Our Family
- sarahwilk24
- Jan 1, 2023
- 11 min read
Updated: Jul 17
Our Family Tree
1,040 pieces | LEGO: 21346 (retired)
Assembled by Mike Alfare, December 2024
Interaction Rating: 3 / 5 (interaction with the set is okay, but only with help from an adult)
As Sarah and Hunter join their lives together, they are building a family tree of their own. Does this family tree mostly involve the two of them and various animals, including some that don't live with them? Absolutely. As you look at the Family Tree set from LEGO that they chose to represent them, notice the objects they included, like the Cheez-Its box (selected because their cat, Delilah, loves to crunch on a Cheez-It) and the 100 Grand bar (a delicacy Hunter had never tried before Sarah bought one for him). The picnic basket and blanket represent their fondness for a good picnic in the park, and the Guinness can and tap showcase Hunter's favorite beer as well as their mutual love for Ireland. The photos they chose include some with just the two of them, as well as some with their family and chosen family of friends. If you're at their wedding, you're part of their Family Tree, and they're grateful for you.
Sarah and Hunter
Sarah: 184 pieces | GiftGrove
Assembled by Hunter Williams, December 2024
Hunter: 122 pieces | GiftGrove
Assembled by Sarah Wilkinson, December 2024
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
No exhibit about "our family" is complete without the protagonists of this particular love story, Hunter and Sarah. The custom minifigures in the couple's likeness were a Christmas gift from Sarah to Hunter, purchased from Etsy using a photo Sarah sent in that showed the couple wearing matching shirts while posing with their nephew Andrew. (Sarah's hair and sweater were not the same color in the photo—the sweater was bright yellow for goodness' sake—but they've [mostly] gotten over it). What Sarah particularly likes about these minifigures is that her arms are comically longer than Hunter's and that her eyes suggest some truth to the theory that gingers have no souls. Too bad she's not a natural redhead! (But Hunter is...)
Cali
182 pieces | GiftGrove
Assembled by Hunter Williams, December 2024
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
Cali entered Hunter's life through his sister, Rachel. Cali knocked on her door one day in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (something that has happened to Rachel several times). When Rachel and her husband were moving away, they couldn't bear to leave Cali behind. When Hunter saw her little face in the cat carrier, he was done for, and he suddenly had a new cat. Cali is both a very sweet cat and also very stubborn, skittish, and spiteful (her weapon of choice is peeing on things). She was immediately accepting of Sarah when they first met at Hunter's apartment, despite her usual caution and slow trust. After she moved in with Hunter to Sarah and her mom's house, Cali immediately wanted to explore everything, though she was slow to warm up to Bonnie. After living in an interior apartment for 3 years, Cali fell in love with the screened porch, where she could hear birds and watch squirrels. Cali has developed the habit of climbing into Sarah's lap each night while she is occupied with Legos or her laptop, demanding pets by making hilarious squeaky sounds, even when Hunter is sitting beside her, perfectly unoccupied. But Cali doesn't want his pets. She wants Mom's pets. She's known to hold entire conversations with anyone willing to talk with her. When they go out of town, Cali always blames Hunter for their absence, ignoring him while cuddling up to Sarah. It makes Hunter quite happy to see how much Cali loves her, even if he missed being the only object of her affections.
Delilah
179 pieces | GiftGrove
Assembled by Hunter Williams, December 2024
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
Delilah was found in a bush as a kitten in Tupelo, Mississippi, by a co-worker of Hunter's. Someone else at his office joked that the co-worker should bring the cat and show it to Hunter, since he was a sucker for cats. That's what the coworker did, and it worked. Hunter went home with a new kitten, whom Cali raised. Delilah is the kind of cat that is fiercely loyal and loving to those she trusts, a circle she keeps small. Meanwhile, to those on the outside of her circle (everyone but Hunter and Sarah), Delilah can be a menace. She'll stare you down from the top of the stairs, hiss at you even as she tentatively rubs your leg to test you, and will vocally let you know when you have displeased her. She is very assertive of her boundaries, which probably explains why she has been disinvited from two different vet offices (so far). When Delilah, whom they affectionately call D, first met Sarah, she was suspicious. Sarah respected her boundaries and gained her trust exceptionally fast. D announced her acceptance one morning by cuddling up on Sarah's stomach while she slept (a moment Hunter caught on camera). When she moved into Sarah's house, she was overwhelmed by the change and didn't venture downstairs for a whole month. Now, she can't wait to get out of the bedroom each morning and has taken to ripping up the carpet under the door until they give in and let her out. D's favorite evenings are the ones where Hunter is not home, cherishing her special cuddle time with Sarah. Hunter completely acknowledges that D is now Sarah's cat, and should they ever divorce, that cat is not moving out with him. Most mornings, Sarah wakes up to cat whiskers in her nose because D is sleeping on her face.
