time for a good ol’ fashioned new england clam bake! well, not really a clam bake in the stricktest sense since, we gathered in a backyard and not on a beach, but the celebration was certainly in the spirit of a traditional clam bake with lots of family enjoying lots of seafood and stories on a fine new england summer day.

no clam bake is complete without lobsters fresh from the bay!

and, mmmmm, clams steamed to perfection.

no, despite my best attempts, odin is not at all interested in playing with the crustaceans. in fact, he claims to like seafood at all!

adventures in family portraiture. so happy odin’s great grandmother could attend the clam bake and i could get a picture with her, odin and her newest great-grandchild, zachary.

odin and his great grandmother, affectionately known as gigi.

it’s been far too long since i’ve had the chance to get a picture of them together.

i came *this close* to getting a photo "for the ages" with zachary and gigi but zachary had other plans 🙂

25% silliness, indeed.

mmmm. even more perfectly steamed clams.

i just imagine why more folks don’t enjoy a fresh clam dipped in melted butter.

lobsters, steamed to perfection.

i actually prefer clams to lobster, but i’m certainly not going to turn down the tasty crustacean.

odin’s, uh, wants to make sure we know the lobsters are trying to escape.

i don’t know if it makes any difference, but i’m told placing the lobsters "head down" is the most humane method of steaming.

a couple of odin’s cute cousins are kind enough to stop racing about a nanosecond and pose for a photo. thanks!

nope, i’m not going to pass up an opportunity to get another photo of gigi and zachary.

who is this kid who looks far too old to be my baby boy?!

yup, again with gigi and zachary.

fun with toddler portraiture. the ol’ eat-the-fist pose.

zachary strikes a serious, thoughtful pose in the arms of his mother.

teh cuteness! zachary and his mother.