Category Archives: Family Memories

Remembering Forgotten Memories

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I’ve lived in Las Vegas since I was six, but Chicago, where I was born, has always felt like my hometown. I don’t even remember much about my life there since I was so young, but yet I’ve always had a homesick feeling in the back of my mind whenever I think about it.

Since the memories of my life there are almost twenty years old, they’ve become somewhat diluted over time. I notice that when I remember what my old apartment looked like, it’s from the perspective of someone barely over three feet tall. I remember bits & pieces in flashes, and while I have a few photos from my childhood that help piece things together, there is still so much more that remained fuzzy.

I recently had a home video transferred to DVD using YesVideo. I let my Dad pick out a tape since he knows what they all are & I haven’t seen any of them in years- and some I’ve never seen at all. My Dad happened to pick the tape that included many of our highlights from the last year I lived in Chicago, when I was just 5 and 6, and it was just amazing to see.

The tape {now DVD} included some fun memories like meeting Sandra Bullock while she filmed “While You Were Sleeping” around the corner from my house {that’s her in the picture above, with my Dad & I}, and our final trip to Disney World. It also caught some adorable {if I do say so myself} clips of me as a little girl. In one clip I was dressed in my Halloween costume, singing the songs that I had learned in Kindergarten that day. In another, I’m discovering my Easter Basket and hunting for eggs throughout my house. There’s even a clip of my best friend from Kindergarten, who I still talk to today, dressed up as Dorothy {I was Ozma} playing hide & seek with my action figures, which my Mom hid for us.

The clips that meant the most though were the ones that anyone else would find remarkably boring. When I lived in Chicago, I lived in a two-flat: one house with two apartments. My Great Aunt lived downstairs, and we lived upstairs. When we moved to Vegas, she actually moved a few weeks before I did. When she did, she moved with my Grandma {her sister}, and I was heartbroken. I knew I’d see them in just a few weeks, but to a five-year-old three weeks may as well be ten years.

On the day that they moved, my Dad took the camera and did a video tour of her {now empty} apartment. I was able to see every inch of the place from an adult’s perspective- and while the couch with the bright orange & green afghan was noticeably absent, the memories of years spent in that apartment came flooding back. When the tour was over, I saw myself as a little girl, saying goodbye to my Aunt & Grandma.

My Grandma has since passed away, and watching the heartbreak in my eyes as I said goodbye rehashed some of the pain of her passing. However, it was worth it to see her again. To hear her voice as she said she would see me soon, and not to cry, was breathtaking. It’s been almost five years since she passed, and I still miss her everyday. But now when I find myself thinking about her, I know I can still see her on our home movies.

While the home movie I had transferred wouldn’t interest anyone else, it means the world to me. It brought up old memories I had forgotten about, it allowed me to remember my Grandma {and my childhood pets even}, and even to see a bit of my son in myself at that age. I just can’t wait to see what the next video has!

What forgotten memories have you uncovered with your YesVideo transfers?

This post was written by Shell Feis, blogger at {Not Quite} Susie Homemaker. Shell lives in Las Vegas & blogs about her transition from sorority girl to mom & wife. You can follow her #YesMemory #PhotoADay progress on Instagram & Twitter or find her on Pinterest!

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Traveling, bonding and making memories.

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As a child I remember my Mother taking my sister and I to a museum in practically every city we visited. Thankfully she’d choose museums that would captivate us.

 

I still remember one museum that housed larger than life sized exhibits of animals and dinosaurs. My biggest fear in that place was that I’d knock one of the exhibits down. (You see, as a child I had the uncanny ability to drop or bump into things!)

Now as a Mother, myself, I find myself adopting a lot of what my Mother would do with us, with our kids.

So yes, when we did our 3 day family get-away to San Antonio, we put two museums on our “must-see” list – Louis Tussauds Wax Museum and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.

 

Day 1 of our trip was focused on allowing our daughter to experience a birthday gift she will never forget!

Day 2 was a day set apart for the museums and church later in the evening.

Museum-wise, the wax museum didn’t tingle their excitement very much till they found the President

and the Passion of Christ exhibit.

Mama, of course, had fun, irrespective!

What was definitely up their alley, though, was the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum.

The museum was a great choice for our family as we got to laugh, explore and absorb all the amazing exhibits in awe.

