Fairview Park Woman wins AARP InstaGrands Photo Contest

What did it take to win AARP’s InstaGrands Photo Contest? For Terri Morris, of Fairview Park, it took tiaras, pink tutus and a whole lot of love.

“I love to capture the moment,” Terri said, and that’s exactly what she did to win the contest.  Her picture of husband, Lester, playing with their granddaughter, Olivia, was chosen from 405 entries nationwide as the grand prize winner, earning her a trip for two to Hawaii.

Terri noticed the contest in AARP the Magazine.  AARP asked readers to submit silly or goofy grandparent photos to Instagram. She had many to choose among because Terri and Lester love to spend time with both of their grandchildren, Olivia and Preston.

“I knew exactly which one I wanted to enter, but didn’t enter until two days before the contest ended,” she said.

Terri said this special photo came about one day when Lester was playing dress up with their granddaughter Olivia. Seeing that special moment between Lester and Olivia melted Terri’s heart, and it was then that she snapped the photo that would win the trip to Hawaii.

On another occasion when Olivia was celebrating her 4 ^th birthday with a “Pinkalicious” party, Lester instantly and enthusiastically joined the fun.

“He went into the bathroom and put pink eye shadow all over his face,” she said, “When he came out, Olivia said, ‘Papa, you’re pink!’”

As the “picture person” who is always taking photos at family events and get-togethers, Terri says she sometimes hears “Enough with the pictures,” from her friends. Winning the contest by capturing a such a special, silly moment, she said, tells her, “It’s okay to take these pictures.”

The trip to Hawaii is coming at the perfect time. Terri and Lester, who met while they were both in the Air Force, will be celebrating their 40 ^th wedding anniversary early next year.

“Our last trip was 12 years ago,” Terri said. “We’ve been talking about going somewhere warm, so this is perfect. We’re so excited.”[gallery ids="17646,17649,17645,17648,17647"]