Long Last Time: My Family.

It's been almost 20 years since my family and I have gotten a real family photo taken. My mom has been conveying to us for years now about her desire to have an updated one. The last family photo we had was in 1995 or 1996 I believe. My mom instructed us all to wear polo shirts and jeans. It didn't make for a very attractive picture...I'm sorry. The colors looked awful together and although we were a loving family and still are...some of the expressions on our faces looked a little..forced. Some would argue it was still a good picture though...even though my brother didn't want to be there (teenage attitude), I was worried that I looked fat, my sister, Ginger, was worried that her hair would move and uncover her ears, my mom was upset because of my brother's frowny face and my dad just wanted them to snap the damn picture already. The bright, little shiny penny in the middle of the picture was my little sister, Bri. She was probably 5 or 6 and her red hair and big smile was so infectious...I mean how can you not love that little face?? (you'll see what I mean below!) It sure makes me smile every time I see it. Well, now 18 years later...my mom got her wish. A new family picture has been taken. There's a couple of husbands and some grandkids added and the wardrobes were discussed in length before the big day.....so overall...I think it came out great. The backdrop was my parent's gorgeous backyard and everyone cooperated!! Since the last picture in 95, Ginger has since embraced her most endearing feature, my mom and dad were all smiles holding their adorable grandsons, my brother had a nice smile and was happy to do this for my mom and I decided to accept the fact that I'm not, and never will be able to hide my true self. That free spirited red-head (little sis, Bri) still shines though...nothing has changed there. :)

The pictures came out beautiful and we owe a huge thanks to our amazing, talented photographer and dear family friend, Robin. Her mom, Peggy, also assisted in the photo shoot and we could not have asked for a better photography team. Check out their amazing photos of my wonderful family. And yes...the last photo below is the infamous "polo shirt" picture from 95. :)