And best of all we didn’t realize we’d spent close to 2 hours at the museum, till Hubs checked his watch!

Hubs and the kids getting their groove on!

Oh and a certain exhibit inspired us to stick to eating healthy for the rest of our trip!

Did you know the heaviest man in the world lived in New York? He weighed a whopping 1400 lbs. WHOA!!

 

On the last day of our trip we chose to do something out of the ordinary.

We took the kids out to the Texas Hill Country to explore the untouched, un-commercialized part of San Antonio.

After a picnic outdoors and a little patient waiting, they were treated to visits to the lake by wild deer, geese and ducks.

A definite treat!

 

Encouraging a love for travel, opens up a child’s world and leaves chunky deposits in their memory banks. 

And while we may not have had a vacation packed with a lot of activity, the kids thought it was one that was unique in many ways.

My daughter can’t stop talking about the belugas and my son asks if we can go back and see the deer. (Oh, and the man who had his sides eaten by a shark!! That’s the only exhibit he remembers from Ripley’s. Sigh!) 

 

For me, looking at photographs taken with wide grins on my family’s faces, tells me that they had a blast and we made special memories as a family.

In the end that’s the bottom line…

we traveled, we bonded and we made beautiful memories.

 

 

Marina J, is a Texas based, chai-loving, Mom of two giggly bundles of energy and the voice over at Energizer Bunnies’ Mommy Reports. You can find her sharing her latest updates on Facebook, pinning things she loves on Pinterest or uploading fun pics on Instagram.

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5 Outdated Wedding Trends

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Last month, I married my high school sweetheart. I spent months planning it beforehand & wanted everything to reflect us just right. I wanted to stick to some traditions {the big white dress, the Bridal March playing as I walked down the aisle…} but we’re a pretty modern couple. Our son was even at the wedding to be our ring bearer- something unheard of just a few decades ago. But that’s not all that’s changed!

In doing research for planning my own wedding, I realized that every decade has it’s trends- even when it comes to weddings. Things that I chose for my wedding may very well become a “2010’s fad”, but that’s when we got married so that doesn’t bother me. &It’s fun to look back and see how much things have changed & how far they’ve come.

A quick look back at 5 outdated wedding trends:

Then: Disco music. Brides & Grooms rented disco balls, took dance lessons & hired DJ’s to spin their favorite disco beats.

Now: Our guests danced to hits like “The Cha-Cha Slide” and “Gangnam Style”.

Then: It was bad etiquette to wear black to a wedding, as it was a color reserved for funerals.

Now: Not only is it incredibly common to wear black as a guest, but even bridesmaids are getting in on it!

Then: Veils were often floor-length and were usually worn in front of the bride’s face until the couple was pronounced man and wife.

Now: While veils come at varying lengths and are still available in floor-length, veils are typically no longer than the bride’s fingertips. In addition, they are most often worn as an accessory instead of used as an actual part of the ceremony.

Then: Cakes ranged from 4-8 tiers and were intricately decorated. They could cost hundreds- even thousands of dollars.

Now: Cake facades are all the rage. The reception venue provides a “fake cake” and instead slices up a sheet cake in the back. This is a much more economical {and still incredibly delicious} approach.

Then: Everything- from the invitations to the linens- was white.

Now: Not only does color find it’s way into many details, but one of the first decisions most brides now make is what color their wedding will be. I chose a shade called “Pool Blue” and everything from my invitations to the bridesmaids’ shoes to the specialty lighting was Pool Blue.

I’m so excited that my wedding was captured on video for me {and my children} to view for decades to come. If you have old wedding tapes {of your own, your parents’ or even your grandparents’} check out the services that YesVideo provides for video transferring. Within a few weeks, you can have a DVD of those beautiful memories- and YesVideo even has a great Wedding Theme that will make it look great!

How many outdated wedding trends do you think you can find in your old wedding movies?

This post was written by Shell Feis, blogger at {Not Quite} Susie Homemaker. Shell lives in Las Vegas & blogs about her transition from sorority girl to mom & wife. You can follow her #YesMemory #PhotoADay progress on Instagram & Twitter or find her on Pinterest!

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Our Family Memory Adventure in Florida

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My family of seven doesn’t get the chance to take many exciting vacations. Seven people on vacation means two hotel rooms, minimum, and lots of money spent on meals out. Our vacations typically consist of packing everyone in the minivan and driving all day to visit out-of-state family. As much as I love to travel, I have often wished that I could afford to take my kids on high adventure trips, or to exotic, culturally rich locations.

