Fourth of July {Part 2} Scrapbook pages

Here are the pages from our family Fourth of July celebration.

To read about it go here.

To read {Part 1} go here.

Fourth of July {Part One}

We moved to Arkansas on June 3, 2008.  There are many things I miss about not being close to our family.  In the eight years that we have been away, the hardest holiday for me has always been the Fourth of July.  So naturally, one of the first questions I asked a friend was, “what kind of fun things happen around here for the Fourth of July?”  She got the most excited and delighted look on her face as she began to tell me about the Henderson celebration.  The Henderson’s are a family that live in our ward.  They have a nice piece of land with a beautiful pavilion, and facilities for great parties.  Every year they invite our ward to come out and celebrate our Nation’s birthday.  It really has been one of the most memorable parts of our time here in Arkansas.

This year was our last year to attend.  It is so sad because our kids enjoy it so much, and we enjoy spending time with our friends.  I wanted to make sure that I really documented this special memory of our time in Arkansas.  This year they had the party on Saturday, July 2nd.

I apologize now for picture overload.

The property is so beautiful.  They have flowers, benches, arbors, trees, and water that add to the beauty of the party.

I couldn’t help but take some pictures of Tessa Mae.

The food at the party is to die for.  They provide all the food.  You will find: ribs, hamburgers, hotdogs, French fries, sides, watermelon and catfish.

Lets not forget the yummy homemade ice-cream; vanilla, strawberry, and banana. The Strawberry is my favorite. I have heard that they make close to 25 batches of homemade ice-cream.  Can you imagine all the work that goes in to this party.

They also have a stand specifically for drinks, snocones, and cotton candy.  YUM!!  All of us enjoyed the cotton candy.  Here in the south you have to eat it fast before it melts.

 

There is also plenty to do.  Among visiting with our friends, they have activities for the adults.  Jonathan was undefeated in horse shoes.  There is also plenty for the kids to do.  They enjoy being with their friends, and playing on the massive playground.  All of which was hand built by the Henderson's.  Tessa loves to swing.  Thankfully, she talked my friend Leslie in to swinging with her.

After the sun goes down, they put on a marvelous firework show.  We all just sit back and ENJOY!! Except for Tess.  She was so nervous, she snuggled in to Leslie and went to sleep.

Thank you Henderson family for making our Fourth of July’s here in Arkansas so wonderful.

P.S.  keep reading to see the scrapbook pages(or click here) I made to document our Fourth of July at the Henderson’s.

Fourth of July at the Henderson’s in Scrapbook pages

I am attempting to scrapbook as it happens.  I am tired of being behind, so I am taking control and scrapbooking in the now.  I will catch up later.  I will share what I scrapbook, as I do it.  I plan to make the pages before I post about it, but that doesn’t always happen.  Feel free, to save them for ideas for your own scrapbook pages.  I hope this encourages you to record your memories some how.  It is so important to be a record keeping people.  Our history is what connects our past with the future.

For more information about how I scrapbook go here.

(I just switched to Photoshop CS5.  I found that I still use elements for scrapbooking.  It is still easier for me.  I use CS5 for photography.)

Most of the scrapbook products you see here came from:

Shabby Miss Jen

and Carina Gardner at Jessica Sprague

To read about our Fourth of July at the Henderson’s visit here.

The Simple Things

There is nothing like an All-American Hot dog during the Fourth of July Weekend.

Happy Birthday America!!

Linking to:

Family Picture Time

Every year we, as in the six of us, get all dressed up and pose for the camera.    While we were in Houston, we were lucky to have one of Houston’s finest capture our family.  Luckily, she likes me and could squeeze us in.

Taking family pictures is always a big project.

I spend weeks planning and preparing our wardrobe.  Because I also take pictures for a business, I know how important it is to get the colors and style just right.

I also have a very small budget.  I am here to tell you that you can still look great on very little money.

How do I decide?

First, I start with inspiration.  My living room colors were my inspiration.  I wanted our family picture to look like it was made for our family room.

Plus, those colors will look great on our Christmas card.  Yes, we have already taken our Christmas Card picture.  I love it, and I can’t wait to share it with you. You only have to wait six more months.  I can cross that one of the list.  It is so nice to have something done for Christmas in June.

After I pick the colors, I like to think about the style that I am going for.  I wanted sophisticated woman, meets rock and roll.

Once I decide on the colors and style I keep my eyes open.

I ran across these gold skirts for the girls at old Navy in their clearance section; and beautiful gold shoes for Tessa’s feet.  I knew some red and black would seal the deal. 

Stella already had a black shirt.  I bought some red trim flowers from the Lob, and sewed it on.  I also made her a headband.  Tess already had this great black sweater, so I thought a flower pin would add just the right amount of red. I also made that out of the trim and a little hot glue. A strand of mother’s pearls also makes the outfit.  I made her a couple hair clips, and wa-la; the girls look hip and sophisticated.  In photography, the littlest details really do make all the difference.

I knew I wanted the boys to wear ties, but I had a hard time finding what I was looking for.  It was time to break out the sewing machine and make my own.  I found the tutorial here.  If you don’t sew, you could always search etsy for someone who does.  We already had white shirts and jeans.  I chose to have them wear their sneakers instead of dress shoes.  I like the look it gives.  Just the style I was going for.

 

Luckily, my husband had just bought this black shirt.  I can’t resist a man in designer jeans and boots so that completed his rock and roll look.

I am always the one that needs help.  I have a hard time picking out something for myself.  I knew I wanted a dress, and when I found this one for $8.00 on clearance at Target; I snatched it up.  I made it my own by adding a red tie.  I knew red heels and a red necklace would finish it off; so I hit the Goodwill.  Guess what, I found them both for $5.oo total.  My total outfit came to $13.00.  I painted my fingernails red to complete the ensemble.  I do believe that the details really make it.

Krysta did such a good job at capturing our family.  This picture says it all for me.

THIS IS OUR LIFE!!

Once we got home, I couldn’t wait to print them.  This is another way that you can help make your pictures look there best.  Pick a quality printer.  Walmart is not going to do your pictures justice.  I love mpix.com.

I couldn’t wait to see what they would look like in our house.

I love how the colors match.

What do you think?

I hope this helps you when thinking about your own family pictures.  The colors, style, printing, and of course the photographer you pick really do effect the outcome of your pictures.  You can have a part in making your images look even better.

For more photography inspiration visit me here, or Krysta here.