Family Pictures

Family pictures. What can I say.  Every few years we do our best to get a good shot of the family, but there is always a story associated with the photo session which explains why the pictures are less than picture perfect. But, it's much better to have fun-family-picture-taking-stories than to have a picture good enough to blow up poster-size to hang on the wall. Right? (Sigh) I'm working at believing that.

I do secretly wish for that poster-size print of all of the family looking just spiffy and smiling (with eyes open), so I'll keep trying every few years.  I'm a glutton for punishment.  


This is our most recent attempt.  We found a great photographer and planned to meet at Officer's Row in downtown Vancouver, a lovely spot with old houses and lots of greenery. We color coordinated outfits and curled and straightened and got ourselves presentable looking on a Friday evening.

Oops . . . mistake #1.  We were so busy making ourselves presentable that we forgot to make sure Child #4 ate a good lunch and a snack.  This child  doesn't usually enjoy eating and sometimes doesn't remember to eat unless we remind him.  When he gets ornery and out of sorts, he doesn't make the connection to his empty stomach. We didn't realize the error until we were at the pictures. So the stage was set for disaster.

Mistake #2 . . . well, Mother Nature was in charge of this one.  The weather had been nice all week and overcast for most of the day, but a few hours before the pictures the buckets of heaven started pouring down water. And poured. And poured. It was cold (high 40s), a little windy, and really humid and wet.  But, this was the only day available for pictures before Brandon left on his mission. We took the pictures on the big wraparound porch of one of the houses on Officer's Row. Behind us, the sky poured big sheets of rain. It was still a pretty spot, but it would have been nice to be out amongst the greenery and flowers.  Luckily, our photographer had a great lens which somehow captured light where there was none.

Joseph was really bothered by the weather.  He doesn't like picture-taking under the best of circumstances, and he was cold and uncomfortable and wet and seriously unhappy. And our hair which was so carefully straightened or curled?  It reverted to its usual state in a quick hurry, with plenty of frizz. Dan would like to point out that he doesn't have this problem.  His problem was that what little light there was bounced off his bald head, creating the illusion that he didn't have a complete head.

Mistake #3  - We never should have questioned Joseph's fashion sense.  About a month ago he suddenly began tucking in all his shirts (even jackets) into his jeans.  He needs a really "tight tuck" into the jeans, with no bagginess whatsoever in the shirt. The pants must be pulled as high as possible past his waist, Urkel-style. We had the audacity to question this sartorial choice as we began the photo session, and MAN did we pay for it.
This sweet child refused to cooperate with the picture taking.  Wouldn't smile.  Wouldn't stay put.  Wouldn't look at the camera.  Made it impossible to get many family shots.  We pulled out every bribe and threat at our disposal, but to no avail. Double Sigh.
What could we do?  Our great photographer took pictures anyway. She captured some great shots of the family in small groups.  We wish we had been able to try for more family shots (remember that poster-sized picture for the wall that I long for????) but we did the very best we could with a challenging situation.

 We are definitely blowing this one up. It really captured reality.

"Please, let this end," says poor Joseph in the picture above.  And then, below, he gives up.

Wrapped up in Brandon's coat when we were done and then walking to the car through the rain with the help of Aubrey.

We did try one more time to get some family shots . . . a friend offered to come by our home after church on the day of Brandon's farewell/open house.  Our plan was to get some nice pictures of the family with both sets of grandparents, preferably in our yard with the pretty flowers. Guess what the weather was like?  You got it.  Pouring rain.  So, no outside shots. We didn't really find a place in the house with great light, but we did our best.  At least we captured the moment, right?

More shots from the photo shoots are at the bottom of the post, for those family members who really care about seeing all the shots.  But, first I thought I would reminisce about some of our previous family pictures . . .

Remember Hawaii in November of 2009? Click here if you don't remember the fun adventure as we took pictures on the windy beach with dangerous sea animals nibbling at our toes.  Just for fun, I thought I would include some of the UNedited videos from that day (in the edited versions the photographer had to photoshop our hair to disguise the crazy wind hairstyles.)

 Oh yeah, that's really attractive.

Lovely, don't you think?

Then there were family pictures in August of 2007.  The photo session was fine, except for the fact that Joseph (then just 2 years old) wouldn't stay sitting down for the picture. The photographer had to photoshop his head from another shot into the family photo (photoshop is our friend).

And now, for those who have nothing better to do, I'll upload some of the other pictures from our two  family photo sessions.