As we ventured on our last family vacation, though, I realized that where we go doesn’t matter as much as who we’re doing it with. Vacations 30 minutes from home can be filled with just as many poignant and lasting family memories as those dream vacations halfway around the world.

Recently, I loaded all 7 of us into our Nissan Quest, full to the brim with suitcases and road trip snacks. We drove 14 hours until we arrived in Orlando, Florida, where we met the rest of my husband’s family. After we returned and many times since then, I have reminisced about all of the things we were able to do while we were in Orlando. Our days were full, and instead of trying to search for things to do to stay busy, we had to pick and chose from a long list of things that we could do together. That was a nice problem to have!

Typically, the kids get bored and my husband gets restless when we go on vacation together. Not so this time! They were having so much fun together that they didn’t even have time left over to fight or complain.


From letting my teenage daughter drive our family minivan packed full with suitcases and kids for part of the drive South…to watching my kids belly-laugh together when my youngest son’s shorts were filled up with wind from the airboat ride…to sharing cup after cup of butterbeer with the extended family at Universal’s Islands of Adventure…our week in Florida was simply priceless. I can’t get over how nearly perfect everything was (and we didn’t even make it to Disney World!).

I think the best part of this trip for me was the time that we were able to spend together each morning. Rather than rush off to the parks at opening time, we slept in, ate breakfast together, and often caught a morning swim before heading out for the day. At night, while I blogged about our trip, the kids would pull out games to play with their uncles and aunt.

Yes, the theme parks and sunshine were more-than-enjoyable, but we could have been anywhere to enjoy each other’s company.

Oh! The memories we made!

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People or Places?

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When it comes to vacation and travel pictures, photographers tend to fall into two camps: Those who want people in their pictures, and those who don’t.

It may seem funny, but people have some strong feelings about this! There are purists, who want their photos to be as free of people as possible. They want their pictures to be pristine portraits of the landscapes and the landmarks. Adding people to the mix just clutters the scene and ruins the shot. But for others, a picture is no fun unless it includes family and friends. It’s not about where you are, it’s about who’s there with you.

I used to be the former. For me, traveling was all about what I could see. I wanted to visit the Grand Canyon and snap a picture of the rock walls. Visit the Louvre and snap a picture of the Mona Lisa. Visit South Africa and snap a picture of a zebra.

However, as I’ve gotten older, traveled more, and had kids, I’ve begun to change my mind. Now, I’m more interested in what I can experience, not just what I can see. And the people are part of the experience. Take those above pictures of the Coliseum, for example. The picture on the right is nice. It shows the main features of this awesome landmark. But it’s a bit boring. I prefer the picture on the left, of my son and me. It brings back lots of memories of that day. It was his first visit to the Coliseum, and he was amazed. He was both scared of and in awe of the gladiators outside. And I also remember that I’d just been fussing at him, and I had to coax him into posing and smiling with me!

There are also times when the people are an integral part of the scenery. Rome’s Spanish Steps is a perfect example of this. No matter what time of day you go there, you’ll see loads of people milling about. There are large groups of tourists, teenagers loitering, and workers from the surrounding shops enjoying the outdoors while they’re on a break. It’s a fascinating tableau, made all the more interesting because of the diverse group of people. Whenever I go there, I try to take a picture from a new angle, and I love studying the people in my shot.

I still like to take landscape shots without people, though. It’s almost as if I consider natural beauty to be kind of sacred, and I don’t want anything to mess it up. I have been known to wait a VERY long time for crowds of people to clear out before taking a shot of a spectacular or famous view.

Sometimes, though, despite your efforts, people end up getting in your way. This picture below will always be one of my favorites. I was scoping out a view before taking some pictures, mentally composing the shots and checking the light. My husband suddenly ran up beside me, and posed like the goofball that he is. Someone grabbed my camera and snapped this shot before I could really even react.

It’s the perfect shot, really — a gorgeous landscape, but still full of personality.

So which do you prefer in your photographs, people or places? If you’re not sure, take the time to go back through your old vacation photos. I’m sure you’ll notice a pattern. You either prefer to remember the sights and the scenery of your trips, or you prefer to remember the people and the experiences. Neither choice is wrong or right, but it’s certainly interesting to consider how we choose to remember the big moments in our lives.

