Life. It just gets so incredibly BUSY. No matter your walk in life, chances are….you know what I mean.

I’m very bothered by the feeling that I always feel busy and rarely UN-busy. (Yeah, I know un-busy is not a word.) In fact, it really eats at me from time to time. I’m not writing this because I’m lazy. In fact, I love working and keeping busy (to a degree) but with the phase of life Brett and I find ourselves in right now, THERE’S JUST ALWAYS SOMETHING TO DO. To me, it’s like a room that becomes so filled with “things” that you lose sight of the floor, or foundation, which is what holds us up and in place. With how messy our house has been lately, this analogy is fitting, both figuratively and literally. ;)

This feeling tends to happen with me each year before our new year of homeschooling, and at the end of a busy summer. That feeling…that things are a bit out of focus, and I need to try and quickly “tidy up” to view my foundation (my priorities). How easy it is to lose focus on our basics; to forget where our priorities lie.

“This is the one shot I get in this life of mine, and in raising my children.” Just reminding myself of this thought and dwelling on it for a moment, often helps me view things more clearly.

Perhaps you’re a small business owner, a homeschooling parent, or not; we all lose focus and have to work to regain it. It’s so hard to keep our focus. Really.

If you’re in the same boat, then here’s to you taking some time to dwell on what is truly important, on what is truly going to make a difference 20 years from now, and perhaps do some tidying up. I love the Oscar Wilde quote (which is on our “About” page) that says….

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”

I say, let’s live this life.

(I know, I know…these photos are from spring. MONTHS ago. I have so many personal photos I’m eager to share, but I want to force myself to go in order. Hopefully, I’ll play catch-up quickly.)

Every time I pick up my camera, I involuntarily think about what I am capturing and how it will be seen 20, 30, 50 years from today. Whether personal or professional, this thought is always on my mind. I want generations that follow to see and feel, in their own way, what I saw and felt within that moment. To me, this is what photography is all about. It’s my driving passion for this art.

Consequently, this is also what forces me to pack up my heavy beast of a camera, not being tempted by my iphone, even when I dread doing so. I want my kids to see what life was like…what a quick day hike and adventure looked like back in 2012. I want them to be able to relive it a bit, and share with their own children.

This past April when Brett’s brother Jason was visiting, we decided to pack up early one morning and head to Yellow Springs, a town we adore, for a full day of ADVENTURE. We weren’t exactly sure what we were going to do.  So, without much planned, we packed up our hiking gear and a picnic lunch and then just went with the flow of the day.

We began by hiking a gorge area that Brett and I had never seen, and man-oh-man, was it a gorgeous spring hike.

About halfway through, someone had a blister and major drama ensued. She can now brag that she hiked 2 miles barefoot.

We had a relaxing picnic lunch in the sunshine on the lawn of Antioch College, followed by an epic game of hide-and-seek.

We wandered around the small town…

We found a hula hoop, so of course we stopped for a competition. You know who won.

Thoughts on Brett’s post-winter facial hair: I’m not sure if I find it sexy or scary. Or both.

In the afternoon, we hiked the path that led to the actual Yellow Spring that the town is named after.

We joked about Uncle J not getting a date because Priya looks like she could be his girlfriend…

Gabe’s letting me know what this photo is about.

back for more…..

Finished up the adventure with a nice dinner.

It was a simple and wonderful family day!