A year of photobooth

I must admit that a year ago when we began the monthly trips to photobooth that I wasn’t so sure if I’d be able to keep up with the idea…I mean, I am just a little busy these days. Here we are a year later and this evening I proudly compiled the photobooth pictures so we could take a quick glimpse of the experience. Check ‘em out!

A year of photobooth with Hope (Dec 2007 – Dec 2008 )
(6 yr 1 month – 7 yr 1 month)

A year of photobooth with Jaylen (Dec 2007 – Dec 2008 )
(2 months – 14 months)

So are you going to continue your trips to the photobooth?
You bet! When we started this a little over a year ago I was a bit hesitant but knew it’d be fun. I must admit that after doing this for an entire year it was a fun experience where we could just enjoy that time with the kids. Sure I’m busy, but I owe it to my kids to make time like this during busy times to have fun and enjoy the moments.

Did you really go EVERY month on the monthly anniversary of their birthdays?
Yes, well – almost. Of course I started the tradition 2 days late for Jaylen in Dec 2007. In February Hope ended up with the flu and Jaylen had just had his immunizations so we went two days late that month as well. In April we went on a trip to Indiana and missed out on Jaylen’s so we just had more fun once the 2oth (Hope’s date) rolled around. But yes, we went virtually every month. Twice a month. A few months we even went more than that!

You have a great camera, don’t you think it’s a waste of money?
Ummm…sure – especially once you check out the quality of the photo prints. But the experience is priceless. I loved seeing the anticipation and excitement Hope felt each month and of course reflecting on the moments after the fact is fun!

So what did the kids REALLY think of the experience?
The photos of course are merely a snippet of our experiences at the photobooth. Hope loved it. She would get very excited each month when I told her it was time to go to the photobooth. She came to remember the 12th and 20th of each month quite well!

Of course the experiences weren’t perfect. As Jaylen grows older I have come to notice a little competition. Hope has learned that his photobooth day is the 12th but she enjoys it so much that she likes to take pictures with him EVERY time. Through this experience she’s learned a lot about sharing.

Jaylen is just now beginning to really recognize the entire experience. He’s cried through several photobooth sessions – while frustrating at times (wishing he’d smile), I continued to enjoy each moment – looking back they’re all memorable moments – regardless of the smiles or tears.

Did you have any troubles finding photobooths?
We found most of our photobooths at the mall. I began to search for locations closer to our home and ironically most times that we strayed away from the photobooth we used most, we would run into fun problems. Yes, I say fun – because really the experience was what made this all worthwhile, regardless of little frustrations in hunting for photobooths.

Back in July we travelled to Panama City and before meeting with my family we took Hope with my niece to the mall that was just opening to the photobooth. We had to hunt all over the mall for the photobooth (which of course was on the opposite side of where we had parked).

In August we went to a different mall thinking it might be a little less busy. Of course it was thunderstorm season here in Florida and we had gotten all the way into the photobooth, paid our money, and as Hope got ready to take photos the power went out for a split second. After waiting a few minutes we realized that the photobooth was down and so we took a trip to our usual photobooth location to take Hope’s photos.

Did anyone else join the kids in the photobooth fun?
A few times Jason and I made our appearance into the photobooth – it gave us another excuse to get the kids out of the house. Hope and her cousin Ashley had fun in the photobooth back in July. And a few times we’ve managed to drag Hope’s friends, the Fortna boys, to the photobooth. All were great memories with the kids!

Where can I see the rest of the photobooth pictures?
I’ve posted them in flickr in our photobooth set for you guys to check out. As we continue with the experience we’ll continue to share some of the fun experiences.