Family Photo Blunder

Why is that I can take other peoples family photo's fine but always have to do retakes on my own? This year I had a plan. We were going to get it right the first time! I shopped and shopped for weeks looking to find outfits that coordinated but didn't punch you in the face with cute matchyness (It's a word. look it up.) Can I just tell you how hard it is to find something cool for a 2 year old boy in purple and gray to go with his two older sisters? It's nearly impossible! But I did it! I layed everyones outfits on the floor in my room, including shoes and accessories. Everything was ready to go. Outfits? Check! Perfect weather? Check! Full bellies? Check! (I actually made a real dinner- rare!) Happy children? Odd, but yes! The stars aligned. Everything was beautiful. And then we looked outside and it was dark..... Oh dang that silly daylight savings time change! It was too dark to take pictures. We raced to try to get a few, but every picture is way too grainy because the ISO had to be so high to even see us. Here is our attempt-

It doesn't look bad right? It actually looks like it's the middle of a beautiful sunny day right? Wrong! The ISO was at 3200 here. That's crazy high, but makes the picture look well lit. Any bigger than this 3x5 image you see here and the grainy factor is too major! But I was able to get a glimpse of what could possibly be the best family photos ever. Loving the scenery. Loving the outfits. Even the hubs looks happy. Probably because the shoot lasted 3 minutes total instead of 30! So we came home. I made the girls take off their outfits so they would be perfect in one week when we try this again. And then, the next and fatal disaster hit. The coveted purple shirt that was incredibly difficult to find, became victim to my 2 year old's desire to destroy. He cut up his brand new shirt. In the front! Oh yes, it just keeps getting better. Why do family photos have to be so difficult? It reminded me of 2 years ago. It too was a disaster, and we just went with it. This is the photo that we sent out with the caption: Have A Mostly Merry Christmas!

Yep! That's my life. Someone is always getting hurt and crying about it. And I've learned to accept my crazy life and embrace it. When we try to re-shoot our photos next Sunday, we will probably have someone crying, crazy weather problems, a 2yr old with a black eye and a cut up t-shirt. But that's ok. I never really believe those Christmas cards with the children smiling perfectly and the parents who look fresh and well rested. I like a bit more flair to my pictures!