Amy Bradley-Hole is a freelance writer and speaker who covers tech, travel, business and parenting. She blogs at Freaky Perfect about the freakiness of her not-so-perfect life. When she’s not goofing around on the internet, she dreams up new ways to drive her husband and two kids crazy.

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Seeing Old Memories Through New Eyes

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If you ever went to Disneyland or Disney World as a child, then you know it’s the Happiest Place on Earth. When I was little, we used to make a trek to Disney World every single year until I moved across the country when I was six. I was very young for the trips, but I still remember a lot about them- the hotels we stayed in for a week at a time, the day & a half long road trip to get there, and all of the magic that awaited me once we arrived at the park!

I never lost that memory of the magic, but when I brought my own son to Disneyland for the first time last year I discovered a whole new kind of magic. Instead of being fascinated by the characters or the rides that make you feel like you’re flying, I was captivated by how he saw everything. Every time he saw a new ride with a character he knew from movies he grinned wide. He was amazed when he sat in an elephant & soared above the park, and he couldn’t get enough of the parade, where he saw Mickey Mouse himself!

We had such a blast last year that we just had to go again this year, and it was even more magical this time. I saw so many of my old memories sparking back to life, but this time it was through his eyes.

When I was a kid, my Dad used to get me a figurine for each ride we went on and every show or exhibit we saw. I still have those figurines today, and although they’ve gotten a bit beaten up over the years, my son actually plays with them regularly.

They don’t have those anymore, at least not at Disneyland, but I found these little guys in the gift shop. They aren’t exactly the same {they come three to a pack & what characters are inside are a surprise} but they brought back major memories! I plan on adding to my collection every time I visit the parks.

This is one of my favorite photos of my Dad & I. Now, I have a photo of my son on my fiancee’s shoulders watching the parade as well!

Being able to relive my childhood through my son’s eyes was a feeling that I can’t describe, but I can say that Disneyland truly is the happiest place on Earth!

If you have old childhood memories of Disney parks, be sure to save them forever by using YesVideo’s transfer services! You can save old photos or video easily- just check out their services & pricing tab for more information!

This post was written by Shell Fruscione, blogger at {Not Quite} Susie Homemaker. Shell lives in Las Vegas & blogs about her transition from sorority girl to mom & soon-to-be wife. You can follow her #YesMemory #PhotoADay progress on Instagram & Twitter or follow her planning for her upcoming wedding on Pinterest!

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YesVideo…Bridging the Distance

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With family thousands of miles away, it’s hard to not feel homesick.

While the children get to see their grandparents once, if not twice, in two year pockets… it’s just not enough.

YesVideo

My saving grace?

Technology!

My mother stays connected via Facebook and emails, so the exchange of photographs and the latest “Grand-kiddos” buzz is  practically up to date.

Hubby’s dad on the other hand, is not very fond of  accessing his emails on the computer. He’s more of a “pick up the phone and talk”  kind of person.

Unfortunately this also means that he misses out on a lot of photographs of the kids.

Bridging the Distance 

There was a time when we’d take physical hard copies of photographs and mail it to him. But with the escalating rates in postal charges, this has become less frequent.

Thankfully, we now have YesVideo!

Having 90 minutes worth of photographs and home videos from the past several weeks to enjoy, at leisure, while relaxed on the sofa, is definitely a treat.

With YesVideo, our “Memory Preserving” DVDs makes something that was once a  probability, now a possibility!

And you know what’s great?

Like any proud grandparent, my father-in-law can carry his DVD(s) stuffed with special moments from our kids lives, and share it with other family members in the vicinity.

(Definitely beats lugging around a heavy photo album, right? Plus the antics of an animated child caught on tape is always the cherry on the cake!!)

For our tech-comfy grandparents… 

YesVideo has now launched new and improved services on their MemoryShare site which allows you to create videos and share them from your account.

Which means grandparents can also get video updates!

Honestly with all these developments, all I can say is…

Thank God for technology!

Marina J, is a Texas based, chai-loving, Mom of two giggly bundles of energy and the voice over at Energizer Bunnies’ Mommy Reports. You can find her sharing her latest updates on Facebook, pinning things she loves on Pinterest or uploading fun pics on Instagram.

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