Christmas Card Family Photos 2013

Ta DAAA! The 2013 Family Christmas card.

And the inside of the card. The card scanned with kind of a funny sheen from the paper on it. I had a hard time getting a quality result. Hopefully not so much in person.

We had tried this downtown Chicago family picture idea before.
Twice.
Two attempts to get the city line from the Lakeshore.
Both ended with squinty eyes, hair blowing all over the place, and crying, freezing kids.

 This time, I planned ahead better. We did our pictures in mid September, when there was still some warm weather hanging around. We avoided the Lakeshore all together, and instead, went right into the thick of it. Michigan Avenue!
And for a little bit of drama, we shot right in the middle of the street!
Now we finally have our Chicago city shots, and any time we manage to pull off the feat of family photos that are not only usable, but kinda cool, we call that a major success!

Bright and early on a Saturday morning, you manage to avoid having too many pedestrians and cars in your photos. But it is just fine when they are there, because that is just part of the vibe!
Georgia was up sick all night in the hotel room. That girl manages to get sick the night before family pictures, EVERY year!
A little positive reinforcement in the form of bribery with a small stuffed animal for forty five minutes of smiles, did wonders!
Then, she threw up in the car the whole way home.

We used Stacie Kemp Photography in Chicago, for photos. She was totally game when I told her I wanted to try to get shots of our family of six in the median in the street. Love that! She knows just the right angle to get for that shot.

Michigan Ave. headed North.

Headed South.

The car headed for us in this photo contained a really ornery Chicagoan. She started honking at us right about the time this frame was shot, and didn't lay off the horn until she was well past us as we stood watching her on the sidewalk. Will she ever forgive us for making her think she MAY have to touch her foot to the brake? Go Bears?

Georgia has so many more teeth since September!

Will is one of those photogenic people. He did NOT get that from me!

Walker was not being cooperative. Until we saw a couple walk by with their dog, and Del asked if he could pet it real fast. Walker jumped out of Del's arms, and baby talked that dog for a while. That really cheered him right up! He turned to the camera, put his hands in his pockets and gave a us a big smile, and we didn't even have to ask!

I am so grateful for the beautiful family I have!