Some things ain’t planned…including vacations.

It was the late Spring 2008.

Max blurted out that he was interested in going to Quebec on an exchange…just weeks away.  (nice planning Max…!)

One of the things I had to learn with teenagers, was more ‘go with the flow’ and a little less ‘stick to the plan’.

This was one of those moments and it turned out to be amazing.  Max had a fantastic summer in Quebec and we formed a strong bond with our exchange student Vincent, from Quebec, who lived with us.

When Max was back in August, we had given up on having a family vacation that year until Ingrid saw something online about Virgin America flying from Seattle to San Fran on some promo run.

We talked and then went for it.

On a whim, we got 4 tickets, flew to San Fran and then drove down the coast to Southern Cal for a week at a beachside hotel.

It was awesome.

We re-connected as a family with Max back after his summer adventure and we were able to enjoy one of those moments in time that will be with us forever.

I love these shots of the boys during that week.

As I look back, I will be forever grateful for my wife and sons and our ability to go for it and create these amazing memories.