If you haven’t gone to the beach this summer, you should. Your chances of doing so are quickly eroding.
Summer is nearing its end, and I know this because 1.) Hurricane season is here and 2.) School starts back up everywhere next week.
Corina went to the beach this summer, her last summer before starting regular school: She’ll be entering kindergarten next week.
Good weather back on July 31 when we made our annual pilgrimage to the beach. (photo by Kim Kovar)
So mischievous ... she's clutching a water gun in this shot. (photo by Kim Kovar)
Kim was at the beach, too - and I'm really glad about that. (photo by Corina Moeller)
... Because when those photos were taken, I was limping back over to them after having my toe mauled by a shark. (Photo by Kim Kovar)
… or something.
Here's my toe all wrapped up later that day. Now, more than two weeks later, I can say I'm getting back to normal ... which means it looks like I'll be mowing the lawn this weekend. Hoo-rah. (Photo by Kim Kovar)
A few Sundays ago we went to my uncle’s house for a family birthday party. We celebrated a lot of birthdays.
Five. Could have been more if more people showed up. Those people will remain nameless, but they know who they are.
Two of the five people were Donna Novak and Melissa Jones. Donna is my cousin Steve’s wife. Melissa is her oldest daughter.
In February, Donna’s mother passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. I never got to know her very well, but I did know she was a great cook and a longtime busdriver for the Magnolia Independent School District.
A scholarship was created in her honor after her passing, and word is a Magnolia student’s college burden was gratefully lighter.
Anyway, so, for their birthday gift, Donna and Melissa received a 5×7 frame with a print of some photo art I worked up for them. From recent photos I had taken at Melissa’s November wedding.
Mike and Judy Chaney pose for a photo during Melissa's wedding. This was the photo I gave Donna. I took out the red eye, made the background grayscale and blurred it a bit to bring out the brightness of Judy's smile.
Mike and Judy Chaney join the newly weds Melissa and Tim Jones for a wedding portrait. This is the photo I gave Melissa for her birthday. I combined two photos in order to capture the whole arch, took out the red eye and gently blurred the background to emphasize the happiness in these couples.
I share these photos here not only to show off my skills in Photoshop, but also as a way to honor the Chaneys who mean so much to people who mean so much to me.
