family photos 2017

Way back in October, we dressed the whole family up in matching outfits that I had spent hours shopping for and tried to make sure that they matched without being to matchy. We waited for a weekend that the weather would cooperate with us. We drove to a gorgeous little garden 40 minutes away, and then we tortured our children.  Oh wait, not tortured.  We just asked them to sit close to one another and smile.  But if you would have been watching the whole thing unfold, you would have thought maybe we were torturing them, based on the amount of complaining that could be heard, as well as the pained expressions on their faces that did not come close to resembling smiles.  Why do they have to make family pictures seem like such a terrible thing we are asking of them??

We asked Bart's sister Sadie to come along to take our pictures, or at least help me take them with the tripod and timer feature on my camera.  We're glad she was there to help.  At least she could be a witness to verify that what we were asking our children to do was reasonable and not child-abuse like they might claim it was.  Sheesh!!

 Despite the complaining, and bad attitudes, we were still able to coax a few good photos out of them.  At least enough to put on last December's Christmas card, and a few to print and frame for our walls.

I love these kiddos!

 Next time I think we are just going to do crazy photos because these are the only ones that my kids don't complain about.

(Look at that green grass!  It's the end of April and we are still so far away from having green grass this year.  I'm getting tired of waiting!)

I just love the way she is looking at me in this photo.  It inspires me to always try to be the best mom I can be for her!