Personal Stories Archives

Hiking up Humphreys Peak…. but only 33%

We didn’t hike far—about a third of the way up Humphreys Peak in Flagstaff—but we weren’t in any rush. It wasn’t about the summit anyway. Oliver spent most of his time climbing over fallen trees, picking up would-be walking sticks, and turning the forest floor into his own adventure course. And mostly, I just tried to keep up. But this wasn’t a big trip or a bucket-list kinda of hike. Just a simple break from the everyday monotony, a quiet afternoon hiking in the woods with my youngest.

And honestly, that was enough.

Humphreys Peak | Another Hiking Adventure

Hiking West Fork Oak Creek Trail | Sedona, Arizona

My youngest son Oliver and I had a blast on our recent adventure to Sedona, where we explored some of the West Fork Trail. While Oliver was off discovering every nook and cranny of Oak Creek I mostly enjoyed watching his excitement from the safety of the well-worn trails. (as seen below lol) The weather was still a bit warm for our liking, but the scenery was as stunning as ever. Here are a couple of my favorite pics from the day.

Phoenix Wedding Photographer | Phoenix Disc Golf | Speed Run Style

I love the way the desert looks in the spring and it’s a perfect time to get a round of disk golf in! We’ve had to modify the rules a bit to accommodate for a slight lack of throwing power of some of our youngest members. But this slight tweet has really leveled the playing field. Now it’s not the one who has the fewest tosses that wins, but who can toss it into the basket the quickest. At the end of most rounds, we are happily exhausted and laughing as we gasp for breath. There does always seem to be a lot of waiting around for this old man to catch up, but boy do we have fun. Here’s a couple of shots I managed to catch in between trying to keep pace with these two : )

Disc Golf in Phoenix | Family Session

Phoenix Wedding Photographer | Lost/Discovered: Oregon

When I first brought up the possibility of a five day RV trip, to Oregon, with some of my friends, she looked at me as if I had just sprouted horns from my head. “Sooo…” she replied, narrowing her eyes, “you want to take a vacation without me?” “Aha..ha..ha,” I chuckled. “No, no, this isn’t a vacation, this is work.” Boy, did that get a laugh out of her. Haha… Eventually, I was able to put some thoughts into words and she and I had some very heartfelt conversations about the trip. The last couple of years have been extremely stressful for me and I was feeling burnt out and used up to some degree. We both agreed that having a chance to take off some the many hats that I wear on a daily basis, and just be Aaron for a few days, would not only be good for me but for all of the family in the long run. It really made the trip that much more meaningful for me to have her understanding and support.

So the five of us were off to Oregon, where we explored the coast and basically any road we could get the RV down. But it was truly the second day of the trip, when we arrived at Ecola State Park, that this trip began to have the effects that I had hoped for. There, early in the morning, something about that sunrise was so utterly beautiful to me that I found myself just wandering around, content not to have any real purpose but to just find what new beauty lied around the next corner. I could literally feel a peacefulness wash over me.

The next couple of days were filled with amazing landscapes (that I took way too many pictures of) and late nights of Heads Up that reminded me that my pop culture knowledge needs some work … 🙂

In the end, it was just what my mind, body and soul needed. A chance to recharge and to be inspired again by the beauty that is all around us.

If you have a chance, check out the work of my good friends who were with me on the trip: Mike Olbinski, Jay Worsley, Jason Williams, and Andrew Fleming. All amazing artists in their own right. Also check out the two films of the trip at the end of this post.

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a huge thanks to my amazing wife Marisa, who has always been my biggest champion. Marisa, your tireless support, your willingness to take the road less traveled, even if it means uncertainty, and setting aside your fears, has made all the difference. I love this journey we are on together, I can’t wait to see what awaits us around the next bend.

Phoenix Wedding Photographer | California love (and hate)

We went to California last month with our friends Mike + Jina and their kids. Funny story: Aaron and I were so nervous about taking the kids on their first long road trip. Neither of our kids like the car very much, so we prepared ourselves for a lot of crying and whining during the 5 hour trip to San Diego. But, we were willing to endure it because we imagined how much fun they would have on the beach, building sandcastles and frolicking in the water.

Of course, things never work out like you expect they will – the road trip turned out to be the easy part! They were perfect angels in the car the entire trip. Once we got to the beach, however, they hated it, especially our little guy Oliver. Here he is, using his superpowers to will the ocean away from him:

Eventually they warmed up to it a bit, but not by much. Enjoy these photos of us cajoling our kids into enjoying the beach. It wasn’t relaxing by any stretch of the imagination, but it was incredibly fun (and made for some funny pictures). I guess that’s what family vacations are all about. 🙂