Awkward Family Photo Could Be Family's Ticket to Hawaii

The Lathrop family of Plain Township is in the running for title of “most awkward family” as they head into the last day of voting in Embassy Suites’ Awkward Family Vacation Photo Contest. They’ve shared with North Canton Patch their family photo of a trip to a Wisconsin cabin that immortalized a young girl’s “extremely rebellious years."

Did we mention the family gets a 10-day trip to Hawaii if they win (and a stay in Embassy Suites if they wind up in the top five)? They just have to have the votes to back them up. And they’ve only got today to get them.

Here’s where you vote, and Mary Ellen Lathrop, the rebellious teen's mother, tells the story behind the photo in the Q&A below.

North Canton Patch: So what’s the background behind this photo — and that goth-looking girl in the middle?

Mary Ellen Lathrop: I’m mother to three of the kids in the photo — the one on in the funny clothes and make-up, the other little girl and the older of the three boys. We were at a family vacation in a cabin in Wisconsin and she couldn’t admit she was having fun, so she even went out fishing in those clothes. She had a homemade outfit on of layers upon layers, it almost looked like a girl wearing a bustle. She had on very heavy make-up on to protect her from the sun.

What it comes down to is the family was having a really fantastic time together, and she wouldn’t allow herself to look like she was.

North Canton Patch: What’s your daughter like now?

Lathrop: Ava, who now lives in San Francisco and is getting married in November, is still eccentric in terms of the way she acts. She still likes to dress in black, although she does it very stylishly now. She’s very, very intelligent. She is a network security engineer (which is basically a hacker for the good guys) for a major software company. She just is a really Type A personality.

North Canton Patch: What’s your daughter think about you entering this contest?

Lathrop: She enjoys it. We deal with this as a family with humor.

North Canton Patch: Was it easy to choose this photo for the contest, or did you have others that were also pretty awkward?

Lathrop: I did this on a whim. It happened to be in a folder of photos we recently scanned. I was surprised it hit the finals. Obviously it is very awkward, but who knows what they are looking for.

North Canton Patch: If you win, are you taking your daughter to Hawaii?

Lathrop: She will be invited, but with her schedule I don’t know if she’ll be able to do it.

North Canton Patch: Anything else you’d like to add?

Lathrop: We appreciate the community support and people deciding to take a second and go give us their support. It’s nice.