Jun
23
2011
worth a try…
Every year we take family photos on the beach. And every year I wonder why we allow ourselves to endure the torture 
Usually I meticulously plan out all the shots I want to get but this year there were 13 of us and things were just too wild to worry about anything overly formal or rehearsed. Add in gale force winds, spraying sand, and sun drunk children and…well let’s just say…my kids weren’t at their best. I was mostly worried about Super Sam as he had had a rough day of whining and “beach hate”. While getting dressed in the condo I accidentally let it slip that we were heading down to the beach for photos to which he screamed “I DON’T WANT THE BEACH!!!!” But surprisingly he was the least of my concerns. Once we got down there and I said…”No one get wet!” he was totally game Danny was way too enthralled with the sand to even look at the camera. And the girls were way too enthralled with their cousins to really give me the time of day. So we just ran with it…and I grabbed what I could. And you know what? I love these shots just the same!!
I’m pretty sure we picked the MOST windy night of the entire trip to try these photos! The next night we headed to Kill Devil Hills for some kite flying and there wasn’t even the slightest breeze to get our kites off the ground…go figure! The kids’ hair was flying ALL over the place. Some of the out takes are downright hilarious (will have to save those for another post). Just imagine how your hair would swirl on the inside of the “Flobee” and you’ll have the perfect mental image of some of Sam’s hair issues that night
{family love}
{melt my heart}
{they really are the best of friends}
{mr. pukes a lot}
{daddy’s day with his newest son}
{someone REALLY liked the sand}
{someone else REALLY likes brother. double melt.}
{hey look. the happy couple. my kids would say “that’s rommmaaaantic!”}
{all the kids}
{i wonder how long they’ll let me dress them like this?}
{a few snuggles}
One of these years I will get that PERFECT mantel shot. And then…you know what? I won’t really care. Because these pictures show the REAL us. Life is messy with kids. The beach is A LOT of work with kids. Getting everyone dressed, clean, and DRY is hard with kids. But it is all SO WORTH it to have these memories etched forever in my mind.
those are AMAZING pictures!!!!! I love love LOVE them!!!!
PS – we about an hour from Kill Devil Hills!!!! Oh I wish we could have met up! That would have been such fun!
Love these! Hope you are having a great trip!
Definitely show EMOTION and I think that is better than any perfectly posed photo. These are great!
Stols – BEAUTIFUL! I love the girls skirts – where did you get them? The sand vacation looks absolutely wonderful.
I know exactly how you feel. We had a huge family reunion a few weeks ago where we all stayed at a camp. (inside cabins…not totally roughing it) I had this grand idea of taking family pictures of our immediate family since my husband’s aunt is a photographer. An hour before pictures were to start, my 1 year old was dropped on her head by her cousin where her head hit the corner of the table. Her bulge on top of her head was as big as a black golf ball! Ugh. WE proceeded with pictures anyway. Let’s just say my 3 year old only gave grouchy looks and scowls. My 8 and 6 year old gave weird fake smiles and squinty faces. UGH! I have yet to see the final prints but at first glance, there is nothing!
So much for packing coordinating outfits and going to the trouble!
Ooooh, Jenn, I think these are GORGEOUS!! Especially love the first one of your littles together – sooo sweet!
Love hearing about your trip! Great memories for sure! The photos are gorgeous!
These are picture perfect! I say they are definitely mantel material.
Gorgeous photos—I think they are perfect! This is kind of silly, but what I like the best is Sam’s hair in the pictures…….just the way the wind is blowing it, it totally shows that toddler silky, wispy hair thing. It reminds me of my 2 year-old’s hair right now……….a cool thing to capture forever
I love them all…. I love that they show your family just as they are!!! So sweet….love how the cousins and sisters and brothers are all such good friends…and of course the outfits…darling….my favorite colors:)
Jenn, these are great! You all look GREAT, not messy! Come on now, coordinated outfits/colors is WAY out of reach for me! We were just full of sand, puke and dirty clothes on our trip:)
I can’t believe you don’t think these ARE the perfect mantel shots! The one of your whole family is beautiful! Really, they are all beautiful. You are a lucky woman!