School Picture Day... Take 1

Yesterday was school picture day. I am typically such a sucker for buying them... fueled mostly by my worry that the kids would get upset if they didn't walk into the room with an envelope like everybody else might have but also by the unknown... what if it is the best picture ever??? This year I debated a bit more than in years past. First of all, here is just a sample of how Brynn's hair looks when she gets off the bus and this was a good day...

Somedays she has her still-growing-out bangs hanging straight down into her face and the clip holding a single peice of hair near the back of her head. You buy these pictures without seeing them first and while they have a return policy, sometimes the kids don't see anything wrong with them (when I do) and that leads to issues too. Then there is the cost. The one picture I really need (an 8x10 for our hallway frames) would cost over $100 for four children. Really, I have a camera that takes decent pictures. And I can edit crumbs off faces. And I can fix hair moments before the shot. I can pose kids in not-so-awkward poses. So I explained the cost to the kids yesterday morning and they agreed to let me take them at home when they got off the bus. So much for my plans...

Yes, he is doing the white-boy dance.

First their cousin stops by unexpectedly after school and is much cooler than mom and I had to beg for participation while they acted all silly.

Remember these were supposed to be chest-up pictures so ignore the filthy legs.

Then I realized I forgot how out-of-control boys who have been trapped in school all day can be when it it is nice outside.

The kids don't seem to care that dinner is cooking and we have to leave for soccer practice in 10 minutes and that mom really wants pictures today instead of going through this torture another day.

Price felt bad for me at one moment and finally posed (I have bunches of him making the "this is boring" face) but at that point things were so chaotic that I didn't have time to set up the shot and a bucket and limbs of a brother are not what I had in mind.

So I am back to square one but I am determined... and I am not above banning video game playing until I get a decent picture of each child!