We took a family photo.
Not even the whole family- just those who still live at home and the adults who moved out but are still single.
Setup is complex, but we have the written layout, and all agree hands down that Esther is the absolute last person to be brought in.
First up are the older kids whose wheelchairs take too much space. Checha, Rafa, Yenni, and Ale are staged on a large couch the guys have brought out. Walter’s wheelchair is pulled up beside. A little autistic rocking from Yenni to settle in, and all is well.
Then come some of the older kids who can walk. Brayan, Cesar and Brenda shuffle in, and only one was confused and sat backwards. This is to be expected, and we’ll correct it last minute. So far so good.
Jon, Josh and Kim are in place with no notable excitement.
The next phase introduces a number of wild cards, but somehow not the wildest of cards if you will! Oli, Santi and Liza are set in front of the couch, and are mostly are ok with this. BUT WAIT! We are missing Alison! No worries, just a quick wardrobe change, and she joins the rest. Nobody is particularly happy about sitting together, and Oli really wants shoes, but nobody was poking anyone else in the eye, so we call this a win.
Next are a few little ladies who will sit in the laps of the older kids– specifically the older ones who won’t shove them to the ground. Mimi joins Checha’s protective arms and frankly the two might be the best behaved pair of the lot. Jenny is a bit of a psycho, and squirms in Alejandra’s lab.
We are getting down to the wire now, ready for the back row. Now come the adults who will be holding kids in their arms as they stand. I grab David, Wanda takes Kevin, Daryl grabs Humberto, and behind the couch this next group congregates. Success is not stepping on anyone, or accidentally kicking people with the stiff little feet of those carried.
This only leaves Ruavis and Jay, who is arranging the camera, and of course, Esther who must be last!
Finally, Jay grabs Ruavis and takes his place. Emily is helping to snap photos and is told to just keep snapping because there is no way to catch all this chaos!
Someone steps in to turn Cesar around to face forward. Miraculously he stays like this for the duration.
Just before the photos, Esther is brought out in her chair, and placed on the end. She is not happy, but her suffering will be brief.
Now we are ready! 3, 2, 1— NOOOOOO!!!!! Walter threw up!
This tracks.
The pit crew off camera speeds in for a quick change, and he is good to go.
But now Ruavis is coughing and vomiting phlegm!!
Ok, this is fine, everything is fine! Just keep snapping photos Emily!!!
A goodly number of rags and wipes are down for the count, but Ruavis is more or less ready to go.
Meanwhile Brenda has an emotional break in the front! She is not impressed with sitting on the grass. Some verbal coaching, and tears are wiped away, but the young teenaged angst remains.
This is good– things are going well.
Jenny has been wriggling for some time now, and Ale is losing her grip as the miniature contortionist attempts to slither away. A quick adjustment squelches Jenny’s attempt at a prison break.
A second round of vomiting from Walter and spit up from Ruavis proceeds another emotional melt down, this time by Olimpia. She really wants shoes.
Esther has tried to escape a few times as expected, but Josh has a firm grip on her chair.
Meanwhile the peanut gallery is laughing and snapping photos of the chaos on their phones while Emily keeps clicking away at the camera. Enough photos and enough skills with photoshop will win out eventually.
In the end, nobody bit anyone else, only two kids threw up, only three cried, and nobody released unintended verbal exchanges all while we managed to keep Esther in the photo– Excellent photo day.
50 some photos snapped, and 3 were found in which most people had their eyes open and were looking the right direction. Smiling is optional.
Enjoy the results!
I’m going for some chocolate.
