picture perfect

forget the nikon, we shoot on an iphone

introducing the cousins to
napolean dynamite

while on vacation at the beach we watched every night {and morning and afternoon} as sweet families all dressed in matching colors {usually white}, hiked up the dunes with their pricey photographer to have their group photographs taken probably for their christmas cards. the mister and i sat on our back porch that over looked the backdrop to their picturesque background giggling at the prospect of cat-calling the kiddies whose parents had cajoled and begged {and some jumped up and down like fools} for that one perfect picture. add in several extended family members and well, "good luck, photog". 

giving his brother the finger{s}

one night we were out by the water when a precious family approached us and asked if i would snap a few shots of their family. the grandmother apologized, "we are in no way color coordinated." i replied, "you look more natural. who normally dresses alike in real life?" i snapped a few photographs of all 7 of them with an adorable wiggly baby who no one expected to stop to pose or smile, who was being held not by her father, but her uncle. the baby laughed, and i clicked off several still shots. real life shots of this real life family who came to the shore for an amazing sunset. and the result was a lovely rendering of their real life family.

blurry waving boy:he saw someone peeking out her window

i love a good snapshot {much to the amusement of 3 of my children and the curse of one}. it is a way of chronicling life which happens in a blur. photographs allow me to relive a moment. 

harry needs his own iphone app

i was once a mother who dressed her baby in white linen and expected perfection. but then something in me changed, and i realized that the imperfection is perfect. 
here are a few out takes from our {im}perfect family vacation. i hope you enjoy. xo gf

cousin jack mid dance move

dead red fish

don't eat tacos on a first date, son