This is why we love digital cameras!

With both boys looking so nice in their new Sunday shirts from Grandma, we decided to take a couple of pictures right quick after we got home from church.

"Right quick."

Sure.

Here are the pictures we took, in the order we took them.

First thing up, Alan didn't look to happy. Even though he was. And he definitely wasn't looking at the camera. However, not too bad of Dale:

Try again. Got a perfect smile from Alan, but something seems to have happened to Dale's neck!!

Number 3. We've rearranged, into a one-boy-in-front-of-the-other type pose. Not because of any creative photography on our part. More like "catch 'em while they are still in sight" because our subject were in no way still. This is probably the origin of all those cute benches and wagons and things in professional photos. Those things came about because of necessity. Just good luck keeping your subject seated. Only a shade easier than keeping them standing in the same place. Next time we'll try that!
Anyway, number 3. Not too bad, but Dale's over-enthusiastic smile has his eyes a little squinchy. Oh, and Alan's arms are mysteriously missing:

Oh my. This can't be good. How did things go so bad so quickly!?!

With the watch-turned-weapon back in the pocket (I don't think this is how Aunt Kristin intended her gift to be used!), we go for number 5.

Things are really beginning to go squirrelly. While posing and focusing, Alan sticks his finger in his nose. When I mention this to him, his response is just to grab for his nose all-together. (I suppose he didn't want it to end up in his pocket?!) And then there is Dale's "smile".

Finally, miraculously, number 6 turns out to be an acceptable photo. Yay! We can go in and have lunch now!


But the "mom" perfectionism inside of me wasn't satisfied with that bit-lip smile of Alan's. Apparently the "mom" perfectionism inside my mom knew we could do better too. Photo-shop whiz that she is, she took the best of the above smiles and poses and cut and pasted and resized and blended until she came up with this:
Ha! All while we were inside in the air conditioning! It definitely pays to have a handy photo-shopper around!