year in pictures [2017]

year thirteen for the [year in pictures] post 

maybe i'm getting sentimental as i get older, but, as i follow my annual tradition of going through all the pictures i've taken the past year i couldn't help but notice more and more photos are of my friends and family, rather than landscapes and other objects.  if you've followed this blog for any length of time, you know i like to come up with a theme to go with the photos every year.  looking back at the images i picked, it would be easy to say "friends and family" but you know i would never settle for anything that simple.

there is a reason i was surrounded by so many friends and family this year; a lot of life events took place.  i started the year as a single guy and by the end of it i was married and an uncle!  there's something about those two events that will make you feel like an adult...basically i did a lot of [adulting] this year.

[adulting] can suck.  jokingly, it usually means paying bills, doing taxes or having to spend lots of money on functional items like dishwashers or tires instead of a trip to cancun.  [adulting] also means having to face tough situations and bad news in your life or in the lives of those you love.  [adulting] also means you are now tasked with taking those bad situations and making the best of them.

not gonna lie, [adulting] can be pretty shitty sometimes,

but it can also be wonderful.

because [adulting] is also caring about someone more than yourself.
[adulting] is placing the needs of your wife, husband or partner before yours.
[adulting] is providing for your children, niece or nephew.
[adulting] is caring for your family and friends.

so, with everything that went on in my life, you could say this was a year of [adulting].  thankfully though, i'm not doing it alone.  i have family and friends out there [adulting] as well, helping me through the bad times and celebrating the good times.


i hope you enjoy looking back through the [adulting] year of 2017 

headlight_1.7.17

my first new year in my new home of portland, maine.  i took this picture right as an incoming snowstorm was approaching.  i love how you can see the beacon through the storm.  there's a simile about [adulting] in there somewhere but it's even too cliche for me.  let's just say, it seemed like a perfect picture to represent a new year.

bonfire_5.6.2017

there is something about a fire that brings people together.  maybe it's buried deep within our dna from way back when we all lived in caves, or possibly people just enjoy the warmth.  either way, it seems impossible to be in a bad mood while standing around a fire.  this spring, i was invited to enjoy a bonfire out in the "country." not only was the night spent making new friends, but, it reminded me of kansas (which in a weird way made maine feel more like home).

 bachelor_party_5.20.17

a random photo taken very late during the night of my bachelor party. it was a chance to hang with some of my best friends and basically take a night off from [adulting].

junebucket_6.17.17

the "june bucket" tradition continued another year, with a few veterans and a lot of rookies.  holding true to form, the june bucket fostered new friendships, provided several new stories and was a perfect way to start the summer season.

 wedding_selfie_7.8.17

nothing makes you feel more like [adulting] than getting marred.  in front of family and friends, i went from being single to a married man.  i also went from caring about me to caring about her first.  they make you repeat a lot of words during your vows, but, it basically comes down to:
"will you take care of her no matter what?"

 i will.  

friends_7.8.17

i met these guys in architecture school right on the cusp of adulthood.  not only did they help me get through my studio projects and assignments, but they helped make college a memorable time filled with a thousand and one stories i still tell today.  i'm who i am today because of these guys. a close knit group of friends who stick together over many years is a wonderful thing.  it's been great watching them go from classmates, to drinking buddies, to husbands, to fathers....or what you might simply say is...become [adults].

gropius_8.5.17

i studied the gropius house while in architecture school and had one of the more memorable critiques i've had in my life because of it.  last summer i had a chance to visit the house in person.  this building and the critique, helped me better understand architecture and it was great to pay homage to it.  it was a reflective moment in time where "college" me interacted with [adult] me.

(also, there's no way i could have done this post and not included at least one architecture photo)

my_niece_11.9.17

if getting married didn't make me feel enough like an [adult] this year, i also became an uncle.  it was unreal. i got to hold the next generation of our family in my arms.  i was holding someone who will be here longer than i will be and will hopefully carry on a few of our crazy family traditions.  however, it wasn't just holding my niece that was so heartwarming that night; it was also watching my sister and brother-in-law as parents taking care of this wonderful new life.  

back_at_home_11.11.17

in november, my friends and i, gathered back in wichita for the wedding celebrations of one our closest friends.  between the ceremony and the reception, we were able to hang out for a couple of hours at one of our old bars. a place you could have found us at a decade ago.  now, in all different stages of [adulting] but still laughing and joking like the old times.

the_new_fam_12.24.17

we had two new official members of our family in the annual christmas selfie this year, my wife and my niece.  after many years as a family of four, we're now a family of seven.  i love this picture because it shows the people i care about most in my life.  [adulting] at its finest.