It was the first time (it's amazing how many firsts there are when you lose a parent) we had been to my Mom's hometown since she passed away in August, and I must say it was a strain on my heart. Actually it was heart-crushing because our Mom was always the center of our family gatherings, and her absence was as glaringly obvious as someone bouncing a ray of sun into your eyes with a mirror.
To get our minds off that missing ginormous piece of our weekend, we decided to head outdoors for some pics. Getting out into that bone chilling, fresh Iowa air totally helped me get my mind off the sadness of the occasion, and my family discovered that taking family pics doesn't have to be torture! They realized that you can make it your "own" and make it fun, and that the days of excrutiatingly boring photo shoots, are no more:)
