2012 Balloon Fiesta!

Well the annual Albuquerque Hot air Balloon Fiesta has come and gone again!!  This was our second time going since moving to New Mexico and I've gotta say that it really is such a neat experience.  I'm gonna be sad come next October when we wont get to go, as by then we should be stationed wherever the Navy wants us to be and there are sadly no Navy bases here in Albuquerque :) 

We attended the "mass ascension" this last Saturday morning, early morning.  We left our warm beds around 5:00 drove over to Sharee and Arthur's to caravan with them and then waited patiently through traffic (which wasn't as bad as it was last year). We arrived at the park roughly around 6:30. 

Yes, it was still dark when the very first balloons took off and to keep warm and busy while we waited for more balloons to get set up and take off we drank hot chocolate and ate home made breakfast burritos, yum! 

For being dragged out of bed at such an early hour, Caleb was super good and really enjoyed himself.  His sister Lily was a different story.  That girl was constantly fluctuating between being happy, sad or angry about something, now I must admit that she was better behaved then last year but I had hoped for a just happy attitude and definitely didn't get that.

 Well I hope you all enjoy the pictures and if you ever get the chance to come to this event in the future, my advice is to take it cause the real thing is soooo much cooler then what my pictures portray.

Enjoying Hot chocolate and Breakfast Burritos

Special Shaped Balloons....

Spider Pig!

Pirate

Scare Crow

Poor Eric was doing this a lot since I can't hold either of our kids for very long.   

A Witch and Basket ball in hoop

Shark and Darth Vadar

The three Bees 

Our only Family shot...grumpy Lily and dead to the world Caleb :) 

  

Crimson Maple Trail

This last Friday afternoon we drove up  with the Garietys to Cibola National Forest and hiked around a bit getting to enjoy the Fall colors!  It was so much fun and I'm so glad we were invited to come along.  Those oak and maple trees turn some amazing colors and I'm kicking myself for not dressing myself and my family in nicer clothes.  We could have had some sweet family pictures, oh well it was still a fun trip and we did get some great pictures so can't complain about that.

All the kiddos 

 

Lily and Sydney are becoming quite the little buddies, after the hour drive it took to get to our destination  these two were pretty thrilled to see each other :)

Lily loves all of her Gariety cousins but I think she has a real soft spot for Daphne and Sydney 

Fall colors!! So Pretty!

Lily wasn't happy in this picture because I had taken her away from Daphne so we could get a family picture, and then she was upset that I wouldn't let her be in the Gariety ONLY family picture.

Me and Sharee (I'm the taller one in this picture only because I'm standing on higher ground)

 playing in the leaves

Caleb was very pleased with himself  for finding this stick, so pleased he held still long enough to allow me to take a picture of him with it :)

My boys

Thanks again Garietys for letting us tag along we really enjoyed this hike!

When There's a Will There's a Way

  Lily loves to dress up and get her nails and hair done, especially if her cousin Daphne is the one doing it. Make up has recently become a new love/obsession for her and Daphne is the only one that is willing to do it for her.

  Truth be told I'm not nice enough to "share" my make up with her and I refuse to buy that cheap kids stuff as we have already experienced one disaster this year involving that messy colored wax and I refuse to be involved with anymore similar experiences if I can help it.  

  So what's a girl to do if she can't have the real stuff, mom wont buy the nasty wax and there are already existing rules of no painting or coloring on one's self?  

You go outside and use Dirt of course!! 

The dirt has dried so its hard to see but Lily likes to have dirt under or on her nails, I believe it makes her feel like they're long and painted :)

I love that these two are playing more with each other :)  it makes me happy that they're becoming friends