Paparazzi Poses

 

The great-grand girls

You don't have to be Taylor Swift at a Chiefs game to have a stable of paparazzi clicking away trying to capture the perfect shot. 

The great-grand boys. Perhaps they didn't embrace the hats and masks as much as the girls.

 

We have our own version of paparazzi at my mom's birthday and our family's Christmas Eve gathering. There's a good share of "Smile!" "Look this way!" and "Wait! Just one more!"

Several years ago, we moved to the shed for the evening meal. We added another person to the group shot this year - making a total of 33. (Madison isn't pictured because she's the photographer.)

My mom celebrated her 88th birthday on December 24.  

 

Ever since the grandchildren were little, we've been taking a photo of the birthday girl with the troops.The first one with all seven of the grandchildren was in 1994.

From left: Abby, Brian, Blake, Mom holding Madison, Jill, Brent & Paige

The grandchildren shot is easier these days. They can even look the same direction without a lot of prompting - though, with as many paparazzi as there are on scene, we still do a little of that.

I had to laugh at a Facebook memory that came up, showing a behind-the-scenes look at the great-grandchild photo from a few years ago (2016). We added one more great-grand since that time.

The great-grand photo is a piece of cake these days (birthday cake, of course).

It's amazing that what four girls can convince my dad to do. I'm not sure he'd wear a party hat for just anyone.

We added another face to the "outlaw" photo this year, too. Several years ago, we decided the non-blood relatives needed their own paparazzi moment.

A shot inside the house during the gift opening reveals the reason we've moved some of the festivities to the shed.

This doesn't even show the whole group.

 Even though it's loud and chaotic, we're thankful for this tradition of celebrating my mom's birthday and Christmas as a family.