Hills Visit AZ

The last weekend of September, Adam and Jessica and their family came down to Arizona for a visit.  It was so much fun to have them here!  The Monday that they were here, we all got together and went to a lake.  The Allens rented some wave runners and brought a tube for everyone to have fun in the water.  It was so good to see everyone and just play for a day.  My only regret is that I didn't get a big group photo!  Anyway, it was so wonderful to have the Hills come down and visit us ... Thanks again, Adam & Jess!  Love you!

Christmas Concert After Party

I posted this on my blog, but thought I'd post it here too. :)

I decided since I haven't posted about anything that we've done in the last few months, that I'd go back to Christmas time, at least for a little bit.  Eliza's and Kate's singing group, Shine Your Light Singers, sang at a church's Christmas Party in December.  Outside of the church, they had a small set up of a manger scene, with actors, and a small "petting zoo."  There were donkeys, and sheep, chicks, and bunnies.  The Allens and the Hills were able to come with us.  It was so nice to have family there supporting our girls ... Thank you, we love you!

Poor, Adam stood by the pen for the bunnies waiting and waiting for his turn with a particular bunny.  Finally, when he was given the bunny, he was scratched and it startled him enough that the bunny needed to be put back down.  After that point, he waited and waited patiently for another turn, which he never got.  I was surprised by his persistence.  He stood there for easily 15 minutes waiting for another turn.  While, Andrew held a bunny for probably 8-10 minutes alone.  He sure got attached to that cute furry thing.

Eliza and Kate were also attached.  Kate is holding a guinea pig, and Eliza is holding a bunny.  They left with the intention to own a bunny someday.

Oh, and their performance was so fantastic.  We were a little bit late, but made it before they started, so it was all good.  Eliza had a solo that she was able to sing one more time.  Kate's solo was part of a Chipmunks Christmas song, and their teacher didn't feel it was right for a church setting, so she didn't get to sing her song.  But, I will say this, after their first performance at an assisted living center, we walked out and all of the girls in the younger group were asking for Kate's autograph ... they all exclaimed at how much she sounded just like Alvin.  And, I completely agree!  Surprised me for sure!

Family Reunion Pictures -- Examples

I hope you all don't mind that I've just hijacked the family blog to show you all examples of pictures.  There seemed to be a little bit of confusion, so I thought I'd try to clear it up.  Here are some pictures of other families that I found at my favorite photographer's websites.  The way that the families used their color scheme is kind of the way I'd like to go.

These first two pictures were the examples in the word document I emailed.  The picture on the left shows the blending of the light blue, navy, khaki, and white.  But, there is a pattern.  Notice that all of the children have on white shirts, all of the men are wearing light blue button down dress shirts, and all of the women are wearing navy blue tops?  This looks really nice, but not as casual as I want our family pictures to be.

This next picture on the right shows the family using four main colors: (by order of percentage used) Navy, Light Blue/Denim, Green, and Yellow.  Take note of the green undershirts poking out from under the navy shirts, and the yellow accessories on the mom and daughter.  This is how I'd like us to use Green and Orange in our family photo ... just a little pop here and there.  The main colors are the light blue, white, navy/dark blue, and khaki.

The following two pictures are examples of a handful of colors being used by each person of the family in different ways.  See the little bit of pink in the girl's dress in the picture on the left?  And, notice how the mom's bright yellow shirt is echoed in the son's sleeves.  Brown is the predominant color in this photo, with orange, yellow and white accents.

The second photo shows brown and orange with a little bit of green and white.  Everyone is wearing something different, not everyone has the same color top on, or the same color bottoms.  Another thing I'd like in our family picture: variety in where the colors are.  

The rest of the photos below are examples of what I'd like.  A main color, or colors, and a small splash of contrast or bright color.  

Okay, in this photo, I love that the mom uses a yellow scarf for her little bit of "pop."  


And, this last picture is an example of a monochromatic color scheme, that I'm trying to avoid ... I'd rather everyone not wear all jeans on the bottom, or all khakis on the bottom.  There are some little bits of color (the brown shirt hem peeking out on the left), but in all, everyone looks the same.  I'd like a little bit of variety.