Awe...some Mondays - Retirement II

 Very, very soon my wife and best friend will join me in retirement. Last week her co-workers honored her with a party and gifts. Next week will be her last work week.

 This decorative piece says in it all. My wife loves to organize and plan events. She loves to cook and the kitchen is her happy place. The grand kids are more than special to her, but everyone she comes in contact with is made to feel special. Fortunately, I have been the recipient of her sparkle for nearly 43 years and now we can share everyday together.

 Of course there was cake and ice cream.

Congratulations to my wife on an honor well deserved. Welcome to the world of retirement. You've earned it and now we can enjoy it together.

Wordless Wednesday - Life and Art

Life Imitating Art

Sometimes you just have to engage the art. The sculpture on the left is part of an exhibit at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. We were there last week photographing the middle grand daughter and her friends for prom. Well, I saw this piece, and the youngest grand daughter was more than willing to pose. They really do have similar expressions.

 

Awe...some Mondays - Prom 2017

It's been a few years since we were taking prom photos. This year the middle grand daughter attended her first prom. I took the opportunity to put a vintage twist on some of the images.

Yes, when you put her in 4" heels, she is over six feet tall. 

She is the tallest of her siblings. But with her dance background, she is also the most graceful and elegant.

Crystal Bridges has multiple locations on the site for great photo backgrounds. This LOVE sculpture is one of the most popular settings. 

And the vintage twist on the image turns back time. I do like playing with the filters in PhotoShop Elements. I have two sets that are free on the net. NIK collection and ON1 Effects. You can Google them and add them to your workflow.

Yep, she's just as elegant in black and white as she is in color. She is a junior so we have one more homecoming and prom to photograph next year and then it's off to college. Where does the time go? Have a blessed day.

Wordless Wednesday - Junior Varsity Soccer

Awe...some Mondays

I am re-posting this image because I was unable to attend the meet. But wouldn't you know it...the one time you're unable to attend, she wins her second consecutive high jump competition, sets a new personal record and there is a promotion waiting for her.

Meet the only freshman high jumper on the varsity track team! Raise the bar!!!

Wordless Wednesday - Contact Sport

 Contact Sport

Just in case you were wondering, soccer is a contact sport. This little exchange of hips and elbows resulted in a yellow card on No. 21 in white.  No. 4 in black wound up with a bruised hip from the resulting fall and a little "turf rash" from the artificial surface.

Awe...some Mondays - Champion

The youngest grand daughter is a two sport athlete. She plays Junior Varsity Soccer and is on the track team. Occasionally she will run the 400 meters or one leg of a relay, but her passion is the high jump. Last Tuesday she won her first competition by besting 13 other athletes from six schools. At the end of the day, she had the fewest misses and only one other girl matched her height. This is the jump that sealed the championship.

Wordless Wednesday - Shot on Goal

Jr. Varsity - Shot on Goal

Awe...some Monday

The Boys of Summer

Temperatures are warming up, spring is in the air and baseball in on everyone's mind. Saturday the grand son played a game at one of the local parks. He's thirteen now, so it's not really "Little League" anymore. You get a reality check when you walk past the dugout and half of the players are bigger than their parents. They really do look like young men playing a boys game. 

 It was a good day for the home team and the grand son. He got two hits, drove in two runs and scored two runs in a 13-9 victory. I don't know what I'm going to do when all of the grandcrew graduate high school and there are no more games for me to watch. Just enjoying the moment.