boycotting school pictures

I remember picture days at school growing up. My mom curled my hair, dressed me up in a dress (the only time I would wear a dress to school)... and just pray & hope that my picture would turn out. When the pictures came in, she would either find out that A) I royally messed up my hair at recess or B) well... I think there isn't a B because the hair part is mostly the biggest pain. My friends & I used to exchange the bajillion wallet sized pictures we used to get. It was awesome.

Today is picture day at Maddie's school. I used to plan in advance for this big day! I used to make sure my girls had a cute outfit, their hair was curled or done just right. Until last year.

Last year it was the last straw when it came to school pictures. I was tired of paying $15 for the smallest package there was, and it only came with a 5x7 and 4 wallets. You *MIGHT* get a little more... if you were lucky. What a ripoff. I mean... if a package comes with two 5x7's, and you want one, obviously... what happens to the other two sets of grandparents who might want a 5x7?! Yeah, um..... sorry, this year you get the 5x7 and next year, the other grandparents get the 5x7?!

Plus if you saw the picture that Katie had, you would've thought a chimpanzee took the school pictures. The coloring was SO bad (let's talk about orange faces.... yeah, her face was orange!) & I think they snapped the picture right when she sat down on the chair... complete with a look as if she's about to start saying "CHEESE". I said "that's it... no more school pictures".

Sadly, I also realized over the year, that a lot of my friends are feeling the same way that I feel. "Oh, school pictures? Yeah, we don't do them.... I take my own pictures b/c I actually do a better job than the people Lifetouch hires..... WITH my point & shoot!!" Yes, said by multiple friends. Now, don't get me wrong, sometimes Lifetouch does a great job, but whatever company Katie's school used (it wasn't Lifetouch), they were Baaaaad! (said by a goat).

So, this year, I'm saving my $30-50 I would normally spend on school pictures, and I will be taking my own. I can print them for cheap at Sam's. And they will be exactly what I want them to be. No more bad hair days. No more disheveled looks in the school pictures. No more frowns in our school pictures. I'm boycotting school pictures. I will, however, buy the class picture. That's a must... :)

Until then, here's a picture of my two cute blondies at the park.