![\"\"](\"http:\/\/nextstopadventure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/2018-12-30_0001-1024x302.jpg\")
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I also chopped 10.5 Inches off my hair for Pantene\u2019s Beautiful Lengths<\/a>.<\/p>\n We also attended Hannah & Jay\u2019s wedding in Leavenworth, Washington<\/a> and Sherri visited from Florida.<\/p>\n In February, we hosted a few more visitors, Brighton\u2019s mom & sister, which allowed us to play tourist in Seattle<\/a>. We also found tenants to rent our Salt Lake City house which was a relief.<\/p>\n The most memorable hikes of February were Artist Point<\/a> and Oyster Dome<\/a>.<\/p>\n The following month we got a somewhat-unexpected visit from my sister, Katie<\/a>. We hiked<\/a>, tried Sunday Public Sail, the Duck Tour, and explored downtown Seattle<\/a> some more.<\/p>\n On a warm, sunny spring day, we went down to Ballard Farmer\u2019s Market<\/a> to feel like real Seattleites. I got some delicious cider and other local goodies. After I felt a little less overwhelmed from our big move, I also took my first family shoot since moving from Utah.<\/p>\n To kick off April, we celebrated our second wedding anniversary<\/a> with a short trip to Portland<\/a> where we visited the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival, discovered my love for Poplandia gourmet popcorn<\/a>, and visited Latourell Falls. When we returned, we also went to a fancy schmancy dinner on the Seattle waterfront at AQUA by El Gaucho<\/a>.<\/p>\n We also found our new \u201chome\u201d coffee shop<\/a> on the Eastside of Seattle, which eventually opened a second location closer to home later in the year.<\/p>\n Continuing my love for tulip festivals, we checked out the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival<\/a>!<\/p>\n Honestly, April defined \u201cApril showers bring May flowers<\/b>\u201d in its seemingly constant drizzle (worse than March). I spent a lot of time reading indoors and getting a healthy dose of rain on our hikes.<\/p>\n At the end of the month, both Rachel & Brandon and<\/i> Demi visited on the same weekend<\/b>! We played more tourist, expanding my knowledge of what Seattle has to offer, and even got a hike in to Rattlesnake Ledge<\/a> (always a favorite for visitors).<\/p>\n The following month, I had the pleasure of seeing my old college roomie, Hillary and her brand-new husband Jonathan, in Seattle and also treating them to a honeymoon shoot. We also flew Katie back from Florida to pet\/house sit for us while we went on vacation. She wrote her dissertation in peace in her overcast dream-city and we got to see her before heading out to Europe.<\/p>\n Which leads me to the fact that we finally cashed in our free flights to the ultimate European mountain destination\u2014Switzerland<\/a>! This was our long-delayed \u201choneymoon\u201d! We spent a little over a week gallivanting around the country complete with almost dying while paragliding<\/a>, experiencing scenic gondola rides<\/a>, and a bucket-list-worthy to the Matterhorn<\/a>. PS: Can I go back?<\/i><\/p>\n With summer in full swing by the time we returned from Switzerland, we continued to adventure around the Pacific Northwest with a few more visitors. Erica visited us and we drove around Seattle and up to North Cascades National Park. I finally got to see Diablo Lake<\/a>!<\/p>\n I also had some downtime scheduled due to a quick dental procedure which went very well. Finally, it was Brighton\u2019s big 3-0! We celebrated by going to one of the local gastropubs in Issaquah.<\/p>\n For the long holiday weekend, Kelli drove up from Salt Lake and we were reunited in adventures! We visited the Seattle Japanese Gardens<\/a>, toured Bellevue, and drove to the Olympic Peninsula for Olympic National Park<\/a> and Cape Flattery<\/a>. The weather was great and the long day was worth the drive! Kelli and I also went to Dua Lipa\u2019s concert in Seattle for a GNO.<\/p>\n Our side-hustle photography business went into its third year! We drove down to Ashland, Oregon for our first wedding. We shoot most weekends for families, couples, and newborns.<\/p>\n With my work crew, we visited Treehouse Point<\/a> featured in Treehouse Masters. Bucket list item: Stay in one!<\/p>\n August was a little rough with the seemingly never-ending wildfires and heat without an air-conditioned house. Someone explain to me why not every building has A\/C?!<\/p>\n When the smoke cleared, we resumed hiking as much as we could between my photo sessions.<\/p>\n Another highlight was going to Milk Bar\u2019s<\/a> popup in Seattle and meeting Christina Tosi<\/a>!! There is photographic evidence. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n At the end of summer, we enjoyed a visit from Michele, Somer, Chase & Leo and a trip to a funky town called Bend, Oregon and Crater Lake National Park for Labor Day<\/a>.<\/p>\n Thanks to the magic of the internet and 23&Me, Brighton connected with his father\u2019s side of the family, and discovered 4 additional half-siblings and chatted with his dad for the first time. We look forward to meeting them in person soon!<\/p>\n In October, I visited Utah for two weeks while working for a sister-hotel.<\/p>\n After meeting up with our Utah friends, Kelli and I took an impromptu trip to Central Colorado to visit Telluride, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park<\/a>, and Mesa Verde National Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n After returning home to Brighton, we hopped up to Vancouver (BC)<\/a> to visit Demi in her new potential<\/i> city. We did Capilano Suspension Bridge<\/a> which was really neat!<\/p>\n As winter creeped up, we celebrated my birthday (on Thanksgiving) in Banff, Canada to visit the beautiful Canadian Rockies in the winter. It was epic!<\/p>\n We also decided to refocus on doing keto(ish) again.<\/p>\n We kicked December off with a quick trip to Portland. There were donuts, books, and a creepy stone house involved. Sounds very Portland<\/a>, right?<\/p>\n After what has seemed like an eternity, we also made the trip home to Florida for a week for Christmas with my family. I hit up my Florida favorites\u2014 Bento<\/a>, Red Mesa Mercado<\/a>, Beach Drive, downtown St. Pete, walking on the beach, etc. with my friends back home for a relaxing vacation.<\/p>\n We are looking forward to our second year in the PNW as we develop more roots here. I have a feeling that 2019 will be filled with new and exciting adventures!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Life is great in the Pacific Northwest! 2018 was a jam-packed year! If I could sum it up in a few words: mountains, Seattle, hiking, friends, photography, travel in the PNW, Switzerland, and so many photos of our fur-kids. January January started off with a 1500-mile move from Salt Lake City to Seattle with a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[475,285,131,119,286,448,283,485,346],"tags":[543,234,408],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/nextstopadventure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/FranklinFalls-1-1024x736.jpg\")
<\/p>\n52 Hikes:<\/h5>\n
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February<\/b><\/h3>\n
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March<\/b><\/h3>\n
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\nApril<\/b><\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/nextstopadventure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/2018-12-30_0004-1024x833.jpg\")
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May<\/b><\/h3>\n
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June<\/b><\/h3>\n
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July <\/b><\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\n52 Hikes:<\/h5>\n
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August<\/b><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/nextstopadventure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/2018-12-31_0004-929x1024.jpg\")
<\/p>\n52 Hikes:<\/h5>\n
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September<\/b><\/h3>\n
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<\/h5>\n52 Hikes:<\/h5>\n
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October<\/b><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/nextstopadventure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/2018-12-31_0008-1024x195.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n52 Hikes:<\/h5>\n
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November<\/b><\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\n52 Hikes:<\/h5>\n
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December <\/b><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/nextstopadventure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/StoneHouse-24-1024x683.jpg\")
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Looking into 2019<\/b><\/h3>\n