Balloon Festival

Back when we lived up North, one of our family’s favorite things to do was to go to our local balloon festival.  We are not great lovers of crowds, so we learned early on that to go to this type of thing in the evening with all the people and booths and hoopla was not a fun experience for us.  We spent more time trying to keep an eye on our little kids, than enjoying the balloons.  We figured out that if we went to a balloon lift at 6:00am in the morning, it was so much more enjoyable.  First, there is hardly anyone there; and it’s such a quiet and peaceful time of the day.  We brought blankets and chairs and our coffee and just hung out watching as the balloon enthusiasts did what they love to do!  Our boys were little back then, and they ran around in the grass, or sat on the blankets and watched.  It was way more fun for them too…
We really missed that when we moved down South.  But this year someone on my homeschool web group posted about a festival only an hour away.  So this morning we all woke up at 5am and left by 5:30.  We drove a good distance along back country roads and finally about an hour later happened upon the small sign for the balloon festival.   Because it was so early in the morning, parking was free.  There were about 15 cars there to check it out… including ours.  We drove through an open field, parked right up next to the balloons, and got out and watched!  It was awesome! 
Here are some photos of the morning….





            

 

         

 
 

Home Way from Home

Just a quick note to say we are here visiting the King Fish at his home away from home. We haven't actually been to the job site, because of security and liability reasons for the kids... so we'veholed up in the hotel.

Last night the kids ate at their favorite Chinese Buffet restaurant. They were in heaven on earth! Too funny! They are amazed at the concept of "all you can eat", and "whatever you want to eat. " Well, everyone but Small Fry, who has been a bit of a grumpy bug ever since we arrived. His whining and pouting have been in full form since we got here. So much fun! Not. The big boys are old enough to sit at the table with Small Fry and all eat, so The King Fish and I took a "walking date" all around the restaurant. Actually it's a big open space so we could see the kids where we were. We laughed as we walked hand in hand... for about 10 minutes we just enjoyed the two of us until we got back to the table. Can you tell we need a date night badly??? I was supposed to work on that right??

We are attempting to school in the hotel room, and I have to say... "Thank you Lord for my house, and for activities in different rooms to occupy Small Fry!" Can you tell it's been a little difficult? The King Fish just came back to the hotel and bless the man he took all the kids for lunch to McDonald's. Yay! I can get cleaned up a bit and get ready for the afternoon school and a quick shopping trip with all my guys. Hopefully that will be a big enough diversion for everyone, and he'll be back this evening before you know it.

They have a pool here so we'll be hanging out at the pool this evening and maybe dining in. Then it's back home again tomorrow...

It's a quick trip, but I know he appreciated just being able to be with his family. So it's all very worth it!

Zoo Photos

I mentioned in my last post that Small Fry and I paid a visit to our local zoo. I think a race track might have been better... as he was way more interested in driving his pretend car, than looking at all the animals. Oh well.... we got out in the sunshine for a couple of hours.... so that was good! Here are some photos of our trip:

Say cheese! Why do I always get his "cheesy" smile these days?

They also had a petting zoo area with goats. Some of the small ones were certainly playful, as they tried to jump up on me a few times. They must have thought I had food in my hand. Small Fry was not too sure of those goats at first......

Hey stay away.....


No wait... you come back here I want to pet you!

I did it Mom!


This was a camel that we saw right next to the petting zoo. I liked him!

Though he doesn't seem as impressed with me.....

Hey! What's this???

The last thing we did was ride the carousel!

Where a Kid Can Be a Kid....

If you know those words from the commercial airing on PBS, then you've discovered where we went yesterday. As I mentioned in my last post, I was testing the older boys last week. Standardized testing. Typically we do this earlier in the year, but with our transition back from Russia and adding Small Fry to our family, it got pushed back. Mainly because we finished school later this year. So, despite the sunshiny days, and knowing it was summer... I was proud of how they focused and handled the testing.

They've also been stepping up with the chores we've been doing around the house. Between the two I decided it was time for a fun day! I have a whole 'nother post about "fun" on Monday... But for now I'll leave you with some photos of all three of the boys having a ball at Chuck E Cheese.
This is his favorite ride! This picture is the first ride of the day... he actually rode it close to 15 times! Did you know that it prints a photo every time? I now have 15 pictures of Small Fry and the big mouse.

The big boys..... just arrived and tokens are burning a hole in their pants pockets!

Small Fry and the Bob the Builder ride... he loved it! (Can you tell?)


Jabber Jaw and Mario Cart racing... we just can't seem to get away from that.

Tiger Shark and Small Fry riding a kiddie coaster together.

Tiger Shark and Small Fry earning tickets together.

Jabber Jaw and Small Fry riding the same kiddie coaster. It was a little too much for Small Fry by himself, so he wanted both brothers to ride it with him.

Glazed over look after three hours of fun... "Mom can we go home now?"