Memory Lane

I was looking through some old photographs the other day and came across a few that I felt were truly blog-worthy. During the fall of 2005, my siblings and I came up with an idea for the "perfect" Christmas gift for Grandma and Grandpa - a large photo of the grandkids to hang on their wall. Lisa called a photographer who agreed to take action shots of the kids playing in her backyard. Perfect, we thought - the kids won't even realize he's there and it will be easy to get some terrific shots of the cousins having fun.

Well, let's just say it didn't exactly work out that way. Below you will find a photographic summary of our evening...

As soon as the camera equipment was out, Ellie, Lauren, and Lexi decided they wanted nothing to do with this strange man out in the backyard. So we decided to start slowly with the few cooperating kids. Watch Abby's face for the evolution of a tantrum:

Megan, Conner and Jack: "This is cool, we can be cute."

Abby: "Huh?"

Megan: "It's okay Abby, let me show you how it's done."

Abby: "I don't think I like this."

Jack: "I'm ready. I'm cute. Get on with it already."

Abby: "I see my mommy and she's not holding me."

Conner: "What the heck is wrong with that kid?"

Photographer: "I give up."

Maybe you've caught on already that it was my kid causing most of the problem. Ben and I decided to try her favorite activity to cheer her up: "One, two, three, SWING!"

That didn't work.
Maybe a quiet talk with Mommy will do the trick.

Finally, Lauren, Lexi, and Ellie agreed to have their photo taken. We tried a group shot.

Lauren: "I agreed to sit on your lap. I said nothing about showing my face."

Abby: "Haven't I been through enough tonight?"

Conner: "I think I'll sneak in a quick smooch."

Lauren: "I don't care about bribes. I will NOT show my face."Jack and Ellie: "One, Two, Three, LEVITATE!"

I should be fair, some of the kids were incredible and we did manage to get a few classic shots like this one.
Two hours, 215 photographs, and one incredibly patient photographer later, and we still didn't have the perfect shot. In the end, Ben worked some Photoshop magic and inserted happy faces to create the photo that is proudly displayed on Grandma's wall. I hope that after reading this blog, Grandma and Grandpa, you have a renewed appreciation for that gift. (Don't expect an updated one anytime soon...)