Family Pics '09

I spent a few hours this week editing some pics I took for my cousin's family and a few remaining for my sister's family. I started thinking about our family pictures and decided we really needed to update it. So, about midnight as we were heading to bed I mentioned it to Mike; he agreed. I said, "Great! So, can we take those tomorrow?" He mumbled a yes as he drifted off to sleep.

Sunday morning he got us donuts for breakfast and we (and I actually mean "we"!) worked on closing up the pool and getting the yard prepared for fall. I think he thought I had forgotten about his agreement the night before because when we finished and I said, "So, can we go take those pictures?" he just looked at me like he couldn't believe I'd been serious.

I had already been in the house on my break time and scoured our closets. I pulled out four sweaters I thought would look good together and we all got ready. Nothing like a little forethought, huh?

We were originally going to head to Bush Lake where I took my cousin's pictures last week. But, on the way I decided we should head to Hyland Park instead. It turned out to be a nice spot.

For family pictures, I pose the other three, snap a couple practice shots to try and get exposure right, then set the timer and run in. The picture below is so you can get an idea of what I had run into each time:

A huge pile of rocks. I had on boots - with heels. I was also about 15 feet away from them. Turns out I had about 20 beeps of the camera to run through grass, jump the rocks, figure out how to sit at an odd angle, get my sweater nicely aligned, hair out of my face, necklace in place and put smile on my face. It was their jobs to count the beeps...I started really scrambling around "17".

I didn't make it on this one. I'm not holding on to be romantic. I was about to fall backwards into either the rocks or water. Notice everyone else holding their pose though; well trained.

We are still working with Jake on what constitutes an acceptable smile. Though occasionally appropriate for him, the "Devil Eyebrow" thing doesn't work for me. It also doesn't help that I picked the wrong spot on the rock and look like I cut and pasted myself into this family shot.

Then there was this pose Mike finally noticed. Afterward he said, "Jake...you look like an old man like that. Don't cross your legs like that."

And when I got home and looked at the picture I started laughing because it is EXACTLY how my grandpa used to sit in his living room chair. Except grandpa did it wearing white dress shoes that were about 20 years old and super scuffed up. But the crossed arm thing? Totally my grandpa.

Then we hit a wall with Jake. After a few non-smile pictures I asked if he was done with smiling for the day. He whined that he was smiling so I pulled him over to look at the picture because I had PROOF that he wasn't. He looked at the camera and said, "That's not how I was smiling when you took the picture!"

Even with concrete proof it's his way or the highway. This was the picture I showed him.

It was our last picture.

I took 35 pictures total. We were battling a sky that couldn't decide between overcast and sunny. We ended up with a couple usable ones. Enough to at least update what we had.

And this last one? Jake's face is completely Photo-shopped. A mom always gets her way.