Have you seen the June issue of Martha Stewart Living yet? I'm so excited to share that my family is in this issue, featuring one of our (now famous!) Hellewell family reunions. You can meet my cute mom and dad, my siblings and their spouses, my nieces and nephews, my kids, and even my sweet grandma.
I have great memories of attending family reunions with my dad's extended family when I was a kid, up at the Baxter cabin with all my cousins and aunts and uncles. Now we get together with my parents, and my kids get to run around with their cousins and enjoy the same traditions: the Hellewell Family Olympics, the grandparents walk, dinners outside, games of croquet on the lawn, and late night story telling.
(How cute is my mom? Can you tell her grandchildren LOVE her?)
We shot the story last September, when baby M was just 8 weeks old (so some of this shoot is a bit of a blur to me!). My friend Marcie McGoldrick, who is now the Crafts Editor at Martha Stewart, came out to Utah to help produce the story, along with fellow crafter Shane Powers. Marcie, Shane and I all worked on Martha Stewart Living together years ago, so it was a fun reunion in more ways than one.
Photographer Francesco Lagnese took some beautiful pictures, and even got to try his first root beer float during the shoot. You can see more pictures on his website, just look under the Kids tab, and then go to "Family, Friends + Apples" for a slideshow which includes several photos that didn't make the final story.
You can read more about all our traditions on Martha's site (like these shirts for the kids that show their birth order) in this little guide about planning a family reunion. You can even download the t-shirt and award certificate designs. And my dad is pretty excited that they included his recipe for homemade applesauce.
We are in the midst of planning our next reunion, which will take place this summer in Southern California. Looking back at this story reminds me that it's the simple traditions that make reunions special, not the grand gestures. We're planning on days at the beach, late night card games, outdoor movie night, and cooking s'mores on the bonfire. I can't wait to see all my family together, even if it's just for a few days!