What a super fun adventure family session this was! I always love exploring new places I’ve never been before, and this place, just after the rain had come through and washed away all that wildfire smoke was absolutely amazing! I met up with this lovely family from the Bay Area at a beautiful lake roughly halfway between Seattle and Portland. I’ve photographed this family every year for several years now and they happened to be staying with some family in Portland, so I’m so glad we had the chance to meet in the middle! And it almost didn’t happen – the unhealthy air finally cleared literally the night before their session! And we lucked out with barely a sprinkle of rain the whole time! The angry-looking skies with a few sun-breaks actually made the landscape look even more dramatic – it was awesome and so classic Pacific Northwest!

We had an amazing time exploring the area and I could tell the kids really loved playing along the beach, tiptoeing through the mud, and climbing the stumps. We even found some super weird slime pools! They make such an adorable pair! I have to admit, seeing these two kiddos playing in the mud reminded me of my own childhood here in the PNW!

Thank you all for another wonderful session! It was so great to see you again and explore an area so very different from the ones we’ve visited in the past! Enjoy a sneak peek at a “few” of the many highlights!

I LOVE this image – both of them on the stump like that. That’s what childhood is all about!

This one is just too funny!