Private Balloon Show

This morning we were treated to our own private balloon show. Turns out the balloonists from the festival last night did a sunrise launch this morning over the city. Turns out their flight path was almost right over our backyard. So after breakfast this morning the kids got to watch about 20 balloons fly over the backyard. Pretty cool. We all got balloons on the mind lately.

Midland Balloon Festival

Yesterday we went to the Midland Balloon Festival. It's an event the city has every year out at the county fairgrounds. Each year dozens of balloonists come out for the festival. People get to tailgate out at the fairgrounds parking lot and watch all the balloons fly overhead, watch parachutists, and then stick around for the "afterglow" where all the balloons light up at night. It was a lot of fun, and totally free. Our friends the Manchesters were out there with their family and relatives, and they were kind enough to invite us to join them. We spent the afternoon and night grilling and cooking out, listening to the Michigan State/Notre Dame game on the radio, and of course watching all the balloons fly overhead. The kids especially had a blast all afternoon. Ben was just fascinated by it all I think. He said he was sad when it was all over. Megan liked it as well I think, but she didn't care for the "afterglow." I think she thought it was going to be like fireworks or something. Anyway, we all had a good time. We went to this event a few years ago, but it was no where near as impressive as this year's event. It was fun.

The Dragons - Game 2

Today was game 2 for The Dragons. The weather was absolutely perfect, and the kids all played really well and were pretty focused. We dressed up Megan as our cheerleader, and as you can see she kept wanting to get on the field with her ball. Jenny got a picture here of our "silly stretches." Before every game I get the kids to do some regular stretches, and then I ask each one to give me a "silly stretch." It can be anything silly but it keeps everyone in a good mood and gets everyone loose before the game. Keeping the kids smiling and laughing is the key in my opinion. Once they start sulking or pouting it's hard to get them back on track. Anyyay, everyone played great again today. 6 more to go.

Balloon Day at School

This weekend is the annual balloon festival out at the county fairgrounds. So on Friday one of the balloon teams gave a talk at Ben's school about hot air balloons, and the kids got to look at two big balloons being inflated. Ben thought it was pretty cool. We'll be checking out the official balloon festival Saturday night.

Dance Class

Jenny enrolled Megan in a "toddler dance class" at the community center. According to Jenny it's going okay. Megan neither really likes it or dislikes it. She just likes to hop and run around (both when she's supposed to and when she's not.)

Tie Dye

Jenny made these "tie dye" shirts for the kids at a recent birthday party. It was her first attempt and she did pretty good I think. The kids love wearing them.

Celebrating Kindergarten

Last night we invited some friends of ours over for a cookout, and we celebrated our children reaching the "kindergarten" milestone. It was fun for the kids cause they got to play way past their bedtimes and eat lots of good food, snacks and treats. It was fun. This week has been a big one for both kids and parents, and it was nice to unwind a little and share stories.