Family Pictures….. ugh.

This pretty well sums up our family picture attempt.  We laughed.  We cried. It moved us, Bob.  (sorry… Veggietales does it to me every time.)  The sun was too bright.  The shadows were too dark.  We squinted too much. And on and on.

It started at 10 a.m. when I realized that it was the only day in the following six that we had a chance to take a family picture when the sun was still up in the sky.  I picked light blue for everyone to wear… but this did not go down without major whining from the chillins.  Good grief. Calm Down.  We did have to borrow a shirt for Larisa from her cousin… and jeans for Keeve from his cousin.  I’m very thankful our cousins live across the street and are relatively the same sizes as most of my kids!  Also, my sister-in-law, Julie took the photos for us. 

After the clothing issue was settled (at least in my mind) and the fronts of all the shirts were ironed…. we moved on to hair.  Two haircuts were had by the shaggiest members of the clan. And showers were had by most.  By then it was noon.  Off to the park… where the sun was shining so brightly we could barely open our eyes.  It was awesome!  Not really.

That was as good as that pose got after 17 tries…. good grief. Calm down.  The shadows were just too harsh and we moved to the shade, much to my husband’s chagrin as he loves sending pictures of green grass in December to his friends and family in the frozen north.  We moved to the back of the community center cement sign… so it looks like we’re in the hood.

Finally, at least most of us are smiling half-normally.  And a family photo shoot would not be complete without some planking……

2:00.  Bam!  Family pictures done for another 12 months.  Only took four hours.

Random Photos

I was uploading pictures off my camera yesterday and came across some interesting photos.  Here is a picture of our dog, Trixie, on top of the TV cabinet…. six feet up in the air.  Poor dog. 

I haven’t figured out why my kids take pictures of stuff they shouldn’t be doing?  Don’t they realize that it is my camera?  Who do they think is going to download the pictures???  I thought they were smarter than this, but obviously not.

Happy New Year Twenty-Ten!

We started the New Year with Nikander family pictures with the whole crew.  My sister’s family is only down here in the desert every other Christmas, so we take advantage of every blinkin’ minute.  We’ve done red, white and black…. blue and browns… and this year black, white and hot pink.  We actually had everyone participate with the correct colors this year!  There’s a first time for everything!  We’ve come a long way, baby, because this was the first year we did not have to schedule pictures around naptime!  Whoopie!

I always try to make sure we have pictures of each kid individually with Rick and I as well as their grandparents.  Neither Rick or I have photos like that from our families.  There’s the odd one, but nothing like our kids will have.  We almost succeeded yesterday, but with 17 people wandering around, we did miss a few.  I’m not sure why I think it’s so important to have those mom/kid pictures, but I do love having them down the road at scrapbook time.  Call me a sentimental fool… and I’ll gladly agree.

This one has been my favorite since we started this pose with daddy and daughter about eight years ago.  So cute to see our little girl turn into an amazing woman of God!  We are so blessed.

One more and I’ll be done…..

It seems Rick and I are getting shorter and shorter.  This may be our last New Year picture without a kid taller than us.  Time is sure flying while we are having fun!

Make 2010 a great year!

My Husband’s Cell Phone Photos

I’m not sure why it just happened.  I’m not sure how it happened.  I’m not even sure what happened.  But four years worth of pictures from my husband’s cell phone just appeared in our computer’s picture file.  It was an entertaining trip for me down memory lane.  A guy’s cell phone pictures really tell the heart of the man like no other.  Please try and stick it out to the end….  a photo montage of Rick’s most important moments, captured on his cell phone!  (Feel the excitement!)

First up, the plane he flies.  (You are being spared from the 47 pictures of clouds and props and other planes.)  Twin engine Turbo Commander.  “The belly dragger”.

Our youngest son in a pot.  (This is OLD… probably four years old. I haven’t shaved his head in years.)

Me on the phone.  I don’t know who added the words… I doubt it was Rick.

Ok, had to put one landing strip on here to represent all the others…..  I have no idea where this is.  And shouldn’t he be holding the yoke with both hands???

Rick’s mum at Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia.  Cool Picture!

A field of wild sunflowers.  (See!  He is a romantic at heart!)

At a Capitals vs. Coyotes game.  Alexander Ovechkin leaving the ice… Keeve is the brown headed kid on the left side.  He got to TOUCH Ovie!

And of course, Sidney Crosby holding up Lord Stanley’s cup in June…. the youngest captain in the history of the NHL to win the cup.  Made Rick proud…  obviously… he took a picture of the TV with his cell phone!

Rick’s favorite place.. on Earth, I think.  Lake Tahoe.  There were MANY pictures of the lake! 

And lastly, our three darling children in amongst the lupine at Lake Tahoe.  There were probably 10 of these… and THIS really is the best one.  Simultaneous smiles without squinty eyes are hard to come by with these three.

There you have it, folks.  Out of 293 pictures, these pretty well sum it up.  The life of a pilot, hockey playing/coaching, husband and dad.  In less than ten minutes too!  Not bad.

The Photo Essay………

Disappointingly, I’m here to tell you that I remembered quite a few things on our whirlwind trip to Tahoe.  The cord to download my photos from the camera to the computer was not one of them.  There will be no photos essay of Tahoe this week.  I can find google pictures and fake it, but it’s not the same.

On a brighter note, my sister-in-law, Jennie, the brains and beauty behind Bags for Zaza was interviewed!  Here is the blog:  http://www.profy.com/2008/07/21/social-media-grassroots-fundraising/   Very cool, Jennie.

Back to Tahoe.  The sun is shining.  The air is a cool 82 degrees.  O.K. that IS cool for people who live in Phoenix.  The grass is green.  The lake is blue. We are relaxing and playing games and watching the children play in the freezing cold water.  Before we arrived here to see the hazy skies, I was unaware of all the fires burning in California.  Wow.  There’s LOTS. 

I am taking fabulous pictures that I am forced to wait to share.  Please stand by.

www.bagsforzaza.blogspot.com The bag auctions end tomorrow morning.