Megan Clouse Photography

It is that time of year...

The humiliating, dreadful torture of dressing teenage boys in nice clothes and making them smile in front of a camera. And then when I announced that this year I wanted Kirby the dog to be in the photo, the groans stretched all the way to my husband.

Now to be fair, they were actually very good sports and the majority of the groaning was exhausted earlier in the day when I announced we had to go shopping for "nice" clothes. As we walked the outlets, Mike and I quickly realized we could only ask so much of the boys, because Kyle adamantly protested that he was not shopping in a store called Banana Republic. He refused to step inside the store, so we compromised and found some very nice shirts at Pacific Sun.

So the message I'm trying to convey to all those families who are also getting spiffed up for their photos, if moans and groans come from your brood, just smile and say something heavy with guilt, like "I give all year and this is all I ask for." (that is a good one and works every time!)

I picked this favorite little spot just a couple of blocks from our house. We loaded up the camera and tripod and used the self-timer. The photos turned out great, but I don't want to spoil the Christmas card surprise, so I'm only sharing one of the outtakes.