If you are a member of a large family, then you know just how much of a chore it can be to snap that perfect reunion photo! Even if you do manage to get all of the kiddos to cooperate (good luck), it’s difficult to create any sort of cohesive theme.

Because we know that those portrait struggles are real, we just had to share this family’s brilliant way of showing who’s who in their annual photo. Here’s how they did it…

Look closely at the photo at the top of this article—notice anything special about what all of those cute kids are wearing? That’s right, there are 5 different colors featured—blue, white, pink, green, and purple, with each shirt displaying a different number.

All of these children are actually first cousins that came from five separate siblings. Each color represents an individual family, while the numbers signify the birth order. How smart is that?!

This incredible shot was recently taken during a summer beach trip, something that Chrissy Roussel (the resident family blogger) reported as being “fun,” even though the parents of the 17 kids were rather “sleep deprived” by the time they all packed up to go home. We don’t blame them one bit!

The clever photo has managed to create quite the stir on social media, with even Ashton Kutcher (random, right?!) giving this family props for their inventive picture posing skills.

 

A family experiences high highs and low lows

As it turns out, this big family isn’t just catching people’s attention because of their endearing color-coded shirt shot; their backstory is equally as impressive.

On Chrissy’s (mother of the “pink kids”) blog, Roussel Six Pack, the mother of six describes the miraculous and tragic chain of events that lead to her family expanding very quickly over the past few years.

You see, Chrissy and her husband already had their hands full with three toddlers, when her father died unexpectedly in 2014. About a month after the beloved patriarch passed away, she discovered that the she was pregnant… with triplets!

Within weeks of getting word of the blessed news, two of Chrissy’s sisters-in-law had found out that they were pregnant, as well, which meant that FIVE new infants were going to be welcomed into the already large family by the year’s end.

Chrissy took these pregnancies as signs from her late father, Frederick. As the toddlers have grown (they are all 2 ½ now), the tight-knit clan has gotten into the habit of referring to these cute cousins as the “Frederick Five.”

Since these miraculous births, Chrissy has taken to her blog to share the highs and lows that this family has experienced over the past three years. She writes:

I know that all of us, when we see the 17 grandkids together, are thinking about my dad. We know how proud he would’ve been to see them all together, laughing and having fun. Even more we know he’d be so proud that all those kids are such kind, thoughtful, and generous people, thanks in large part to my parents’ lesson and love.

What an amazing story! We’ve gotta admit—we may just steal this picture idea for our next reunion.

What do you think of this color-coded family photo? Have you ever done anything similar? Do you have any tips for achieving the perfect reunion portrait?