Meet Our Families

Our family and friends are so very important to us. While Nina comes from a medium-size family, Galen has quite a large and diverse extended family—his parents have 11 siblings between them, so he has 17 aunts and uncles, nearly 30 cousins, and all the children of those cousins! One of our favorite summer traditions is attending an annual family reunion where we get to reconnect with them for an extended weekend!

Galen’s Family

Whenever we get out of town to see Galen’s family, we always have some sort of outdoor adventure: hiking, skiing, canoeing, or swimming. Whether at the family’s lakeside cabin or at their village home, there’s always lots of singing around a fire. And they have a wonderful tradition of harmonizing Christmas carols around the piano on Christmas Eve, followed by sharing eggnog and poppyseed cake.

Here is Galen with two cousins peeling apples for apple pie.
Nina and Galen taking a mid-winter walk in rural New Hampshire with Galen’s parents and brother.

Nina’s Family

Here we are with Nina’s family, cooking with Nina’s brother and his wife.

With Nina’s family, we enjoy other holidays and special events. We chat, look through photos, tease each other, and reminisce. Galen and Nina usually bring the soup and a dessert, even though Nina’s mom always provides “enough food to feed an army,” as she likes to say. Often Nina’s best friend shows up with something delicious as well. Sometimes Nina’s brother brings his guitar, or somebody sits down at the piano, or we all just sing along with the radio.

Nina laughing with her mom, grandmother, and brother.

Our Cats!

Clyde and Elliott visiting Galen’s parents.

Here are our two sweet cats, Clyde and Elliott. They spend lots of time playing and napping, wrestling and snuggling, and grooming themselves and one another. They especially love cuddles, belly rubs, sunbathing, and, most importantly, eating treats!

Check out some more photos below!

Galen, his dad, and his brother building the family's lakeside cabin.

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