The anatomy of the fall....July 1992

This photo-op came at the end of our July 4th celebration in the summer of 1991. Mollie and Nina had already passed away but I still wanted a picture of my girls at 212. So on our way out of town, John and I and our 3 beautiful girls stopped by to get the picture I wanted for posterity.....and boy did I get it. Little did I know I'd never forget this moment as long as I lived.

Picture number 1
This first shot shows Caitlin with her photo game face on but we must be in a high wind because their hair is all over the place. Caitlin's trying to make it work even though Olivia ain't having it. Emma's face is TV worthy. Look at those cheeks.....yummy. And I may have already had my Chinese baby by the looks of Olivia.


Picture number 2
Even though Olivia seems to have calmed down, Caitlin's beginning to lose her confidence in this endeavor and even the 16 month old seems to have figured out this whole photo shoot's going to end in disaster.


Picture number 3
As you can see, Emma's looking quite the angel smiling at something off camera but the entire situation's breaking down fast. The blood has got to be rushing to Olivia's head as she has shifted to a downward angle and clearly Caitlin's becoming more distressed. Sack of taters comes to mind here as I'm obviously still snapping away.


Picture number 4
This is it, Defcon 5 and I'm still clicking.
Emma still looks happy and satisfied but Caitlin's face says EVERYTHING. She's losing her grip and the adults aren't gonna do anything to help her out. This is the last photo because about a half second after this was taken, Olivia bounced off the concrete like a rubber ball. I freaked and am sure I yelled at John because he should have done something....anything. Olivia's face had some scuffs on it and she was screaming her head off.....with the hysterical silent cry children get because they can't catch their breath. We considered going straight to the emergency room but did not.......I don't know why. I cried until at least Tyler. Although I still feel bad about this, it's truly one of the most memorable pictures I've ever taken. BUT I'd never want to relive this moment again.