cape escape 2024
Phelps family reunion
If we're friends on Instagram you know that I've been planning this family reunion for literally two years. I had pictures of the cookies I wanted in the welcome bag saved in July of 2022. I spent countless hours researching the best place to stay, hours spent on Pinterest to find ideas for my welcome bags, hours spent figuring out who would sleep in which beach house, preparing the menu and putting food in my shopping cart saved for letter for easy access (only to have the app mess up and have to do it all over again and only to have it not actually check out after I put the credit card in so we had to just go shopping all in person), hours spent planning the itinerary and then stressing MAJORLY all weekend when things messed up or didn't go as I thought because I felt like it all fell on my shoulders since I planned it all. BUT in the end, we had an amazing time and I think everyone enjoyed it. We got to spend time together as a family and if you know me at all, you know that I believe that family comes first always.
I didn't get a great photo of what was in the welcome bags, but it included two cookies my mom made (a lobster and a lighthouse), one cookie that said "Cape Escape 2024" from our favorite, Doherty's Dough, a bag of cape cod chips, a fancy water, a bag of Scandanavian Swimmers gummies (lobsters, seahorses, dolphins and fish), and the welcome letter and itinerary. I was SO proud of these bags that I made with the Cricut! I mean I copied them almost exactly from a post I saw on Pinterest but I think they turned out so cute if I do say so myself and it was so fun surprising everyone with them waiting in their rooms! I also forgot to take a photo of the cute name tags I made for everyone's door but they were in the shape of whales and they were adorable.
We played games on the beach, swam in the frigid water (my dad even swam 1.2 miles in preparation for our open water swim and turns out he swam super close to a seal which means that sharks were probably not too far away...oops), played in the sand, flew kites, did Harry Potter trivia, played a Phelps Family Jeopardy game, listened to my Grandpa share a speech with us, ate lots of ice cream, and had an amazing time talking and getting to know everyone just a little better. My mom woke up everyday at 6 am so she could bake fresh loaves of Sourdough, she prepared all of our meals, and she cleaned up after everyone!! We literally couldn't have done this reunion without her!! It was only for a weekend but I couldn't be happier with how it all turned out in the end.
Part of the itinerary included extended family photos which I think turned out really well! Unfortanately because I was so busy preparing everything I didn't get ready in time for photos for our family so we did it a different day but ultimately we were rushed again so we only got a few - so just take that as a lesson on why it is SO worth it to pay a photographer to come take family photos because it is not quite the same when you try to do it yourself, even if you are a photographer yourself :D
If you're new here, Hi! I'm Taryn, your Central Massachusetts photographer specializing in timeless, true to life, vibrant images that are full of true confidence and joy and I am dedicated to help you experience it all as we take photos together. The blog is where I showcase some of my recent work and personal life images, so keep scrolling to see photos from our fun weekend and if you're interested in being a getting extended family photos for your own family, feel free to read more about the family photo experience HERE and contact me HERE to book!
Nauset Lighthouse
Family Photos
The Phelps Family
The Adams Family
The Gentry Family
The Ekins Family
