STICK around for some family photos...

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, we took our family pictures. We take family pictures about this time every year. We use them in our Christmas card and to fill the frames around our house with new photos. For the past few years Jacob Johnson has taken our pictures and we asked him to do it again this year. Thankfully he agreed!! He shot us for about an hour and we got TONS of good stuff!! Thank you Jacob!!

Maddox found a very large stick in the park where we were taking our pictures and he LOVED it SO much!! As funny as it sounds, we actually used this very stick as a "bribe" to get Maddox to take family pictures!! Ha!! We've bribed our kids with candy before, we've bribed them with McDonald's and we've bribed them with toys...but I don't think we've EVER bribed them with a stick before!! Ha!! The bribe worked though and we carried that stick from location to location while we took pictures bribing Maddox with each step that we couldn't take the stick home with us unless he smiled good and stood still for pictures...

After a few pictures, we had to let Maddox play swords with his stick for awhile to keep him happy...!!!

For actually kissing mommy in a picture, Maddox really wanted to show off his moves for the camera!! So, Jacob graciously shot Maddox using his stick as some sort of samurai sword and doing tricks with it over his head...

Then the boys made "leaf angels"...

And then the stick had to make another appearance...!!!

About mid-way through our photo shoot, Jacob told the boys just to dance around and act silly for some candid shots!! It was hilarious!! Ashtyn "walked like an Egyptian" and for some reason every time you tell Maddox to "dance" he just puts his arms straight down to his sides, stands stiff as a board and hops around. It's really pretty funny!!

And, of course, Maddox had to throw in some air guitar!!

And then we all got a little bit silly...

These are some of my favorite pictures. Jacob had Brandon and I sit in the leaves and the boys stood on either side of us. Then when Jacob said "Go!" the boys would throw leaves into the air over mine and Brandon's heads and Jacob would snap the pictures!! They turned out really good!!

Oh! And then the stick and some more silliness...!!!

After our family took pictures, the rest of Brandon's family showed up in the park and we took some pictures together!!

Me and my sisters-in-law. April and Dana.

The Knight boys!! Aren't they handsome!?

Uncle Tyler and Aunt April. They are expecting a baby girl in early January!! We are so excited to meet little Natalie Reese!!

Uncle Nay-Nay and Aunt Dana.

Noni and Papa.

My boys love their Noni and Papa SO VERY MUCH!!!!

The whole Knight family!!

It was cloudy and we were all looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner afterwards, but we had fun taking family pictures and got tons of great stuff!! Oh...and, in case you were wondering, YES Maddox got to take home his giant stick and it's currently in our very own backyard!! It was such a cheap bribe!!