Fab Five

The Big Guy turned five yesterday! It was a combination Transformers/Star Wars Birthday. The cake was a Transformers theme, but most of the presents were Star Wars oriented. He loves both so it was all good. He's the youngest of the grandcrew and he has three sisters! I'll do a more focused post on him later. I intend to do a post similar to the one I did on Big Blue for each of the grandcrew, but I need to dig into my photo archives and dig out some other pics. Anyway, Happy Birthday Big Guy.

Lunch With "The Big Guy"

My wife called me about 11:30 and asked me what I was doing for lunch. Our daughter was sick and had a doctor appointment, so Nana went by and picked up the grandson this morning. I was being invited to lunch with "The Big Guy." Where does he want to dine? He answers, "Red Robin." This is his middle sister's favorite place to eat. I told you I raised my daughter not to like McDonald's and she is passing the training along. It's just that Red Robin is a semi-gourmet burger place, so lunch is going to be a little pricey for Nana and I. The kids menu is affordable enough.

As you can see, I brought a camera along just in case there was a photo op. Nana took our picture. When I got home, I decided to try out a few of the new tricks I had learned in my recently completed PhotoShop Elements class. I realize some of these tricks are very elementary to many of you who work in PhotoShop all of the time, but I am enjoying learning the tricks of the trade, so here is the before and after.

Before

After

You'll notice several things about the "After" picture. The picture has been cropped and the colors have been enhanced. You will also notice that the red straw is gone! I could not crop enough of the photo to eliminate the straw, so, I had to use a little "magic" tool called the clone stamp. It is a wonderful thing. With a little more work, I can probably blur the background a little similar to changing the depth of field in a photo. I'll work on that later, but for now I am just happy to be able to make the photo this much improved.

And now, I close this post with my inspirational song of the week. This week I am posting a hymn that speaks to anyone who is going through a difficult time. One of my fellow bloggers, Orney's Wife, lost a close friend this week. I have a friend that is fast losing the battle with ALS. He will not be with us much longer and I already miss him. But I know that no matter what happens, as long as I have Christ, "It Is Well With My Soul." Enjoy.