An Early Morning Wake Up Call

One of my earliest childhood memories is of a hot air balloon floating over our church house, I was about 3 or 4 years old at the time. Ever since then, I have had a love of hot air balloons. There is something majestic about them.

About four or five years ago, Andy and I were able to fulfill a dream of mine and we went on a hot air balloon ride. It was such a neat experience!

Every August there is a hot air balloon festival in a nearby town. This year we decided to wake the boys up early to see the balloons.

The night before we showed Bubba some videos on YouTube of hot air balloons. He kept saying "Big fire."

When we walked in his room about 5:00 am, he sat bolt up right in bed. He knew exactly what we were going to go do. He was the first one ready to go and wide awake in the car the entire drive.

When we arrived at the park where the festival was being held, there were a few balloons up in the air, some were ready to launch and others were just starting to be filled. Bubba was so excited!

Bubba.

Excitement.

We watched a yellow balloon be filled and Bubba touched the basket. Once it was full we watched it take off and then we followed it. Chasing a balloon is a lot of fun! You never really know where it is going to land because it follows the wind currents. The balloon Andy and I rode in landed on the road in a neighborhood in front of people's houses.

Bear, not sure what is going on.

Watching "Big Fire."

Snuggles with Mom.

This balloon landed in a huge field of dead grass. It was fun to watch it land and help put the balloon away. Bubba even helped.

The pilot was the older gentleman in the hat.

Helping put the balloon away.

Bubba with the basket.

Andy & Bubba.

Bear & Andy.

The Basket

After our balloon adventure we looked into going on a bi-plane ride (that's another goal of mine). But no bi-planes were flying that day.

We decided to go out for breakfast as a family, this is something we never do. We ate at Elmers-- I don't usually say this when we eat out, but the food was so good!

Then we drove home and took some much needed naps-- it was during my nap that I had a dream I believe came from God. I'm still debating about whether or not I want to share it on the blog.

A Moment Frozen In Time

Sometimes with the hustle and bustle of life I forget to stop and take in the little things. Yesterday morning there was a marine layer of clouds for some time. I took the boys outside and we watered the garden (this is usually Andy's job in the evening but he didn't get to it the night before). We picked raspberries, gave the chickens some water, checked for eggs and then I took a few moments to just watch Bubba. There was a small butterfly in our yard. When the butterfly spread its wings they were white and when it closed its wings they were green and blended in with the plants. Bubba saw the butterfly and he gleefully chased it all over the yard with his arms stretched towards the heavens saying, "Catch bubbafly." Each time he got close to it, he would squeal with delight. I loved watching the sheer joy on his face as he pranced around the yard in his green rain boots, gray shark shorts and blue dinosaur shirt. I didn't have my phone or a camera on me but this is a moment this is imprinted in my mind and on my Mommy heard that I don't want to ever forget.