Memory Lane 2014

What a year. 2014

a year of surprises. We surprised my dad with a weekend in Santa Cruz for his seventieth birthday. My mom rented a house in Aptos and we visited with cousins and aunts and uncles. We toasted to many more celebrations.

a year of growing. My first paid photography sessions. Which inspired butterflies whose wings beat out insecurities. Discoveries that I loved opportunities to focus on the photographs. Find that one look, that one sweet moment, and hold it in my hands with all the grace that butterflies deserve. I joined a local photo studio with fun props and opportunities.

a year of endings & beginnings. I left classroom teaching. And while I grieved, I also noticed how teaching is very big work. I love the connections with children and families. So I found a balance. This year I teach art and handwork (sewing and finger knitting) to young children at the Nevada City School of the Arts. All first year jobs are hard work. And rewarding. Forest Fairy Crafts lives on :)

A year of parties. The epic Cinco de Mayo with a guitar-strumming chicken. Face painting by Penney at Day of the Dead for Mila's birthday. Biggest Fourth of July ever. And last minute relocating New Year's Eve to our house.

A year of travels. Family time in Tahoe. With an insane thunderstorm on our drive that caused landslides and a power outage at the hotel for hours. Adventures in San Diego with Grandma. San Francisco for a day. Exploratorium for Theo's birthday. Camping at Grover Hot Springs, where we remembered a love of outdoor storytelling and star-splashed night skies.

a year of children. Both children discovered scooters this year. Glide! Anika started middle school. Middle school? Ian is a first grader. He's reading. He was a Mouse in the Nutcracker for the first time. He joined Xbox Live Gold and has online friends around the world (we listen in, trust me :)). He lost his first teeth (bottom teeth). He was Tick Tock in Peter Pan. Anika was Queen of the Fairies and my Big Helper. My niece, Mila, was Tinkerbell. We hosted Camp Lenkaland in our backyard for the summer. We swam and sewed and painted fairy houses for our fairy garden. Everyone could swim independently (hurrah!). And Anika finally, finally, got her mermaid tail!

a year of wonder. My underwater camera (Olympus TG-3) arrived on the same day as her mermaid tail. Good luck. And the beginning of my favorite photo project ever. Mermaid Tales. Her tail and mono fin (which gives the tail shape) are made by Fin Fun Mermaid Tails. I was a little skeptical, but, whoa! The collaborative joy of photographing a mermaid! We brought the mermaid to pools like the Outside Inn, the river, hot springs, lakes. Finally, in late fall, we visited the ocean.

a year of discovery. How I adore underwater photography! There’s a freedom underwater, a literal weightlessness that becomes surreal. The light bends and changes. Color is painted on surfaces in endless patterns of woven threads. Falling is bliss. Because water catches us. Holds us. Gives us a place to let go. We all love letting go :)

Wishing us all plenty of love and light and laughter in 2015. Especially laughter. :)

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