Each year at the end of June my dad’s side of the family has a reunion. I look forward to these four days every year because it’s the only time I get to see most of my cousins. You see, there are about 280-300 of us who attend each year – our reunions are no picnic in the park. đ When your family is good about tracking your family history and updating the family tree, this is what happens! And of course, that means it’s the perfect opportunity for family photos with everyone together.
This June we were at the Tamaya Resort & Spa in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico (just outside of Albuquerque), and I was so lucky to photograph a few of my cousins’ families. Here are some of my favorites…
Ted and Penny…oh my goodness, aren’t they just the cutest couple ever!! I want to do a whole session with them! Even though they live in Seattle, I see them usually just in June. I remember meeting Ted when I was very little but not really understanding who he was or why he was even talking to me (as a small child in a ginormous family things can be confusing! ha). He would come say hi and tell me jokes, and this has always stood out to me and endeared him to me. Thankfully, I have long since figured out who he is. đ
Marie. Ohhhhh, Marie. She’s glorrrrrious. I photographed her wedding in Puerto Rico in March of 2013. We’re totally soul sisters. We actually didn’t meet until we were 13, but quickly bonded over basketball, boy stories, dancing, and our insatiable laughter. She also comes from a big family, whom I just love. And her hubby, Ron – he’s hilarious. His Arnold Schwarzenegger impression is spot on.
Marie is an acupuncturist and wanted some head shots for her future website and other social media. But of course, she’s so friggin’ gorgeous that it turned into a mini portrait session with her and Ron. đ
Quintessential TB & Mer. <3 (P.S. She’s not actually taller than me – she’s just wearing some killer heels!) đ Ron snapped these for us, yay!
The McCullochs…aren’t they charming! And so talented. My cousin Laura was a competitive synchronized swimmer for years, and she and her husband Jeff are amazing ballroom dancers. Ryan just got married a few days ago (woot woot!). And Kyle has won an Oscar and a VESÂ for his work on the movie Gravity…no big deal.
Here’s the Parks clan! What a fun bunch of people. And the New Mexico sunset was downright swoonworthy. I want to photograph a wedding at Tamaya Resort & Spa sooOoOoOoOooo badly.
Sad that cousin MaryAlice wasn’t able to make it…one more gorgeous girl in that family!
Daughters Elizabeth and Haley both said that their parents never get nice photos together, so I was really glad to capture them laughing together and clearly adoring each other!
Miss Haley…can’t believe it’s been nearly two years since we had her senior portrait session. You’re stunning, lady!
Elizabeth is a med student at UW…which I didn’t realize until a few months ago when we saw each other playing intramural basketball at the IMA! Ha! She’s wicked brilliant and I know she’s gonna be an awesome doctor in a few years!
This was the first time I met this bit of the Parks family…they live in New Jersey and this was their first reunion! One of the highlights of the weekend was when Andrew graced us with his rendition of “Make Someone Happy” from the Broadway musical “Do Re Mi.” I nearly cried it was so good. He’s an actor and singer, and I sure hope that he’ll be performing more at our reunions!
I think Andrew and Janet are so lovely together!
Natalie is such a sweetheart. I wish she didn’t live all the way in New Jersey cuz I’d love to take her senior photos in a few years! đ
The Parks siblings!
I’ll finish up with this batch of photos of my immediate extended family (I don’t know if that’s a thing but it is here!). This is my dad (far left) and four of his five siblings. (Aunt Edee couldn’t make it, but one day I hope to get a photo of all six of them!) I just love these people. All do such very different things but at their core is their love of family. I also enjoy seeing the different ways they remind me of my Granny B and Gramps (who passed away several years ago), in both their appearances and their mannerisms, and how much my cousins and their kids look like their parents and our grandparents…I don’t know, it’s a very simple thing to think about, but it means a lot to me. It means connection. And legacy, in a sense. We live on through the generations. I think it’s really special.
Nathan and Ingrid. Ingrid and I are six months apart and spend many childhood days together. She’s a curator at MoMA in New York, holler! Nathan is an artist, a musician, a director, a writer, lots of other things, and ridiculously funny. For not being born into the family, it is uncanny how much he can remind me of my grandpa with the way he plays music and tells stories! He’s also super innovative – you should read about his TELEPHONE experiment!
Some of my favorite people in the world!! Graham, Kendall, and Finley. Isn’t Finley’s little pigtail the cutest! My gosh. Graham & Kendall live in Seattle so we get together every few months or so, whether it’s for me to photograph Finley (have yet to blog those photos, but I’ll get there!), to make pizza from scratch, to learn about how they maintain their chicken coop, or to harass each other whenever my Huskies and their Cardinal (a color?! that’s not even a mascot! and that goofy tree??) face off. đ I could listen to Graham talk or read his writing all day. He (and his dad) can speak and write in ways that you don’t see often these days. I don’t know how to describe it, but Graham’s Christmas cards are the best. I think he’s hilarious! He grew up in Maine, which means I didn’t get to see him often when we were growing up, so I’m so glad he and Kendall moved to Seattle so that we can make jokes about our family together. đ And Kendall is a rock star athlete and teacher. Ah! They’re just so great.
Quinner-winner! Quinny the Pooh! One of my sweet nieces (I have four now!), Quinn, and her godfather, James. Aren’t they precious together.
Final photo. đ This is a big chunk of my extended family, my aunts, uncles, first cousins… A cousin took this one for us, and I love seeing so many of us together. I love my families!
