Diving into 2018
Last year I took some time to reflect on the year prior and take stock of all the wonderful experiences we had. I drafted a nice letter to include with our holiday cards and posted some of the highlights on the blog. While I had every intention of doing that again this year, it just never really came to fruition. Instead I opted to take a little internet break around the holidays and hit it hard once 2018 rolled around. So, it’s a little late, bit here are some of our 2017 highlights along with some goals (dare I say resolutions?) for the upcoming year. Hope you all had a killer holiday season, cheers to 2018!
2017 Highlights
Farragut State Park in northern Idaho is a great place to snowshoe and catch some great views | vis Stuck in North Idaho
To say 2017 was the busiest year of my life wouldn’t be an understatement. Here are a few of the high points:
We decided to tackle several home projects this year, including building a new entertainment stand in the livingroom and starting work on our basement. Nearly a year later we’re still working on it, but the end is in sight and I will definitely share the finished project here.
We spent early 2017 snowshoeing our way around northern Idaho. Some of our favorite spots at the time being Farragut, Fernan, and 4th of July Pass.
I got a new camera! I jumped the Canon ship and made the switch to Sony’s A7r ii - I’m SO happy.
I continued to grow my side business, Northward Creative. I shot three-plus family photo sessions, two senior photo sessions, three weddings, and three engagements. I also started doing some freelance work for the Coeur d’Alene Press and had a piece published in Coeur d’Alene magazine. I’m hoping that trend continues into this year.
Kyle dove even deeper into the cycling world, helping to run several training groups through the CBC and completing several 100+ miles races including the Chafe 150, the Seattle to Portland, and then decided to have some fun with the 37-mile ride for the Coeur d’Fondo. Juneau and I had a blast being his cheerleaders throughout the summer.
We went back to Glacier to ride the Going to the Sun Road and had MUCH better weather.
We went to Greece! More specifically, Crete and Santorini. I’m already daydreaming about our next trip overseas and hope it comes soon. This trip was for a destination wedding and I was thrilled to be both invited as a guest, and chosen to photograph the occasion.
We had two other close friends wed in out-of-town locations. We traveled to the Clearwater River for a long weekend in July, and headed down to New Mexico for a gorgeous wedding under the desert sunset.
We welcomed a couple new babies into our friend circle this year. It’s been so fun to watch our friends grow into parenthood and hope those little kiddos know just how lucky they are to have such rad moms and dads.
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Kyle and I both turned the big 3-0 this year! Kyle celebrated on his bike (of course) and my birthday was spent binge watching Stranger Things with good friends and wine from a pumpkin. Good times were had by all.
Some of our favorite hikes of the year include Fern Falls and Shadow Falls, Bud Howard Trail, Kyle and Kendrich’s trip to Fault Lake, the Pulaski Trail, and Wenatchee Lake.
I was diagnosed with Celiac disease late in 2016 and spent 2017 refining recipes and finding my favorite gluten-free meals out around town.
Kyle and Tom finished their eight-part YouTube series Denali ADV and hosted a screening. You can watch all eight episodes on their channel Borderland Adventures.
2018 Goals
Kyle and I have at least two shared goals going into 2018. One being to finish our basement and FINALLY have a spare bedroom/bathroom for guests. The second being to do more localized travel. Camping, hiking, and road trips are all on the horizon.
My creative goals seem to be centered around intention. For so long I’ve felt like I’m just kind of along for the ride, like I’m not pre-planning and following through with my vision for something. In my writing and photography this year, I plan to be more intentional and produce more meaningful work. We live in a day and age of frivolous content and I want to do my part to curb that.
That theme of intention seems to have spilled over into my personal goals as well. In an effort to reduce waste and clear clutter, I plan to purchase less, recycle more, and gradually trade over food, beauty, hygiene, and cleaning products to more eco-friendly versions. No weird ingredients, no animal testing.
So there you have it, 2017 in a nutshell. Thank you to all of you for sharing in the adventure. May 2018 bring new sights, good times, and quality time with those we love most. Wishing you the same, Andrea