awkward family photo 2012

the last time we had a (professional) family photo taken you ask?? ......hmmmm....crickets, crickets.
here's the deal. i gave up long ago trying to keep faces clean and hair-did's all in place.
i gave up. 

this year i have decided that if you wanna give me some crazy family photo, wear shoes or not, show up in your afro wig without a shirt, put the bunny ears up over my head or just text the entire time then that is what the people will get in their mailboxes. 

yep, us. 
unedited, in all our glory.

however, mama will make you wear matching sweater vests that are farrrr from cute. 
oh, and p.s. i know you like to make fun of my antique marionette dolls but i like them! 
watch it or i may just lay one beside you in bed so you will wake up next to it. 
im not above scarring my children.....keeps therapists in business.

our awkward family photo 2012.

*special thanks to Oatmeal the cat for wearing the mini santa hat with beard, for not running away and for putting up with your strange 2 legged's.

wow. just wow.

i am about to share with you a real gem.
this is the stuff awkward family photos are made of.

this is my family circa 1978.
first we will touch right upon the obvious. me. bottom left. THANK GAWD i grew up. in my defense, annie was super popular and i was a fan. that's all i will say because i think we can all agree sometimes words just don't need to be spoken. i also think i worked the tooth gap before madonna in a serious serious way. soak it up people.

next, let's talk about why my sister tammy (directly behind me) has that weirdo look on her face? did she suck on a lemon? no, she was probably pinning a sign on my back that said, "the sun will come out...tomorrow!" either way, way to work the center part feather 'em back tam!

let's move on to my mom. pat. pat is a woman who had her bathroom built to look like it was a showgirls backstage dressing room. not kidding. complete with the big round vanity bulbs running across the top and down both sides of the fully mirrored wall. this made it perfect for her to achieve the flawless photo finish make up face that has carried her through life. oh, p.s., i had NEVER seen my mom without a full face of make-up while growing up.

there isn't much to dive into as far as my dad's polyester suit and the clearly "thrilled to be here" facial expression, or my brothers mary lou retton hairdo nor my eldest sisters fashion glasses.

of course we brought our dog to the family photo sesh.
his name was pickles. he was a biter. i hated that dog.
my mom knit that sweater he is wearing. my mom also made me and my sisters little house on the prairie attire.

this is us.
was us.
i think this will forever be my favorite photo of the olsen family.