Christmas Picture-ing

Today we attempted to take our family Christmas photo.  I say attempted because it is close to impossible to get seven people, five of whom are children, to look at the camera at the same instant... and smile...and not blink.

My sister, Kati, was our photographer and she has the patience of Job.  First Alaine was too shy to look at the camera and then Ben needed to leave to use the bathroom...and that was within the first five minutes.

 
Though it was warmer today than past Christmas photo days, it was breezy and the gusts were unpredictable. 

My youngest sister, Bekah, agreed to be photographer's assistant.  Her job was to do funny things to amuse the kids and get them to smile naturally.  She gets a prize for that! Her method of operation was to find unusual objects to place behind Kati's head.  First it was the droopy twigs that looked like antennae and then it was the large branch that turned Kati into a moose.  It ended with a prickly pine-cone that morphed Kati into a hedgehog or a porcupine-- it couldn't be agreed upon.  Bekah's method worked and instead of painted on smiles, we got loads of genuine giggles  so much so that the silliness oozed into the photos. 

          

It turns out that after weeding through the sour faces and the closed eyes and the turned heads and the talking lips, we have three equally great photos that we can't decide between.  Choices, choices, choices.

{Oh, and notice Brian didn't make the bloopers?  Apparently he has a talent for not looking goofy in pictures.} 

I'm a little weird about "revealing" our Christmas photo before I send it out in December {~kind of ruins the surprise~} so if you want to see our final pick, send me a quick e-mail and I'll add you to my e-mail list when I send our Christmas letter out next month.