We visited the Great Lakes State earlier this month for my family’s reunion. Much of the annual weekend is spent lounging on the beach, catching up with aunts, uncles and cousins, and sipping on the various “drinks of the day.” It’s fan-tastic!

This year we took time out to shoot some new portraits of my cousin’s family to commemorate the addition of Baby Harper. The short walk from the cottage to the beach and back provided a handful of settings and enough time to capture a lovely summer collection. The morning light, the breeze off Lake Michigan and the sun-kissed faces were icing on the cake. Here’s a sample of the collection…

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My mother’s side of the family rallied for the weekend to start a new family reunion tradition at my uncle’s cabin off Lake Michigan. It was a great opportunity to return to my roots and induct GR into the family. The weather was perfect, the food amazing, the drinks…well, they worked.

On Saturday night, we loaded up and traveled to nearby Shelby, Mich., to the Cherry Point Farm and Market for their famous fish boil! Yes, I said boil. In the South, they fry fish — and apparently in the North it’s boiled. It was a fantastic meal. I can’t wait ’til next year!