7.17.2012

I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy...

MerMagYankeeDoodleDandy1
As usual we had a fabulous time at my family's Fourth of July reunion in Colorado and as usual, we went all out. This year we decided to go with the birth of America, 1776 theme and the end result was nothing short of amazing. My mother created a lovely patriotic environment complete with homemade lanterns out of tin cans, cuddly quilts to lounge on, a perfect thrifted fabric for a photo backdrop, red white and blue treats to bring with us to the fireworks show and so much more!
MerMagYankeeDoodleDandy2Our summer has been rather busy so we decided to just reuse clothing and costume items that we have created and utilized in the past. My sisters however, well they took this theme and ran with it, making darling dresses for their girls...and even themselves (you can check out my sister Lorajean's pin board for the event here)! My older sister Daryllyn made a gorgeous yellow gown for herself and topped it off with a fabulous white wig. Her little darlings were just as impressively decked out.
MerMagYankeeDoodleDandy3My mother sewed all of the little girls cute little white bonnets and my sisters adorned their hair with ringlets. Everyone just looked so great.
MerMagYankeeDoodleDandy4In fact, everyone was asked to pick a particular person on early American history and not only dress the part, but come up with a mini skit or an informative piece of sorts sharing a bit about that historical figure. So we had a Davy Crockett, a Danial Boone, a Betsy Ross, a Paul Revere, an Abigail Adams, and more!MerMagYankeeDoodleDandy5It was extremely hot this year so aside from dressing up, we didn't do a whole lot. Typically we have a number of games and activities but after dressing up, eating and take a number of festive photos, we all then ditched our warm costumes in favor of swimsuits and my parents pool. Because of the number of fires in Colorado this year, all personal fireworks were banned. Our local communities larger fireworks were also cancelled so we traveled to a near by town to see a few overhead fireworks there. It was a great ending to a fun and festive day!
MerMagYankeeDoodleDandy6We did miss having Jon along for the trip and many mentioned missing his playful, actor, "life of the party" contribution to to the reunion. But aside from missing Jon, the boys and I had a fantastic time. In fact, the Littles have had a hard time transitioning back to our day to day summer life without a mob of cousins to run and play with.

Oh and I discovered that the secret to getting a moody "Count of Monte Cristo" look from my 6 yr old son is to pull him away from all the fun and ask him to pose for the camera for a few minutes. And oh will he stare you down...barely blinking...and refusing to crack even the slightest of grins... I have to admit, I was sort of impressed with his resolve and had to try not to giggle when after at least 10 clicks, he didn't budge at all. I'm seeing stubborn teen in a number of years...Oh boy. But man do I love that kid! MerMagYankeeDoodleDandy7

7 comments:

  1. Oh the Monte Cristo shot is adorable! I wish we played dress up at family reunions too.

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  2. Wow! What a creative family and amazing family reunion! I doubt i would get this kind of participation or enthusiasm from my family! :)

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  3. Love, love, LOVE this! This is so up my alley! Just pure brilliance, genius, and awesome. I wish more families participated in such adventures as this. did I mention I love this!

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  4. I'm loving all these pictures. Now why didn't you post what you wore? Your hair and lipstick looks perfect.

    My grandmother's name is Betsy Ross Young Newton. After her ancestor, the Betsy Ross. Cool, hu?

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    1. Oh I love your grandmother's name! So great. And that you are related, love it. So yeah, I just wore a striped blue and white shirt with shorts. boring. I think because Jon wasn't there to get family pics with, I didn't want to bother. That and I'd have to work around the baby bump. :)

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  5. Your family is so ridiculously talented! Another fun interpretation of the best that family and life has to offer! I enjoy reading up on the Allred activities; they are always a treat!

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  6. so awesome - you guys really put in some effort! Effort for us on Australia Day consists on slipping our feet into thongs! (oh wait - you call them flip flops, right?!) x

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