We drove up to the mountains last weekend hoping to see the beautiful fall colors. We make the trip every year to the same sweet spots, and I won’t mention any names, but someone got us lost twice! TWICE!

The trip ended up being a total bust. We spent 3 hours in the car and a half hour in the mountains. By the time we got there the sun was setting and it was getting chilly. I have to give props to Ryan, he was man enough to pull over and ask some very nice firemen for directions. It didn’t help that during this whole adventure we made 645 stops to let the kids go potty; that’s no exaggeration. It was one of those trips when you wonder why you thought this was such a great idea in the first place. We even missed the timing of the leaves, they were more neon yellow/green than the nice deep orange/yellow/red. 

Every year we to try to take a family picture by balancing the camera on a mound of dirt. The kids think its funny to watch me run back and forth trying to beat the timer. The first few frames look like this, the camera slipping down the mount of dirt while I awkwardly try to throw myself into the picture. And look at my dirty jeans, all in the name of a good picture, right?

Brinley had a knack for looking away just as the picture was taken. And Ryan is 9 feet tall.

Nice canned smile I have there.

Drew’s got the picture takin’ thing down to a science, but he had to take a turn looking away.

Trying to keep the kids interested, but still can’t get everyone to look at the camera at the same time.

I think this is the closest we are going to get even though I look like I’m trying to make a quick get-a-way. Maybe I was?

This one would have been perfect, but it was Rowan’s turn for a meltdown. If only my photoshop skillz were up to par, I could do a headswap. Nah, I like the imperfections. It’s our life, and 10 years from now the “outtakes” will mean more than any perfectly posed picture.

I think we will be going back this weekend for another try. And this time Ryan will be taking a map!