They Went Up....And Then Came Down.....

The alarm went off at 4:50 AM.

That's just plain early...

not even bright yet
so I can't say Bright and Early.

I woke Chelsea and we got

ready to drive to Bird-in-Hand to meet

the Grandma's and the Hot Air Balloon Team.

This was the balloon preparing for its morning mission

as we arrived....the sun popping up behind it.

Can you believe they were able to smile

at this hour of the morning?

With the nerves and everything.

 This photo is right side up. 

It was one of the funniest moments of the day.

Turns out you don't climb into the basket.

You lay in the basket and then it sits up when it is ready.

To see the faces of the soon to be ballooners as they 

lay there was priceless.

No one was expecting this....

See the man just past my Mom?

He was terrified.

The whole time.

That would have been me.

He and his wife were celebrating 

their anniversary.

I think he is a gem.

Filling the balloon......

The Basket is now right side up!

Getting Georgia's attention for a photo

was tough.  She was really into what was

happening inside the balloon.

 And then they were off!

 

 

I had been told the town they thought they were 

headed for.....

but funny things can happen when you rise up

3,000 feet and the only control you have is 

up or down.

They missed their goal town by about five miles to the west.

I ran a quick errand and then headed for the expected 

destination.  I was confused when I didn't see the balloon

but kept driving in faith that I would find them soon.

Finally I spotted them way out in the distance

and took the most direct route I could think of.

Out into the country....

they flew over the home of 

our friends at Creekside Cottage,

I finally caught up with them over beautiful farmland

south of a small town called The Buck!

 Mom, Chelsea and Georgia

saw me and were waving.

One lady asked Mom, 

"Who are we waving at?"

Mom said, 

"That's my daughter."

So she waved too.

A quick peek at the beautiful farm where they landed.

 

Look!  They survived!

What a fun morning.

The pilot said it is very difficult to chase a hot air

balloon....I would have to agree.

But it was worth the effort and I think I enjoyed it 

every bit as much as the ones who rode.

Can you believe they could 

see all the way to the 

Bay and Philadelphia?

I thought Mom was teasing me

when she said that later.

But, no,

It was that clear today.

They picked a winner.

I'll steal some of Chelsea's photos

from the balloon for another post.

Hope you enjoy this day.

Grandma Ruth Is Funny

My Mom is a hoot.

She is so much fun to be around

and is always thinking of creative gifts.

Last Christmas I decided to get Warren's Mom

a hot air balloon ride for her main gift.

She loves adventure and has often commented 

that she would enjoy a balloon ride.

Groupon was running a deal so I told Mom

and she got one so Georgia wouldn't have to go

alone....

Well, actually she got two.

You know how they say to just click once?

Well, what to do with the extra ticket?

Miss Chelsea, of course.

We decided in December that it would be 

part of her 16th birthday celebration.

So the ride is scheduled for an early morning 

next week, as long as the weather is good.

However, when we went to Ruby Tuesday for 

Chelsea's Sweet 16 Birthday Dinner Mom was 

quite concerned about something she was carrying in 

a gift bag.  

She said several times that Chelsea's gift was disappearing.

We thought it must have been something cold that was 

melting.  But when we got to the restaurant Mom went to

the restroom to "fix" it.

That didn't really make sense.

Until....

You really should click on this to see the little people.

So very funny.

The little people in the basket actually have their faces.

Apparently the balloon kept losing air

so a quick trip to the ladies room to blow it up again 

and all was good.

Hope their balloon holds up better than this one.

It will be very early in the morning but I plan

to go along and take lots of pictures to share.

Have a splendid day today.

Keep cool if you can.

Oh, and based on yesterday's post you might

think I am wishing for snow....

Nope!

I would take 75 and no humidity 

but I was really pointing out the extremes

and how far away one seems from the other.

A New Day!

Last week's big Field Trip was great! Oh, to be able to do that every week...well, maybe not. I am still recovering from all of the exciting input of seeing Patrick Henry's famous "Liberty or Death" speech reenacted and the beautiful horses and carriage carrying "Mrs. Martha Washington" into town. Ahhh... it was nice.

But, it is also nice to wake up in my own bed knowing that we have a plethora of interesting learning to get into here. It would be lovely if the children felt as interested as I, but, I guess I wasn't at their ages either. Anyway it makes it challenging to get their attention and get a brisk discussion going.

So, today we will be plowing through our math and spelling, then off to French and History before we read from our book, Airborn by Kenneth Oppel about a young man who is working on an airship to support his family after his father died. So far, so good. The kids are getting into it and even break out in giggles every now and then as the characters are described or act out.

Speaking of Airships, that reminds me that yesterday around 7:45 am Mikey came and got me to see a hot air balloon that was headed straight for our house. A year or so ago, one landed in our street so we thought maybe this would be another exciting time...but, alas, they just floated gracefully right over the tree tops and directly over our house. The people in the basket seemed entranced by the view they were seeing.

It did make me think of the book, Airborn, though, and how different it would be to float through the Air as if it were a cruise ship. This is how Kenneth Oppel makes this Airship appear. It is like a grand and glorious cruise ship in the air with all of the people on board caring only for their own luxuries. Only our hero of the story and his new friend have more serious concerns and a mystery to solve.