You Wouldn't Think it Would Be That Difficult!

The other day I was lamenting to Adam that we didn't have any recent family pictures. We have bunches of the kids. A few here and there with one of us and one (of sometimes both) of the kids. But pictures with all four of us? Together? As a family? The last one was taken at the beginning of October:

We were definitely overdue for a good picture of the four of us! Seven months is a long time! Look how little Luke is! And Audrey too, for that matter!



So, last a couple of Sundays ago (I know, it's been awhile since I've posted anything), we decided to take a drive and maybe stop and take a few family pictures. It didn't seem like a lot to ask. It didn't seem like it would be that big of a deal. We did not anticipate the struggles that we would have on this seemingly simple quest.


To begin, we stopped near an outdoor mall where they have some pretty trees and shrubs. We spied a place where we would be able to set our camera down and put it on the time delay function (we did not bring a photographer). That was probably mistake numero uno. The thing (a sign for a nearby office building) that we decided to place our camera on was just a little low, so we grabbed our small first aid kit out of the back of the car to add some lift (we do not have a tri-pod). Not having a tri-pod and wanting to take pictures without a photographer is mistake numero dos a nueve.

But the first one really wasn't that bad:

So we pushed on. We tried again:

Again, not bad. But not great. If we had had a photographer we probably would've been able to arrange ourselves a little better. But still, it's decent. We pressed forward and tried another location down the path from were we were - I bet every local person (or anyone who's spent time in Provo) knows where we were.


The second place we stopped was nice. I was excited at the potential.

But a couple of things went awry. First of all, Adam must have shifted ever so slightly because we are definitely not centered. HE is, but WE were not. And secondly, Audrey decided it would be fun to try to take a flying leap out of my arms right as the time delay function ran out of time - it's still a pretty funny picture. And Adam sure looks handsome.

Speaking of handsome... here's another great shot of Adam. And Audrey is her usual adorable self. We must've forgotten to check the camera to be sure everything was centered, because me and Luke kind of got the shaft on this one. It's still a great shot of Adam and Audrey though.



After that we decided to try a different location. One where we could sit (to help eliminate the shifting that was apparently going on with the previous pictures). This turned out to be on of the better pictures of the day:

Only drawback: Luke was looking down. But for the way things were going: not too shabby!



It was after this that we gave up on the family picture idea and decided instead to just get a few cute shots of the kids. Simple, right?

Right?


It took awhile to convince Audrey to sit down, but when she did this is what we got:

Neither of them are looking at the camera but both of them are very cute. Unfortunately, before I could snap another picture, Audrey decided the lovely green grass-covered hills were simply too hard to resist. And she got up...

effectively ending our picture-taking session. But, really, it was ok because Luke had discovered the lovely green grass on which he was sitting and decided it looked like a pretty good little snack.

Luke, don't eat the grass, little man.

Hey, Luke!

Lucas!

Icky! That grass is not going to taste good. No, don't eat the grass!

No, really, I don't think that's good for you! Luke! Do ya hear me?

I know what he's thinking - "Oh, Mom! Chill out. It's only grass!"



Meanwhile, Audrey was having a blast running up... pausing...

and then running down the little hills.

And I know what she's thinking too - "this is SO much better than sitting still and letting Mom take a picture!" (And she would be right - but still, i would've loved to get a few good shots of my kids together!)



We did try one last time...

but it wasn't the most successful - Audrey would not sit closer to Luke (at that point it was a miracle we got her to sit down at all), and Luke would not stop looking, pulling and eating the grass! Stinkers!

But they are my stinkers and I love them so much!