photo shoot 7.27.11 (photo heavy!)

Okay... the following are the pictures I chose to have enlarged to replace the older ones in the house. I try to get the kids pictures taken around their birthdays every year but with the aforementioned dislike of the Picture People I have put off doing it this year. So I got the kids dressed and off around town we went.

We went to Prescott Park down by the Lamprey River, to the park across the street from the post office and to the library. All great spots to take pictures. There are more around town but that day it was starting to get a bit hot to be out and about.

Love this picture of Kira. It is being enlarged to 10X13. So sweet!! And check out all those freckles! The girl has been growing quite a crop of them this summer.

I totally love this one. Hubby not so much. It will be in my office so I can enjoy it.

She has wanted to have her picture taken this year holding up how old she is since last year when she did it. I think it worked out pretty darn well. She was happy with it.

A little rain and umbrella and I think she's set to sing in the rain!! Such a ham!!

Simply stunning picture of my girl. I can't believe how much she has grown and is turning into quite a lovely young lady.

My sweet little man. This one will be a 10X13 next to Kira's on the same wall. It's gonna look amazing!!

Peek a Alex!! He does these things all by himself. So happy they are amazing at posing on their own. Makes it easy on this photographer!

If you saw the photo shoot from yesterday you can see why the kids thought it was neat that the tide was out.

Love this picture!! So him and totally going on the wall!!

You can see in his eyes he's up to something. Love that look!

Adore this one of the two of them. Plus I managed to get our street name in the picture!! Love it!

At the library. I was standing over them and ended up turning this picture all the way around to get it like this. So cute!

Okay.... how can I not get this picture enlarged?? It just shows how much he simply adores his big sister. And her hand on his back... so protective. Love it!

I like this one! So adorable.

Love my kiddos. Those smiles melt my heart.

My wish for them is to remain as close as they are right now. They truly love each other and will protect each other no matter what. I hope they will always remember that as they grow up.

Needless to say my Winkflash order is full of enlargements. I also printed up 77 4X6's so that I could get my Project Life album filled in through July. Happy to say I spent only $34 on all the enlargements and the prints. I have never left Picture People that cheaply. That is even less than their Portrait Club membership! The best part (besides saving a boatload of money) is the satisfaction I have of doing it myself.

Love my kids!

photo shoot 8.3.11

I took Kira out yesterday in her daddy daughter dance dress for some pictures. I had been putting it off and putting it off since Picture People's quality has slipped a ton and I hate to give my money to places without receiving great service/ product. In fact I had put it off so long (the dance was in February) that Kira had outgrown her shoes!! We had to pick up a new pair at Target. They were perfect and had Hello Kitty on them.

Took me a bit of time to narrow down which ones I wanted then mom got to pick hers as well. Figured I'd order all the enlargements at once to save time and shipping. Love Winkflash for enlargements. They do a great job. Also good for 4X6's too!

This first shot is the one my mom picked out for her own collection.

Alex also wanted his picture taken. Don't want him to feel left out so he got in on the action. The following two pictures of him are ones I had enlarged. We need to change out a bunch of pictures around here. The kids are growing up!!

The tide was out yesterday when we went to the park by the Lamprey River which both kids thought was pretty neat. Love taking pictures down at Prescott Park.

Here he is in his usual state of movement! We were down at the library. I love the bricks and the granite on this building and in the morning the sun is shining but not into the kids eyes making them squint.

More of Kira in her dress. This one I edited into a landscape 8X10 for enlargement.

This one just rocks!! Such a pretty little lady. The dress is a bit shorter than when Nana made it. The girl has grown an inch since June!!

The true test of any dress for Kira is the spin factor. Always has and probably always will be. This one passed with flying colors!! Can you see those blinged out shoes? They are covered with bling and match the dress perfectly!! And yes... have Hello Kitty on them near the strap. PERFECT!!

Here is my ham. She loves holding the dress out like that. She did the bow all by herself. So happy she is so willing to have her picture taken and since we have been going to Picture People since before she was born (I have the pictures to prove it) she knows exactly how to pose and look and such. It was not easy coming up with just a few pictures to have enlarged. Of course I'll have more printed to scrap... but for now they will be on display.

Off to post the pictures I picked out from the birthday and kids together photo shoot last week.

freehand scraps sketch contest...

and the Punky Sprouts sketch contest that I have missed the deadline for :(

The first layout is for the Freehand Scraps sketch contest over at the Pagemaps blog. Here is the sketch....

And here is my take on the sketch. I had fun using all those thumbnail pictures that come with your order with Winkflash. They were perfect as embellishments on this layout. Some Doodlebug Easter pattern papers I have had for awhile, DCWV solid cardstock and Making Memories rub on letters for the title. Pretty sure all the blooms are primas, if not they are a giving a good impression of primas!! LOL

This year the kids moved so fast in finding the eggs, I didn't get many of the actual finding the eggs pictures. Kira would find an egg and then pose. Love it!! Alex was a blur in most pictures. Even with the sport mode on the camera!! He's fast!

This next layout was supposed to be for the Punky Sprouts sketch challenge but since I went away to enjoy some me time, I didn't get it entered (or completed) in time. But happy to have scrapped the pictures. Here's the sketch....

Here is the layout. This continues the wet egg hunt theme that was happening this year. Even my parents got in on the action. They were keeping dry but they looked just like a couple of peeps! I really really wanted to get a black marker and put some eyes on those hoods. I don't think they would have appreciated it but it was a funny thought. Yes I voiced that thought as well which was received with some snarls from both of them!!

Today I took the kids on a photo shoot around town. Trying to get some new pictures to replace their birthday ones from last year. Yes I am about six months late for Alex's but the timing would not work out, and Picture People is not the greatest place to get pictures taken anymore. For that I am really sad as I have loved going there since before Kira was even born. I don't like the direction the company is headed and their photographers no longer care about capturing the personalities of the kids but instead need to sell photos to be considered a good hire.

Personally I would think that if you have captured my child's personality, I would be willing to spend a small fortune to get those portraits into my house (and I have been known to do such things) So I opted for taking the pictures myself.

When I can narrow down the ones I am going to have enlarged and hang in the house, I will post those ones. If you want to scroll through the rest, they are on my Facebook page... all 143 of them!! Those are just the ones that I am considering enlarging. I need to narrow those down to the best four for each of the kids and then a few of them together so about 11 total. Should only take me a few months to do that!! ;)