 

 

 

 

 

 And some shots from Sunday after church:

 

 Oh, so NOW you remember how to smile, cute little Joseph!

 

 

 

 Maybe outside on the porch, the only place we could find shelter from the rain? 
 Or, we could try a quick shot under the tree (which provided a little shelter)

We really tried hard. And now we don't have to try for another two years!

Then and now

Sometimes it feels like we just moved, and in other ways it feels like we have always lived here in  Washington.  There is so much that we are still learning about the area and the opportunities for recreation and fun here, but we have also settled in and are happy. Everyone has acclimated and found a niche and friends here.

When Dan's parents were in town they stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn which was our home for three months after we moved.  We visited them at the hotel one evening and it got us walking down memory lane . . .

In July 2006 we were living in Sandy, Utah.  A recruiter had called Dan a month before and he had been interviewed a few times for a position in Washington. The end of July we accepted a position with Dan's current company.  A week later we put our house on the market, "staged" it with Mom's help, and moved into my parent's basement so it would stay clean. The house sold in one week for a good price (this was before the market crashed!)  By August 30th we were driving to Washington. Dan's parents followed behind, driving Dan's car.  Despite two house hunting trips and hundreds of hours house hunting on the internet, we had not found a house which would work for our family (and because this was before the real estate market crashed, the houses were expensive and not too impressive).  So, Dan's company put us up in the Residence Inn until we found our home.

We had narrowed down the area in which we wanted to live and we knew which high school Brandon would attend as a freshman, so the day after we arrived in town Brandon started school at Skyview High School. How intimidating that was for him! We didn't know which elementary school the girls would attend, so I enrolled them in a home/school partnership program through the school district.  They attended classes 2 or 3 days a week and we home schooled the rest of the time.  Or should I say "hotel schooled."  Joseph was about 18 months old.  It was a busy, busy time!  Somehow we figured it out.


We walked around the Residence Inn while visiting Dan's parents. The kids posed in the stairwell in front of our prior "home."  

I had Joseph pose by the door of the laundry. He doesn't remember this, but he and I were well acquainted with that room.  A family of six creates a lot of laundry, and it seemed like I was doing a few loads at least every other day. We carried loads up and down the stairs (through the rain many days) to the laundry room by the pool.  Actually, I should say that I carried the loads and carried Joseph, who wasn't a steady walker yet!

Every year the kids pose for a back to school picture in front of our home. In 2006 we took a picture in front of the Residence Inn sign.  The pictures weren't taken on the first day, but they still count! When we visited the hotel the other day, I had the kids pose by the same sign.

Then: Brandon was a scared stiff 9th grader who was still reeling from the sudden change in his plans and home.
Now: Brandon is a confident college student, musician, budding filmmaker, and now missionary.


Then: Bailey was a 4th grader who loved to play Barbies with her sister, read books, and hated to comb her hair.
Now: Bailey is a beautiful and smart almost-9th-grader who likes to text on her cell phone, read books, take pictures for her photography class, and won't leave the house without her hair looking perfect.

 

Then:  Aubrey was a sweet, shy little 1st grader who loved reading and playing Barbies with Bailey.
Now: Aubrey is a happy almost-6th-grader who fearlessly sings, acts, and performs in front of large audiences.

Then: Joseph was an 18 month old who struggled to walk and talk and was overwhelmed by all kinds of sensory stimuli.
Now: Joseph is a happy and busy almost-1st-grader who tears it up on the soccer field, has an endless supply of superhero strength and agility (and costumes), and is a great reader.  (And he doesn't stand still for pictures. Ever. If he is happy he is dancing around. If he is not happy, well . . . . . stay tuned for the upcoming blog post "Family Pictures.")

Dancing and Bouncing

When life gets really crazy and busy, what do the Porters do to relax and de-stress?  We dance.  Or we bounce.  Mom captured a few pictures of us dancing to "Just Dance 2" the night before Brandon's farewell/open house.  

 "Wake me up before you go - go" . . . . what a great 80s dance song!

 Aubrey and Joseph do the "Monster Mash".

 Grandpa and Joseph rocked out to "Funkytown"!

 

 

Aubrey and I groove to "Hot Stuff."

 

Joseph and Brandon spent a lot of time bouncing on the trampoline.  Joseph tried REALLY hard to bounce Brandon, but couldn't get him to budge!

 

When things got really crazy on Saturday, Grandpa helped out by taking Joseph for a walk/g/bike ride to the nearby park. Except Joseph thought it was funny to go really fast and leave Grandpa in the dust!