriendly trail became even more treacherous. Charlotte was pretty bummed, but handled it like a champ. She did so well, despite the stair-like climb up, then back down again. 

She's getting to make some seriously empowering memories. I love how her Daddy is right there, helping her accomplish the things she's interested in. 

Bike

Shout out to this girl, who after only two months of a push bike is demanding a "purple bike with petals."

Artist Point

We currently live 31 miles away from a volcano. Boom.

Mt. Baker is a part of the North Cascade range, which you can see on a clear day from just about anywhere in Bellingham. It's an active volcano, surrounded by several other large and incredibly beautiful mountains. Just an hour's drive from Bellingham is Artist Point, from which you can view these mountains or strike out on some very scenic trails. We took Bryan's parents there in August. The weather was fantastic, the sky was beautiful. Three or four hours passed without us even realizing.

^^Pssst...I'm a slide show! Just click the image^^

Picture Lake & Mt Shuksan

It's been a dream of ours to be in a place with BIG nature. Living here has been just as good as we'd hoped. For the next several months, this wilderness is right at our fingertips. Instead of being separated by 3 (expensive) plane tickets, and a ton of planning, we have easy access to these wild places (as long as the weather permits).

Now, responsibility doesn't allow us to just drop everything and head to the mountains whenever we feel like it. But those mountains, just knowing they exist so close to us, (even if it's only for a year) -this means freedom. That's enough.

Charlotte 3.5

Back in July we went on a "little adventure" in the field behind our house for some pictures. Charlotte wanted to wear one of her special occasion dresses, which was a great idea. She's growing fast, and I wanted to get photos before this particular moment in her life was past.  The result was super sweet, and very much Charlotte. Outside exploring, but still in a dress. 

We only spent maybe 15 minutes, but she really enjoyed herself. Kind of funny how that works. Some times I feel like I need to plan some huge thing, bursting with activities or "learning" projects, when in reality, the simplest things will do for this age. Like traipsing around in a field with a nice dress on.