Maybe Family Fotos For Fools...

I was recently informed that we would be doing family photos at Blaine Lake this year. The following email was my response:

Family photos!!??? Really!!??

Vacation:
Meriam-Webster dictionary says-

Main Entry: ¹va·ca·tion

Pronunciation: \vā-ˈkā-shən, və-\

Function: noun

Usage: often attributive

Etymology: Middle English vacacioun, from Anglo-French vacacion, from Latin vacation-, vacatio freedom, exemption, from vacare

Date: 14th century

1 : a respite or a time of respite from something : intermission
2 a : a scheduled period during which activity (as of a court or school) is suspended b : a period of exemption from work granted to an employee
3 : a period spent away from home or business in travel or recreation
4 : an act or an instance of vacating

Ummm... I am confused? Still, it seems entirely fitting that the colors are black and gray. Kind of "funeral-esk", right? And why not... I mean, we all know how friggin' painful family photos are. In fact, since we are kicking the week off that way, I have decided to plan a follow-up activity- on Monday we are going to systematically remove everyones finger nails with pliers. While this is considered torture in many countries I really think we could have a good time of it. Plus, mega bonus, we have Britt on hand in case of an severe bleeding. So that's cool.

Now, I figure since we're most likely not getting out of this photo thing, I should give some good input so that we can get the best resulting photo. So, lets get started...

First and foremost, I cannot suggest strongly enough that we do a Star Trek theme. Seems like a no brainer:

If that doesn't work for everyone, we could try some other themes. Like:

Bear suites:

Or, aerobics!:

I think a "Jersey Shore" one would be totally appropriate:

Or, chainmail (cause who doesn't have chainmail):

Or, and this is a REALLY good idea, kittens in our pockets:

Or, if kittens aren't on hand, we could just settle for LASER CATS!!!:

Or, band outfits (but only for the girls, cause the guys would just look silly):

Or, we could always wear our matching cocaine shirts... I still have mine:

And we could all wear shorts like this with our cocaine shirts:

or we could just all wear our Ghostbuster t-shirt instead (over our dress shirts of course- we don't want to look trashy):

We could always go denim:

Or, even better, the denim doggy pile. Classic! Though I would fear for Rand:

Since we'll all have them there, we could do one with all of us in our karate suits:

Or, one where we're all in our dance outfits! Yummy!:

Now that we have some clothing options, I think we need to think about accessories and such. For instance, I think if all the women could get a perm:

and all the guys would grow mustaches:

that would really make the photo pop! Also, if we could keep things on hand for props. Such as:

chainsaws

Maybe one where we all have our bagpipes:

or cabbage patch dolls:

or a naked pregnant woman and a tire

I absolutely insist we do one with a goat... in the living room. Seriously.:

or guns n glasses

you know, something like that, that would really enhance the experience.

I've also been thinking of other ideas like:

muscles and lightning (cause the totally go together):

or one where everyone is wearing a shirt except Rand:

Nothing says family like a creepy picture of 'peekaboo':

Maybe we could do one where Barb is all googley eyed!:

seasonal wear (like Christmas for example)

A pregnant woman in standing in the middle of all of us:

A cat skeleton (preferably a family cat- cause that's not creepy...?):

Speedos in a "butler" stance (guys only!!!):

or speedos with radashes!!! (frickin' sweet!):

Maybe one with Rand on the toilet and the family in the tub:

Or, we could have the whole family floating in Rand's head! That would be so awesome!:

This one seems like a good idea, but they took it a little too far with the Santa hats:

We could just do one in our underwear, cause that's not awkward:

And if that doesn't work, well shoot, let's just do the birthday suit!:

or even better, in our birthday suits and with the family cats:

But seriously, I have one rule. If we are going to take a family photo, no Grandma allowed- I will not stand for Grandma being in the photo!!!:

P.S.- No seriously! All the guys growing mustaches is a REALLY REALLY good idea: