Location, location, location!

I returned unscathed from my ladies' retreat in Navasota this past weekend. Sleep-deprived but unscathed. I learned a couple of things over the course of our 48-hour gabfest: how to make an incredible Fresca, Crown, and Lime (is there an official name for that?) and how to flush a toilet when the handle collapses. I also learned that I'm incredibly intuitive when it comes to guessing charades.

Speaking of charades, I'm sitting here brainstorming on the next photo shoot I can do with my family. You know, one of those deals where you coordinate everyone's wardrobe, go to a location where you meet with a photographer and her staff, and pretend you are there just having a good time when the photog appears out of nowhere like the paparazzi and starts snapping photos of you and your family pretending to have fun. It's a complete charade, and a pricey one at that! I can't wait too much longer to do another one because my daughter is approaching the age where she doesn't want to pantomime a good time with her parents and brother just to please me.

Let's see...we've already tackled the traditional locations. First, there was the field blanketed with wildflowers where we all wore white shirts and pretended we had nothing better to do on a suffocatingly hot day but sit in the middle of the field cuddling one another. Yeah, that's realistic. Then, there was the frolicking beach getaway which was in Galveston and therefore had to be shot in black-and-white to be convincing as a tropical paradise. (We broke out the white clothes for that occasion as well.) I must admit, those are my favorite because Neal and my son took a great photo that looks like a J.Crew ad.

So what are our remaining options? Texas' lack of diverse topography has put our photographic location options in a headlock. Do we consider canyon photos? River photos? Six Flags or Sea World photos? (Wait, we have those...but they aren't frame-worthy.) Your suggestions are welcome.