FAMILY REUNION | Beaver Creek Colorado

We finally adventured out of the cave we have created in our home a few weeks ago for the first time since Lila was born. It was well needed! Every 5 years the Twogood side of our family has a big family reunion. (Yes, my maiden name really is Twogood for those of you who didn’t know that. Feel free to insert your best joke here) This year we actually all gathered back at the same location we had it in 2005. Really, how can you not fall in love with Beaver Creek, Avon, and Vail and  not want to go back? So we did. All 60+ of us, Twogood’s all around! Sort, tall, big, small… You name it. It is kind of oddly funny to see everyone in one location. Apparently we’ve all got some pretty strong genes we are rocking. Everyone prety much looks alike. And I will admit, yes, we were the huge family that all had matching tee shirts. They were great though. On the Back was a picture of Great Grandpa Harley and Great Grandma Margaret with all of the names of our entire family in order of age. It was really cool to see such a long list! And if you can imagine this, color coded Twogood’s… It’s quite a sight!!

Once we arrived we were welcomed by these super cute welcome canvas totes. (Thanks Wendy!) Included was of course our tee shirts, a recap book of the 2005 reunion, Great Grandpa Harley’s favorite sweet, the weeks to-do, and fun events to partake in. Okay, let me inter a little bit of some back ground info here: Jake and I had been dating for 4 month when the 2005 reunion came around. So what’s a girl to do when she has this super cute boyfriend (who’s  entire family you can count on two hands) and my totally large, maybe even slightly overwhelming family coming into town…? Yep, you guessed it. Drag him along! He was a great sport in spite of the fact that my Grandpa keep calling him “Chocolate Cake Jake”. (Our first date was on my birthday and being the wonderful guy he is, he made me a cake. I told my mom, she told my dad, dad mentioned something to Grandpa, and from there it’s over. If Grandpa knows, everyone knows.) I guess we didn’t scare him off too badly though! Five years later, we are celebrating three years of marriage and our new little one.

One may not be really able to grasp what it is like having all of your relatives in one room together, but I can tell you we had some amazing food, a million laughs, and some pretty mean Farkle tournaments. Everyone was finally able to meet Lila too. Which was so wonderful. Although she will not remember it, having the memories and the photographs capturing all the love she was getting is precious to us. Lila was even able to spend some snuggle time with her Great Grandma. I hope Lila will treasures the pictures she has of them together. While Great Grandma and Grandpa were busy snuggling, we actually snuck away for a little day date. This was our first time away from Lila since she arrived in May. It was overdue and we really enjoyed spending the time together just us.

We started out by renting a paddle boat and cruising on the pond for a little while before driving into Beaver Creek. Where we window shopped, had a super yummy lunch and then… Gelato!!! This was my first experiences with Gelato. Um yes, apparently I live under a rock that does not involving tasting yummy frozen treats. Can we say D.E.L.I.S.H!! Not to mention the most AMAZING, stuffed with something even more amazing, covered in chocolate croissant. (Hello. My name is Melissa and I am a sweets junky.) Trust me when you see the pictures you wont be able to resist agreeing with me. Ahhhhmazing. It was that good looking that I had to take pictures. It was our first date out, I had to document it! We wrapped up by walking around and just talking then we were approached by this awesome girl serving an entire tray of FREE warm cookies from the bakery. Free cookies…? Why thank you, I’ll have two! Thank you Grandma for letting us get out. We had a wonderful time reconnecting.

Lila had her first gondola ride too. And Jake, my dad, Uncle Chris and cousin Kendra powered down Vail mountain on mountain bikes with only minor battle wounds to show in the end. We shopped, laughed, bonded, snuggled, played, ate, ate, and ate, and just really enjoyed our time away relaxing. It was such a great time and I am already looking forward to the next one in 2015. I feel so blessed and loved to have such an amazing family who can take the time to travel from every corner to come together every few years. It was soooo great seeing everyone and I wish we could have stayed longer!! See you all next time!

*Thank you to my fantastic cousin Kyle and his wife Angela who are also photographers for taking all of the family pictures. Check them out at Viva Luma if you are in the Lees Summit, MO area!*

Melissa Beck is a professional Wedding Photographer and Engagement Photographer who has been featured on several blogs and publications.

Melissa Beck Photography is a Wedding Photography Studio specializing in Modern Wedding and Engagement photos in Maine, New England, Kennebunk, Portland, Freeport, Falmouth, Yarmouth, Cape Elizabeth, Denver,Colorado and the Rocky Mountains.

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