Balloon Festival, minus the balloons!

Nora has a minor obsession with balloons. Hot air, cold air, no air, whatever. I think she really just likes to say the word. Don't we all have words we love to say? Mine is helicopter. Anyway... she loves to say balloons, and of course when she says it, I run her over to the computer, and we watch balloons on YOU TUBE for a straight 10 minutes. Then she wants more, and I am done! So, this weekend you can imagine her total excitement when I told her it was balloon Fest weekend!!! "You get to see balloons for real! Real up close, in your face hot air balloons! Aren't you excited?" She then runs to the computer and chants "Balloons..." and then begins the routine! So we went with our cousin to the FESTIVAL! Something that I have loved since I was a kid, and now I get to share that same love with my girl! We hit the carnival first. I took her on the Crazy Slide. Just to gripe for a minute. Nora was too little to go alone, so I had to go with her, and of course pay for her and me! $6.oo to stand in line for 15 minutes, and slide for 5 seconds! What a rip! When we got to the bottom, Nora said, "MORE MOMMA!!" Yeah right! So, that was interesting. Of course she doesn't understand money, and time. She just understands that last 5 seconds of her life! So I take a heart broken kid away from the slide in search for the next cheaper excitement! Thanks to cousin Ky, we were able to make this little girls life! Until it was over of course. I have always seen moms like me at carnivals, and thought... what a wacko! I can totally relate to those wacko's now, and I am one! Documented for the world to see, Noras first carnival ride...





When that was over, we said "Goodbye" to Auntie, and cousin (cousin number 3 had to eat... whatever! hehe)and met daddy at the launch pad. While he was saving us a place, he met a few pilots. We were able to run around the launch pad. Nora was wearing her squeaky shoes, so of course was attracting all sorts of attention. We met the photographer for the Daily Argus. He mentioned that he would love put Nora in the newspaper. Not only because of her squeaky shoes, he especially loved her pig tails that stuck straight up, and didn't even notice her shirt had hot air balloons on them. After I pointed that out, it was a for sure deal. OF COURSE! So, add another photographer friend to the list! After that I was able to document the rest of the launch pad experience!

She has been looking forward to this day for a week!



Hot dog in one hand, granola bar in the other!


Nora and daddy actually in a basket of a hot air balloon!



This is Nora being held by the pilot. She is really nervous, and excited to actually meet him. He admires her shirt, and her pig tails, and probably would have taken her up in the balloon, had we let him.


Nora says "My life is now complete. I met the man of my dreams!" (Oh and, there were umpteen million mullets too. I wish the few hair dressers out there that still cut mullets would say something to these poor people! Even David Beckam couldn't pull it off!!!!)

It was a very fun day for her. She loved every minute of it! Oh yeah, the balloons never did launch! They said it was too windy! What a bunch of wimps!