Every now and then, families gather.

Whether for birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, or other lovely events, people take time out of their schedules to be with each other.

They fly, drive, walk, or even hitchhike to be with those they call family.

Sometimes families get along perfectly; never fighting, never disagreeing, and always enjoying every moment in what seems like impossibly exhausting relationships.

But not every family is like that. (Thank goodness, right?)

Most families are just like the rest of us; choosing to love those we’re related to (or even not related to) for the sake of having people we belong with. So we claim them as our own.

We choose to love them despite differences, disagreements, and (maybe) not always enjoying every single moment together. (We can be honest about that, right?) :)

Because they’re our people. And that’s what family is for.

John and Victoria (and alllll the Friend fam), thank you SO much for deciding to capture the amazing gathering of all your people! It’s so fun to have everyone in one place and I absolutely loved getting to see and document the beautiful relationships you all have. I hope you’re soaking in all the time together! :)

They pull up and pile out of the car. Sometimes eager, sometimes anxious.

Excitement and a little bit of nerves always fills the space between us.

“Did we dress ok? Why is it so cold/hot/rainy/sunny? I’m nervous!”

These are usually things they say with their eyes instead of their lips.

They slowly settle into all forms of this-is-the-worst/lets-get-this-over-with/this-is-as-good-as-it-gets/this-might-be-more-fun-than-we-thought.

But the hour flies by while we snuggle, freeze our noses off, marvel at discarded animal body parts, avoid dying from nearby thorns…

And before you know it…

We’re picking up discarded books on the side of the road as souvenirs of our time together.

(We were convinced someone left the exact amount of books for each of them on purpose. We were also a little creeped about WHY and HOW.)

To the big, lovely, quirky, loud, obnoxious, and incredibly sweet group of people that is the Recod family - THANK YOU. I’m so incredibly grateful for our time together and the hilarious escapades we enjoyed together!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! :)