There is not enough words for me to express how awesome this family is. I grew up with the Merrill family, grew up babysitting these kids when they were tiny and they would scream bloody murder from mom leaving. Look at how grown up this group is now! The Merrill family makes a trip to Sunriver every year. It's a tradition they have had for a long time and I remember before we moved here hearing about this "Sunriver" place but really having no idea where that was and why you would want to go there and then when I found out we were moving to Bend, Emily reached out to me and basically telling me how close Sunriver was to Bend lol to do their pictures while they were here. Unfortunately with the pandemic and some of the family actually catching covid, this session and trip got postponed til 2021 and it was wonderful.

Sunriver is just about 25 minutes outside of Bend. It is a great area with tons of vacation rentals, cabins and air b&b's to come unplug for a few days. The Deschutes River is very close, tons of trails for hiking and biking is another fun thing to do there. Sunriver is covered in bike baths and the tourist shops offer bike rentals for you. There are horse back riding rentals and then you have access to the Deschutes Forest and Bend close by as well. There is a water park only for the Sunriver residents and those who stay at the lodge. I have met so many awesome families this summer who Sunriver is their normal spot for vacationing every year and I am starting to get the hype!! So if you are looking for a new spot to check out for a family vacation, make it Sunriver!

The Merrill Family is a big crew, there are so many different and fun personalities in this group and extended families can be intimidating to some but to me, I thrive off the chaos of a big group and all the different ages and relationships. I LOVED how the Merrill's dressed. All the light colors and simple patterns balanced each other out so well. The day we took these pictures it was 105 degrees outside. YIKES. But you wouldn't even know. These guys were troopers and we knocked out all the combinations we needed in an hour.

If you are coming to Sunriver and need a photographer, please reach out to me! I'd love to document your time here.