San Juan Family

San Juan Family is a creative visualization project by me, Lisa Russell.

Last autumn, our dreams of moving to the west side of the state were sidetracked and we find ourselves greeting summer in Yakima, for another segment of our lives.

A family vacation to the San Juan Islands has transformed us, and we are enchanted by the area.  Instead of focusing our efforts on the bustling big cities of Seattle and Tacoma, we’ve set a timeline and some concrete goals to move our family to the island. We love boating and country life and love the idea of being just a little boat ride away from Seattle, Vancouver, the Olympic Peninsula and Victoria. We loved the secluded island, the trees, and the simplicity of free, green living.

I am a writer by profession, a mom & wife by choice and an artist and researcher at heart.  I make a living writing web content & websites, so my job is mobile.  My husband is a director of photography for motion picture & video.  He’s mobile, too.  We’re eager about learning everything San Juan and indexing it here, for other families who plan to move to San Juan, or just to visit.

I taught my first art class for homeschoolers in 2000. In fact, I taught up until two days before my third daughter was born. I spent several years mothering without much art and I’m looking forward to immersing our family in the creative world as we prepare for our move to San Juan. When we arrive we’ll be opening a nonprofit art studio teaching classes for families and children.

To track our progress, we’ll be tagging each article about our family’s move with “personal,” in case you wondered.