three

in spite of attempting all week to catch the traditional stair step cousins picture again, it still had to be influenced in order to occur. there were a few semi-finalists that would have been okay in a pinch… one hurdle to achieving a certain photo is that these are three sentient beings with relatively unbroken wills. when trying to influence the photo on numerous occasions, one boy would invariably walk the opposite direction, or pull the classic lay down on the grass to spite the photographer move. those photos will be cherished and chuckled at by the parents and grandparents, i am sure.

another “issue” was that quinn kept ending up in the center of all the organic photos, which is sweet and speaks to his sense of belonging right in the thick of things as a cousin, it just didn’t make the age/height order thing happen as readily. still, freestyle jedis and apple pickers in red white and blue shirts are their own brand of wonderful.

and so, to review….

the original from may 2013, that inspired this whole tradition

october 2014

august 2015

and this year’s finalist… september 2016

one of the most exciting things about this year’s trip was that we got to meet two more cousins, but because they are foster cousins, much discretion with photography must be exercised. so for now, we will maintain the tradition as a cousin trio, but know that in our hearts there are really five kids in a row walking in those new york fields. quinn’s cousin quintet, we might call it.