Dink
188 pieces | GiftGrove
Assembled by Hunter Williams, January 2025
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
Just like Cali and Delilah, Dink was not adopted from a shelter. She showed up one day at the doorstep of the house where Sarah, her mom Bonnie, and sister Emma were all living at the time. She was chipped, but her previous owner denied knowing her when called, and she was injured on her hip, immediately causing the family to incur $500 in medical bills, which cemented their adoption of her. She is a vocal but incredibly sweet cat, and loves just about anyone. On early weekend mornings when Sarah was off volunteering with the Tree Stewards before they moved in together, Hunter and Dink would bond on the screened porch while Hunter enjoyed his coffee. When Hunter moved in with his cats, Dink was very accepting of them. She doesn't mind Cali and Delilah being around (and loves the opportunity to steal their food), but Cali is not a fan of her. Cali is so much of a non-fan that she initially peed frequently in Dink's spaces to make her distaste known (something she has fortunately stopped doing). Dink is playful and often wants to chase the other cats around, something they are not keen on. The most significant change since Hunter and his cats entered Dink's life is how much her relationship with Bonnie has grown, since Sarah is often busy with the other two cats now. On any given night that Bonnie is asleep on the couch in front of the TV, Dink can be found curled up in a ball on her stomach, both of them snoring just a little bit.
Ryder
75 pieces | LEGO: 30666 (retired)
Assembled by Hunter Williams, October 2024
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
Ryder was rescued from the Richmond Animal League in 2013, when he was approximately two years old. He was a "sorry your parents are getting a divorce" dog for Sarah's sister Emma (who was eight at the time), and came from an abusive home. He was so traumatized at first that he wouldn't eat when anyone else was in the room with him, and was terrified of men. By the time Hunter came into Ryder's life, he was elderly and had done a lot of healing, but still wasn't too fond of men. Hunter changed that for Ryder, developing a special bond through their walks together and Hunter's delicious cooking. Ryder was known to hang out in the kitchen anytime food was being prepared, and Hunter liked to get down on his level and let Ryder head-butt "hug" into his chest. It was very sweet to watch Ryder learn to trust Hunter in this way. His favorite thing was going on long walks with both Hunter and Sarah. If Hunter tried to leave the house before Sarah was ready, Ryder would wait right outside the front door for her. Once she came out, he would gleefully run up the porch steps and pull them towards the lake near their house. As Ryder got older, the walks grew shorter, but they were still cherished. In January 2024, the couple had to say goodbye to their sweet boy, who was in too much pain to stand up on his own anymore. He was the best boy, a sweet and gentle soul. They miss him very much.
Our House
696 pieces | ENJBRICK: 1026
Assembled by Hunter Williams, November 2024
Interaction Rating: 4 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged, but use extra care)
Sarah and her mom, Bonnie, purchased their house in the Brandermill neighborhood of Midlothian, Virginia, in October 2021. Four months later, Sarah matched with Hunter on Bumble, and 11 months after that, Hunter moved into their house with his two cats. Neither Sarah nor Bonnie expected this turn of events. Fortunately, the layout of the house worked as well as anyone could have hoped to accommodate their inter-generational living situation. Bonnie's bedroom is on the first floor, and Sarah and Hunter's room is on the second, with each having their private bathroom and space. Through Sarah's closet, there's a secret door leading to a walk-in attic. It's a fully finished room with new carpeting and a stained glass window (they don't talk about the child's handprint that's also on the glass). The only downside is that the ceiling is sloped, so you can only stand up fully in part of the room. The attic was full of stuff when Hunter first moved in, but it all lives in a storage unit now, and the room has been transformed into an office, cat den, and crafting space for Hunter. It is a little ironic that the person who is six feet tall has the room with the shortest ceiling, but considering he wasn't in the picture at all when the house was purchased, he can count himself lucky to have any space to call his own. Plus, his monthly expenses decreased by half (everything is less expensive when split three ways!). Their blended family may be untraditional in American culture. Still, they make it work (even with the seemingly endless roof repairs and mold remediation that they've been dealing with for well over a year).
