Grad 2012 - The Banquet

Friday night we attended the graduation banquet honoring our Alisha. Friday morning I completed the finishing touches on Alisha's dress (just the hem) and then we proceeded to help her get ready for the evening. Shylah did her hair for her and once that was done, we went out and took photos in the back yard. Let me share...

 So this dress has a story, which I will share in a separate blog post. It took a long time to get it just so and ready for grad. At one point Alisha was a little stressed because it wasn't done yet and she wasn't sure I could manage it. But it all worked out just fine and the weekend went off without a hitch.

 Above is a photo of the 2012 Sentator Gershaw graduating class.

 A random shot, courtesy of Naomi where Alisha and Shylah are heading back home after the photo session at the school.

 The grand march. I had a hard time getting any good photo's of this part of the evening. It seemed like every time I was ready to take a photo my subjects had either moved or someone had stepped between them and my camera....

 But in the end, they all stood together and I even lucked out enough to be standing right in front of where Alisha and her dad ended up!!! A great photo opportunity!

 Following the grand march Alisha got to dance the first dance with her dad. A momentous occasion and you can see they joy shining in both of their eyes.

 Following the parent dance, was the escort dance. This is Craig - Alisha asked him a few weeks back to be her escort. I had a hard time getting a good picture of them, but I know there are some good ones out there because there were a number of camera's focused in on this cute couple.

 And of course we had to take a photo of Alisha with both of her parents.

Following all the excitement at the school we returned to our place where family and friends greeted Alisha during the evening and into the night. The party wound down in the early morning hours with everyone in attendance seeming to have had a good time. I don't need to say much about joy in the form of words as you can see it radiated in nearly every one of the photos in this post. What a glorious evening! Thanks to all who came to support Alisha in the celebration of her graduation!

Grad 2012 - The Ceremonies

Thursday night we attended the 2012 Graduation ceremonies for Alisha. Yup, she is our second child to graduate, and it was a wonderful evening to celebrate with her. One of the highlights of the evening was the quote she had specifically found for grad which was printed nice and big on the program.

I loved going to grad and finding a quote from one of the apostles on the program - and well worth quoting too.
There were 29 grads honored during the evening, but of course, most of my photos center on my girl. So here they are...

Being introduced to the assembly.

 Checking out her diploma/certificate that she just received.

 During the ceremonies.

Just for fun, cap and gown photo shoot (minus the cap) - place: our back yard:

 In the tulips

Golden rays of sunshine...

Standing in the apple tree branches, we couldn't help but tease Alisha about the possibility of a bee mistaking her for a radiant blossom....

The full ensemble. Love that smile!!!

 

You would never know it, but Alisha was suffering from a nasty sunburn during these photos. She had only a few days before helped to shingle the roof of her grandparents home getting pretty burned in the process. In the outdoor photos above, she was hurting, but by Thursday night the burn was all but gone.

Gorgeous girl!

And one last random shot of our graduate!

What a joy it is to have a daughter that is as good as she is lovely. She is a joy to have in our home and such an important part of our family. We love her smile and her laugh. We love her humor, her successes and her friends. She is a shining example to all who know her. Congratulations to you Alisha on your high school achievements! You are awesome!!!

Too Much Fun

That's what my daughters called it and it fits - Too Much Fun!!! We had another birthday at our house and it was great to have everyone together to celebrate! They say a picture tells a thousand words, so read away...

Adding to the fun, the older girls took a walk and toted the camera along...

What a beautiful day for a birthday. The rains we have been having have turned the grass a rich green, flowers are blooming and the birds are singing. What a glorious time of year made all the better for me as I am surrounded with my wonderful children and loving husband. What a joy life is!

Gotta Play in the Water!

We love spring days with rain showers. Look what we discovered today.
A beautiful rainbow - photography courtesy of Naomi

 She even managed to capture a shot of me doing what I love to do - in this case it is planting Forget Me Not's.

 Then later she got bored and discovered a wet spider web that was glistening in the sun.

That ended Naomi's photo shoot. Around supper time we had a deluge of rain! Whenever it does that, as long as it is not too cold, the kids are immediately outside playing in it. Today was no exception! Charity is so silly, she took only the frame of her umbrella out!

 Wading in the accumulated water on the street

 Naomi enjoying the rain

 Here is Breanna using the covering for Charity's umbrella as a hat of sorts.

The rain was wonderful, the colors are vibrant and it is hard to stay inside, even on rainy days. I love the spring - I can't seem to get enough of it!