#WordsOfWisdom

"Do all the good you can,

by all the means you can, 

in all the ways you can,

in all the places you can,

at all the times you can,

to all the people you can,

as long as ever you can."

~John Wesley

Bryce || Tomorrow

Happy 10th Birthday Bryce!

(Image Credit: Alex Paterson)

#WordsOfWisdom

"Responsibility is a muscle that needs to be worked."

~Alex and Brett Harris

(Do Hard Things)

Mum

Happy Birthday Mum!

#WordsOfWisdom

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

~John Wooden 

21st Birthday Party Plans & Preparations

Before we get into the *actual* party shots I thought we might set the scene a little with some shots of the preparation. ;) 

: : Invitations : :

I thought with a few hours I could have these done and ready to post . . . yeah, not quite.
All printing is black ink onto brown paper, with the woodgrain stamped over in VersaMark.
Paper mounted on black card, ribbon tied around, and photo glued on :)
Envelope stamped to match (let's not mention how many VersaMarks I ran out . . . hehe)

: : Wall decor : :

These are cardstock as opposed to paper; since I didn't need to run them through the printer I opted for the greater strength. Most detailing was traced around a template with a black Sharpie, and the red/sliver is glitter paint. We also cut out some black pistols which didn't make it into this shot.

: : Costume #1 ready to go! : :

: : Maria & Laura wanted to be involved too but were disappointed a lot of things needed to be done by someone older : :
They got to help make up the trail mix though

: : Trialing the table layout : :

The day prior to the party we picked up the cake and made nearly 40 dessert pies, along with too many other things!

: : Keeping the theme : :

: : After spending the day travelling up from Wellington with his mum,  Alex jumped right in with constructing the pies : :
{The tidy ones were his :P }

: : Isaac helped a lot as well . . . ask him about zesting lemons sometime :P : :

: : Horseshoes = pumpkin pie : :
Second row = lemon meringue pies
Lattice top = strawberry pie
Can't remember which other ones were on the table, but we also made apple pies and peach pies :)

Obviously there was a lot more planning + preparation that took place than was photographed and shown here; several of us were busy working on things in the months prior and as we approached crunch time it was all-hands-on-deck. So thank you to everyone who was involved!

And now! Drumroll for the actual event photos please! :P

David's 21st {Or the Post in Which I Reveal My Identity as Superwoman}

It's been fun having a few 21sts in our church group over the last few months, but I think we may be done for a bit now?

David's and my birthdays are only a few days apart, and I was in the thick of planning my own party so jumped on Google and Pinterest the night before (don't do it guys, it's stressful :P) to see if I could put a book-character costume together.

I've never read/watched/whatever Superwoman, but some of the ideas coming up looked like ones I could re-create. I already had a blue top, red skirt, red shoes, and gold ribbon, so that decided my costume for me lol. I found (yes, and coloured in) a colouring picture to pin onto my top, and grabbed some red fabric the following day which Mum made into a cape and erm whatever-you-want-to-call-them to make my shoes look like boots.

Thanks Malinda for the following shots:

: : With Toby and Ruth : :

: : I wonder if Facebook still recognised the Birthday Boy? : :

: : Superwoman and Mary Poppins aka Georga : :

Themed Shoot || Country/Western {Installment 3}

See here for Installment 1 and here for Installment 2 :)

: : And afterwards we finished with food + chat :) Thank again guys! : :

#WordsOfWisdom

"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak.

Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."

~ Sir Winston Churchill

Themed Shoot || Country/Western {Installment 2}

See here for installment 1!

: : We all need a little push sometimes : :

Kiddos asked for an explanation and these options were supplied, take your pick Alex said :P

1) "Alex carefully balancing on a tightrope while cameraman points finger"

2) "Cameraman pretends to gently encourage tiny Alex"

3) "Model maker manipulates miniature figurines in lifelike display"

4) "Alex desperately escaping a giant Isaac"

5) "Cameraman with obviously too much time on his hands has a laugh between photo shoots"

6) "What is Alex doing"

"Running for his life by the looks"

Jarrod's 18th Birthday

The little bro turned 18 this year, and several of us decided that was a milestone worth celebrating, so organised a little surprise for him :) 

Alex & Isaac {secretly ;P } came up from Wellington for the event, turning up at our place to surprise him a little before we said we had to leave (destination unknown ;) haha) 

We met a couple of others at Escapade for our first experience with escape rooms. Initially we were at a bit of a loss what to do, and I would by no means call myself an expert now but we did better as we went along, and I think we all had fun in the end. 

Afterwards a couple more friends joined us for dinner and I think a pleasant evening was enjoyed by all :) 

#WordsOfWisdom

"Without a goal, you can't score"

~Casey Neistat