Family Reunions!

Despite the ridiculous heat wave, we did what all families do and persevered with our family picnic. I will admit that the main event was held in the comfort of air conditioning, but as the breeze started blowing and the clouds held back the dominating sun, we did venture out onto the wraparound porch and talked all afternoon long.

Those are cousins and they still act about 10 years old when together!

As I mentioned in the previous post, I styled this family reunion along with my sister who provided the party's inspirational fabric. Adding to the general family updates, we strongly encouraged everyone to participate in the various photo opportunities set up for them. One such opportunity was a photo back drop with frames for props. Luckily, everyone knew just what to do with this because they'd been at my birthday party a year earlier. That backdrop was a challenging one to create--I'd hoped for a simple sewn version where the lines would be crisp and colors vibrant and perfect. Since I am not the sew-er in the family, my sister suggested that we go for a painted option. While there were several moments of "oh crap, I think this might be a major fail" (actual text from my sister), and LOTS of sweating, I think it looked really great in the end. It was still super bright and cheerful and looked kind of artsy and imperfect (just like our family!) FYI, we created this look by watering down the acrylic paint.

Another fun photo opportunity was a video story booth set-up on the back porch. I had a few cue cards as prompts to facilitate the memories and get them talking. This was a lot of fun, and many people just hung around and listened to the stories. I liked recording the special relationships that were shared. This will definitely be a family gem!

Here are some of the questions on the cue cards:
-What did your mother or father give you that you 1.) Cherish or 2.) Wish she/he hadn't?
-Share a memory of someone in your family that has passed
-How did you meet your spouse?
-What did you do/play with your cousins when you were a child?
-What are the most remarkable inventions that happened in your lifetime? How did you manage before them?
-Who do you think you resemble most in your family?
-My (blank) always said:

Another fun highlight were the ice cream drumsticks my husband and I made. We even put the custom stickers on them!