Photo Shoot 16 Years in the Making

Shawna, Kelli, Monica, & I have been friends for 16+ years. We met in our ward. Between us we have 18 kids. Some of our kids are the same age and have played sports together or just hung out togther. Through the years we have had many family or friend get togethers, outings and worked with each other in callings in our church. During all that time, we've only had one other picture of us together.

This friend photo shoot was supposed to be a present for my friend, Monica. Her birthday was in June. Finally, the four of us were able to get together this week.

While I do not like to have my picture taken (I look so much better in my mind!), this was a fun experience. I set up one of my backdrops in my mom's backyard, and we took photos both using the black backdrop and Mom's lush foliage. All of us had to wear a dark, long-sleeved shirt or sweater. Taryn, my 16 year old, was the photographer. We tried a variety of poses; some were very successful and some were downright scary! It was fun to set up a pose, have Taryn take a shot, and then we'd look and analyze what changes we needed to make. I love digital cameras! I especially like the pose where Taryn climbed a ladder and shot down on us. Gone were any double chins. When we changed the photo to black and white, gone were most of our wrinkles too. We had such a great time and laughed a lot. I'm sorry it took us so long to do this. I need to do this now with some of my other friends...