HOCO 2022 {Junior Picture Party}

Sometimes I cannot believe how fast the days pass us by. In the blink of an eye, my precious little one that used to run around in john johns playing with Thomas the Train is a junior in high school. I had the great honor of hosting the picture party and have been SO excited to share these.

Homecoming Things
Freshman HOCO 2023
Dinner Party 2023
Picture Party 2023
Parade & Game 2023
Picture Party 2022
Balloon Garlands
Neon Light Photo Wall
Fringe Wall
Grazing Board
Picture Party 2021

Sister, CeeCee and I spent the week prior to the dance working on allllll sorts of projects for the picture party. It was one of my favorite weeks in recent memory! The afternoon of the party, Sister and CeeCee came over again for finishing touches and Sister took all of the photos in this post. But, she didn’t stop there…. she took them of John’s entire group of friends (about 30 came, plus parents), edited them, and put them on a website for them all to download. I cannot thank her enough for doing this for them!!! I’ll share all the details of the set up later this week.

John’s date has been a sweet friend since seventh grade. He borrowed Honey’s car for the night, picked her up, and brought her over a little early so we could get plenty of pictures of them before the arrivals started.

They were such cuties and let us take as many shots as we wanted to. :-)

We went ahead and did the corsage and boutonniere too. John coordinated his bow tie to her dress and I made sure the flowers matched as well. :-) I know the girls invest a lot into their looks for these events and it is my absolute pleasure to spring for the prettiest flowers.

I think, more than anything, I loved seeing all these kids just being together. The mood was electric and their happiness was truly contagious. Sister did an incredible job and getting all the variations of shots in.

These guys (plus one who didn’t go) have been John’s nearest and dearest friends since seventh grade. I am so incredibly thankful for every teenager in this photo. They are smart, funny, kind, courteous, athletic, God loving, and just plain good kids. I love nothing more than feeding them, giving them a place to hang out, and hearing their laughter waft up through the vents from the basement.

As I’m sure you can tell, they are funny, fun loving teenagers. :-)

The rest of the “core group” of friend since seventh grade include these sweet girls. They are just as fantastic as the guys and I marvel at how nice, smart, athletic and – OF COURSE – gorgeous they are. I swear not one of them ever had an awkward phase. :-)

All of the girls were so sweet and I was able to put some faces with a few new names, which is always fun. I love how you can tell the girls you’re going to take their photo and they immediately fall into perfectly posed lines. The boys – not so much.

The varsity lacrosse guys…smelling a lot better than when I usually see them.

And the lax moms!

We managed a full group shot with everyone looking at the camera!

The boys. NO cute poses. Just a line on the wall. :-)

The party was only about 75 minutes, but truly such a fun time. I got dressed about 6AM this morning and never even ran a brush through my hair. But, that’s certainly not what I remember about the night.

We decorated with Raiders colors and gear in the cabana.

And, I set up a fun grazing board for the crew. The kids left for dinner from our house, but made good work on the snacks! The parents hung around afterwards for a glass of wine or beer and finished it off. It was a huge hit!

I had a big bucket of water for the kids, and beer and wine for the adults.

It was a magical evening for all. <3

Leaving for dinner.

The after party! (Not hosted by me, thankfully!)

And, my precious little helper posing for Sister to work on her camera settings. Not only did she blow up balloons and make garlands and tassels, but she also stayed up with Honey to completely clean up and put everything away afterwards!

I’ll share all of details of the set up here shortly!!

Dixie Delights
join me as I travel, decorate, create & celebrate
Instagram | Pinterest

Dixie Travels
perfectly planned trips & our travel adventures
Book Now | Learn More
Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest

DIXIE DELIGHTS DELIVERED

3 thoughts on “HOCO 2022 {Junior Picture Party}

  1. Omg Amanda, tears all around. Time is fleeting. I love love love your blog posts and talk about you to my husband as if you were by best friend haha. Thank you for sharing all of your family moments. You have definitely inspired me to always go above and beyond for my kids and to celebrate everything, no matter how small.

  2. Aren’t we blessed to have such good friends for our young people?! Makes such a difference in their lives. John is all grown up. :) :(

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *