2011 Photo Projects - my final answer

Ok, so after a hideous FAIL at Project 365 last year, where I only took photos for the month of January {and I actually cheated with myself because I kept forgetting :) but I'm very competitive that way}, I've been looking for a stress free way of documenting my families time together. I've looked and looked through blog posts and flickr groups and found that there are a lot of options and supportive groups around. Of course, P365 and P52 are the most popular, but I'm always trying to find a new and unique way of doing things. It's just how I roll.

And here's what I've decided after reading this blog post by Miss Kim. She too failed. We are sisters in the P365 fail group, if there was one. Hmm. Maybe I should start one. I'll have to think about that.

What she decided was that because of school, work, and general busy-ness during the week, that she would document her family's weekends. Because that's when they spend their time together... hiking, playing games, and just hanging out.

AND THAT'S ME TOO! I feel like I hardly see my kids during the week and I don't want to just make up some photo of my keys on the table next to my sunglasses because I've got nothing for that day. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just not for me.

So, I'm going to post the photos here {2011} a year of weekends each week. And even though the first photo in the album is one that I posted last week in another album, my goal is to only put pics in this album that I don't post anywhere else. Starting today. Yep.

But I have another project too. And this is going to be the hardest one of all I'm afraid. But I think it is the most important one. I follow a blog by Tara Whitney who is a photographer in Orange County, CA. Last year,  she decided that it was important that she step from behind the camera and join her family photos. Her six people twelve times project has inspired me to do the same. Like most photographers, I shy away from being in the images because of too many reasons to list here. I can count on my hands {and maybe one toe} how many times we've had a photo with just the three of us and yet, I could not tell you the number of times I've turned down the opportunity to have someone take our picture. Plus that's what self-timer is for. And now that my kids are getting older, it makes me sad to think that they won't have pictures of us together... laughing, hugging, hanging.

And how else will they make fun of my hair and clothes twenty years from now? So, if you are still reading this and wondering where the picture is, here ya go...

Don't judge me, but this is the last picture that I remember that had the three of us in it. And I had beach hair. It was 2 1/2 years ago. There may have been one after church about 18 months ago, but I can't find it which means I probably didn't like the way I looked. I hope I didn't delete it.

But I'm afraid I did.