2 MN Families Finalists In Awkward Family Photo Contest

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- You've likely heard the old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words," and for one lucky family, a picture may be worth $20,000.

That's the prize for a national family photo contest hosted by Embassy Suites Hotels, and Minnesota has two families, out of 1,300 entries, among the 20 finalists.

The idea of the contest is to submit an awkward family photo taken on a vacation.

Derek Larson said that he was around 12 years old when the awkward family photo he sent in to the contest was taken.

"It's in the Mankato area, or maybe St. Peter," he said. "I'm not positive, and we were on vacation down there, it was over the fourth of July."

For the photo, Larson's mom made Fourth of July hats out of Kentucky Fried Chicken buckets. Throw in blue shorts for the whole family, some tube socks, and you have the makings of a photo that America seems to love.

Craig Brown, another contestant, said he was a kid in a 1968 photo taken on a family vacation in Mexico.

" That picture had always kind of been in the family, and it was always something we could look back on and go, 'That was funny,'" he said "Everybody laughs at it."

And either Larson or Brown could be laughing all the way to Hawaii, a two week trip is also part of the prize package.

If you want to vote for one of these Minnesota family photos, click here.