If you’ve followed our wedding work for any length of time, you’ve definitely seen pictures from Tara and Ryan’s epic Downtown Club wedding. Since that wonderful day, with it’s fantastic people, Tara and Ryan have had two beautiful boys! Tripp and Ari. So, when Ashley and I thought about families we’d love to re-connect with, they came to mind immediately.
The catch: Tara and Ryan live in Virginia. And while I’m always down for a good road trip, I was spared the trek down south in favor of a trip to the Jersey Shore. Right before the pandemic reached the point of shut down, Tara’s parents had put the finishing touches on a beautiful Avalon cottage and, since they could work remotely, basically moved in. This lovely cottage was so homey and as the morning routine got started, it added to the excitement of a day at the beach.
Tara’s mom is called Gigi by the kids, and Gigi had put out the yummiest looking donuts. Of course, Tripp eschewed his bowl of cheerios and was rewarded with that sweet round O of delight. There is something so pure about a toddler enjoying a donut, am I right?
Once breakfast was completed, Ryan set to work gathering everything that the family needed to trek down to the beach. Coolers, sunscreen, towels, chairs, the whole nine yards. Tara got the boys into their swimsuits, and started loading them into the car.
A brief drive later, we were hauling everything onto the beach for a beautiful day. But first, sunscreen.
It’s an interesting thing about children, but sometimes they can LOVE the water, but they hate water that MOVES. Tripp is one of those kids. He loves playing in the water, but hates the waves. When Ryan walked him down to the ocean’s edge and set him down, he bolted back up to the chairs to play in the sand instead. That’s one of the beautiful things about these sessions. Proof that your kid used to do something that they’ll swear they never did.
Ryan is also a water lover, so he took Ari down to the edge and they played together almost the entire time. Tripp stayed glued to Tara and played in the sand. It’s always amazing how kids can tolerate sand getting literally everywhere. As an adult, we lose that tolerance very quickly.
After some sun and sand, it was time to say goodbye. But not before one last try to get Tripp in the ocean. Spoiler alert: it didn’t go well. But you can see that for yourself in the images.
I hope to be back photographing this lovely family soon!