Snap
230 pieces | GiftGrove
Assembled by Hunter Williams, May 2025
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
Early in the relationship, as Hunter started coming around more often, the neighborhood cat, Snap, became fond of Hunter. When Hunter would park his car at Sarah's house and Snap was nearby, he would come running to get a head scritch before Hunter went inside to get his own head scritch from Sarah. Snap is a beautiful, all-white cat who lives primarily outdoors, as far as they can tell. They used to think he belonged to their next-door neighbor, but one day he vanished, and it was about three or four months before they saw him again, this time at the other end of their cul-de-sac. The couple ran into the owner of the home Snap tends to hang out in front of, and he confirmed that Snap hasn't always been his cat. There's a black cat that Snap befriended, and since the black cat lives on that end of the cul-de-sac, now Snap lives there too and adopted the family living in the nearest house (putting out food surely helped). Snap doesn't come to their part of the neighborhood as often now, though they still see him when they go for walks to the park. Snap is an attention-lover. He occasionally lets Hunter pick him up. Snap is one of Hunter's top five favorite cats in his life, and the list of cats he knows is quite long, so this is a very distinguished honor. It makes Snap an honorary member of the family.
Noodle
174 pieces | LEGO: 40707 (retired)
Assembled by Hunter Williams, June 2025
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
Hunter misses Noodle, who was a short-term member of the household in the summer of 2024. He was a small garter snake who made his home right outside the front door in a crack in the foundation under the house, nestled in the gravel flowerbed. He had his neck sticking out of his hole much of the time, watching them as they watched him from inside the house. He would pull back a little when they went outside, crossing right in front of him, but he didn't disappear entirely, always watching. There was one morning when Sarah almost stepped on him as he was making his way back to his hole, presumably from a stint of hunting. One day, he had vanished, never to return or be seen again. He did not stay long, though he will stay forever in their hearts.
That Damn Bird
102 pieces | HSANHE: 30003-6
Assembled by Sarah Wilkinson, April 2025
Interaction Rating: 4 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged, but use extra care)
An honorary member of Sarah and Hunter's family is a male Eastern Bluebird who started tapping on every set of windows around their house that it could reach while flying at top speed. It started around the beginning of March 2025 when Sarah, who works from home, noticed a bird with striking blue feathers flying fast into her office window feet-first, making a loud tapping noise before pushing off and flying away. Then it did the same thing in the dining room, the living room, on their bedroom windows, and the guest room windows. Just flying around the house, tapping on windows, day after day, as soon as the sun was up until it went down. Tap tap tap. Hanging stuff in the windows didn't dissuade it. Banging on the window from the inside only made it take rest on a nearby tree, head cocked to the side. Even the cats staring and pouncing at it from inside the windows didn't stop it from coming around and trying to break into the house (or mate with its reflection? They aren't sure what it was trying to accomplish). Sarah and Hunter named him Kevin, and since he wants to be part of their family so badly, they'll allow it.
That Damn Squirrel
129 pieces | HSANHE: 30003-4
Assembled by Sarah Wilkinson, May 2025
Interaction Rating: 4 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged, but use extra care)
March 13, 2025
On a random Thursday while working from home, Sarah went to the kitchen to put away her lunch dishes and spotted Cali outside on the screened porch sitting on a tall bar stool, gaze fixed on something near the ceiling. Sarah opened the door to ask Cali what she was staring at, but Cali didn't even turn around at the sound of the door. Upon closer inspection of the ceiling, Sarah spotted a squirrel sitting on top of one of the wooden crossbeams. The screened porch is, in theory, supposed to be sealed from top to bottom. They'd come outside the week before to notice that some compost scraps they'd left out on a table in the screen porch had been picked at. They figured one of the cats had done it, but seeing the squirrel made Sarah realize it was actually a squirrel (the cats aren't interested in fruits and vegetables). Sarah shooed Cali inside and retreated to a dark corner of the living room, where Sarah tried to watch the squirrel to identify where the screens needed patching. But the squirrel seemed to know she was still watching, and just kept hanging out on the crossbeam. Sarah had to give up after a while to get back to work, and when she came back out to check an hour later, the squirrel was gone. The squirrel is lucky it survived Cali, who is a known killer. The couple named the squirrel Munchee. Cali scared Munchee something fierce, as they never saw it come back inside, even though they forgot to patch the screen for weeks afterward.
Hunter and Sarah at Sunday Park. It's a five-minute walk from their house to the water.
Their house <3 Shout-out to Bonnie for always keeping it looking nice on the outside.
Cali being adorable and cuddly.
Delilah being adorable and cuddly.
Dink being adorable and cuddly.
From his first photo with Hunter to his last, Ryder made their lives brighter and helped them get outside. He is missed.
Cali talked a big game and had them believing she didn't like Ryder, but when he was gone, they caught her rubbing her face against his collar and laying on his water bowl mat. She misses him too.
Their beloveds are so sweet and playful with each other.
Snap enjoying some Hunter snuggles. Noodle poking out from his hidey-hole. Kevin tapping at the top left side of the middle window pane. Munchee hanging out on the middle support beam while Cali stares at him from a chair.
Didn't believe them when they said Delilah loves the crunch of a Cheez-It? Here's the proof. She will take a Cheez-It over lunch meat any day.