Not long ago, we spent the day with a photographer from LA and photo stylist from New York. They were in town to snap photos of our tiny tribe for a feature in Family Circle Magazine.

Some weeks have passed since then, but we were vaguely aware that the issue with our family’s story would be coming out this summer. It being June, Robbi thought to have a look at the magazine rack while we were shopping yesterday (a kind of miracle, frankly).

And look what she found!

There we were in the table of contents. Which kept us from the desperate scramble to thumb through every page attempting to find ourselves (a quest we have not yet completed in 40 years of trying).

The children were excited. Or was it horrified? I couldn’t quite tell.

Kato immediately proclaimed that his appearance fee was going to double.

August made an esoteric comment about the surprising quality of the printing.

We bought a few copies and brought them home, where we exhausted ourselves trying to get a decent selfie with both of us and the magazine. We gave up, eventually. Here is the least conspicuous failure. If only Ari (the Family Circle photographer) had been on hand to document the moment.

Here is the online version, which includes the entire interview.

And here is the print version, with an embarrassing pull-quote about my lack of taste in music (that I fully admit to having said) and more photos of hard-hitting family action. 

For those of you who are desperate to buy a copy for archival preservation and/or framing (thanks, Mom!), here’s the cover to look for.

It seems only fitting that it features a truly gratuitous strawberry shortcake, which is, if you are not aware, one of our many family traditions.

Thank you, Family Circle, for giving our family this opportunity. That’s you, Lisa Kelsey and Suzanne Rust! And you Tina Anderson and Ari Michelson!

Not only was this incredibly fun, but it gave us an excellent excuse to clean our damn house. And to get a few new shirts. Maybe you guys could come around every six months or so to keep us in line?

Or at least threaten to?