Mexico 2013 - Instax Mini Mini

This album was almost 3 years waiting to be made. One of my scrapbooking plans this year is to gather all the random Instax pics hiding around my house and put them in mini albums, or on layouts, or in my gratitude jar.

I didn't take many Instax while we were in Mexico for my brother's wedding, but all the ones I did feature me and my little boys. And since we are all so dang adorable, this mini album was born.

Gotta love a simple mini album...

Housekeeping stuff...
Overall size of the album is about 4x6, with different sized pages within. All of the "page protectors" are cut from 8.5x11 trading card pages, which are my go-to for my Instax photos even though the size isn't quite exact. I keep them in place with colourful paperclips and teensy coloured staples. The rest of my supplies are random bits I collected from my stash.

I am storing my supplies in a new way based on how I look for and use my supplies and it is proving to be quite the genius move on my part...more on that later. Cause I'm having technical difficulties as I post this so I don't want to push my luck! Ha!

One Tip: If you like stamping, and want to stamp on your photos, invest in a Staz-on or other archival ink pad that works on glossy paper. I've seen some really neat ones by Brilliance lately that are gold & white that I want to try out! But if you can't find a fancy one, simple black will also do in a pinch!

This was my first finished project of 2016, coming in the late morning hours of January 1st! Feels good to start the year with a finished creative project under my belt already. Feels really damn good.

xo

Mexico...the wedding

So, I would be remiss if I didn't post photos of the precise reason for our Mexico vacation: my Baby Brother's wedding! Unfortunately, because of all the rain, they didn't get married on the beach, but it was still a beautiful ceremony.

They each wrote their own vows, and my brother started crying right away, which started his mom & step-mom crying, and before you knew it all the ladies in the room (and some gents) were tearing up as well.

After the ceremony, each guest got a glass of champagne and we headed out to the front of the resort to get a big group shot. I can't wait to see what Sherry ended up with (p.s. she was awesome...)

She also got a bunch of family shots. I really can't wait to get my hands on those!

And then we had dinner (yum!), and speeches (short!), and dancing (partay!)

Congrats Shane & Jill...it was a beautiful day.

later loves

Mexico...Pool Time

So you have already seen some of my Mexico pool pictures, but here are some more! For good measure!

I think Dude could go swimming everyday, and not get tired of it. Wait...we did that!

My sister & I are both pool kids. Her more than me, I think. So even after the little boys were tired and wanted to get out, her & I (& my Dad) kept going.

Just another day in Mexico.

later loves

p.s. Happy Birthday Amy! I LOVE YOU!

It's Bikini Time

And pat-on-the-back time, because I wore one everyday! Except the first day. As soon as we got registered, and the porter brought our bags to our room, Dude & I put on our suits and jumped in the pool that was literally right outside our door. Let the vacation begin with a bang! I put my regular suit on, my backup suit, because I still wasn't sure. I still wasn't feeling 100% confident.

But by day two, I thought: "I am in Mexico with my family and a bunch of drunk buddies of my brother. I can do this!"

(I was photo-bombed many times...I love my family...)

And I think I pulled it off with aplomb. I felt great, beautiful, and I got an amazing tan! HA!

My boobs & ass only popped out once. Well, twice, because I didn't learn my lesson the first time. Getting out of the pool is tough when you are only wearing a smattering of fabric. Yep.

And I didn't leave the dork at home. No sirree...

I survived my first bikini test run! And now I am looking for any excuse to wear it again. Anyone planning any backyard pool parties in the near future?

I'm halfway decent at canonballs!

later loves

Mexico Teaser

I have so many photos to go through from Mexico. And most of them are amazing, if I do say so myself. I thought I would leave you with this one, which kind of sums up the simple awesomeness of this vacation.

And don't you worry. There are lots of bikini pics to come...wink!

Good night friends

xo