Playing With Photoshop Elements

Today at church we had Ward Conference, which was good.  The choir sang, “Come Thou Fount” which is one of my favorite songs.  I was happy to get to teach my class again today b/c I actually missed them last week.  They’re good kids and I really like teaching them even though they can be a little loud sometimes.  We got home & tried to get a picture together, but this is the best one we could get.  Autumn was being silly and wouldn’t do a nice smile.  Oh, well.

I changed my clothes and then we went over to Mom & Dad’s.  Mom had made chicken cordon bleu, rice-a-roni & green bean casserole.  It was really yummy and I’m so glad Mom’s such a good cook.  After we ate, I painted my toe nails b/c they were in need of a fresh coat of paint.  Autumn wanted me to do hers, too, so I did.  I told her she had to wait for them to dry, so she propped her feet up on the chair, grabbed her cup of Sprite and sat back to relax like she was the Queen of Sheba.  She cracks me up b/c she’s such a diva.

I asked her if she is a pampered princess and this is the look she gave me.  It’s like she’s saying with a Southern drawl, “Why, of course I am!”

It was a warm 68 degrees outside today w/ a light breeze, so I brought our $1 kite over so we could go fly a kite in the backyard.

Autumn kept wanting it to go higher, but there are some power lines going across the back part of the yard, so we took our kite and walked across the street to this big open field where she could let it go as high as it could.  It was so fun to let the string all the way out.  I also love how you can see the moon on the right hand side of the picture.

She was having so much fun flying her kite that she started spinning around and doing a happy dance.  I love that we both get such joy out of simple things (her flying the kite and me watching her have fun).

After we brought the kite back in, we went closer to this airplane hanger to do some exploring.

I loved the cool industrial feel inside the hanger and got some cute shots of Autumn.

This is her, “Mom, can I please stop smiling now” face.

I love how she looks all gangster and hardcore in this one w/ her arms crossed.  Yet she’s wearing her church dress and church shoes.

Then there’s this sweet one where she looks like she’s doing a ballerina pose.

I have had Photoshop Elements for over a year and haven’t really used it very much.  But I decided to use it today and look at the difference!  The picture on the left is SOOC (Straight out of camera) and the one on the right I just used Pioneer Woman’s “Dim The Lights” action set.  I think it looks so much better, and I’m going to start using PSE more often.  I would love to take a class and learn all the cool things it can do.

Since the big field we were at is right across the street from my favorite barn, I decided to go over there and take a few pictures.  Here is the SOOC picture.

This is the “Seventies” action set.

And this is the “Heartland” one.  Which one do you like best?

I hope they never tear these neat old buildings down.  What types of stories would they tell about the things they’ve seen and the people that lived in them, if they could talk?  Look at how weathered the wood is on the side of the house.  It look so cool.

Before we walked back to the house, Autumn had to stop and pick some dandelions to take home to Mimi.

We got back to the house and Dad was home from work.  He ate some food and then said he wanted to go over to Mannewitz’s so they could drive the Corvette.  He asked Mom if she wanted to go and she said no, so I offered to go so I could take a picture of them in the car.  We went to their house, but they weren’t home so we called them and they said they were over at Christine’s.  So, we drove over there and at first Bro. Mannewitz said he didn’t want to drive it, but once we got him in the driver’s seat, he was ready to go for a spin.

I love this picture of them b/c they’re such incredible people and they were telling me that Bro. Mannewitz used to have a Corvette when they first met and were dating.  So I’m glad that they got to relive that for just a little bit.  While they were out for a ride, we stayed and talked to Christine and her cousin & family she had visiting.  We just sat out on her front porch and visited, which was so nice.  The weather was gorgeous, and it was so pleasant to talk with them and have a chocolate chip cookie that had just come out of the oven.

We came home to spend time w/ Mom & Autumn.  I was SO SAD that there was no football on today.  We went all out for dinner and had mac & cheese.  While I was making it, Autumn wanted to play.  So, I got out one of our big stirring spoons and was playing buccaneers w/ her by pretending our spoons were swords and say, “On guard!”  I had her go play pirates w/ Papa b/c the water was boiling and I didn’t like having her in the kitchen so close to that hot water.  She was laughing like crazy and thought it was the funniest thing ever.

We finally left and come home at 8:00 b/c she was exhausted since she hadn’t had a nap yet and I wanted her to have a good night’s sleep for her first day of school at her new preschool.  I tried watching some TV, but there was nothing good on so I just turned it off and read a bunch of articles in the Ensign.  I hope Autumn has a great day tomorrow.