Thursday a.m.

It was a beautiful morning. The winds were light & variable, so there were balloons launching from all over. The first couple balloons that launched from the NW made it to the field, but then the winds changed. Mark was one of the first to launch east of the field & we said "What is he doing", but guess he knows better than us ground-bound gawkers! He, Brad & Ralph made it to the field & scored on that target. Haven't heard about Ralph & Brad, but Mark scored very well (within 2 feet)at the next target at the middle school. Shortly after, several launched from SE of the field - but most of them missed it to the south. Then more launched from east of the field & most of those made the target. So there may be some mixing up of the top 20 after this morning's flight - Mark was 8th before this flight, hopefully he moved up after this a.m.

Sunday morning - first competition flight

Sunday morning was beautiful! We launched SW of Indianola. There were targets at Downey Park (south of Indianola), the middle school baseball fields & NBC field or a yard to the east. Max got the first target, Mark got all 3. Mark is currently in 14th place. Brad Temeyer is assistant weathermeister.

Saturday evening - Mass Ascension

Saturday evening - the Cluster balloon piloted by John Ninomiya from California launched first - that was cool to see. Then when the winds died down, all launched from the NBC field for a mass ascension. I love those - it's such a rush to launch from there - we used to dream of that when we were spectators. The crowd was HUGE - parking lot nearly full.

We landed out north of Milo. Chris & Sam (our volunteer crewperson) had to help a balloon deflate on the road before we could get into the field to get Max. One pilot in the same field had flown away with his keys. Rural Relations retrieved his balloon & took him back to the field! Mark landed just north of us.

Gma and the girls

the harris fan club

Saturday - Day 2

Pilots meeting - 6 am. Early hour after a short night. We stayed up too late talking & celebrating Brad's BD & the start of the Classic. There would be no flight this a.m. - a front was moving through & winds aloft were too strong. So we did the next best thing - went to Crouse's cafe for breakfast - yummy onion rings! Now it's nap time!

National Balloon Classic - Day 1

Friday evening. Unusually cool for Iowa in July. It's probably a good thing Jo Ann's (from Arizona) not her - she'd be freezing!

We flew Friday evening - all into the field. 77 balloons flew, but not many made the field. Both Max & Mark missed it to the west, but Max got a couple of great photos of the balloon field. We then returned to the field & participated in a huge glow. Then back to the apartment for pizza & cake to celebrate Brad Temeyer's 30th BD.

A Final Birthday Present

We final got to do the pinata

HBP mini-weekend

HBP just doesn't have the same ring as HAM, but we have no vowels! We had a good time - kids swam & swam. They wished they could have broken Dan's swim time record! My friend Nancy brought her granddaughters over, they're just younger than the boys. They all played good together. There was a soccer tournament nearby, so lots of kids at the pool.

B's new specs!

I took this with my camera phone, so quality's not that good. You get the idea though. We went with plastic faces in the hopes that the nosepieces wouldn't break off.

We went up to Johnston last night & helped Mark inflate his "new" (old) balloon. It hasn't been hot in about 3 years. He wanted photos & had to change a temp sensor. I think this balloon is on that painting G'ma had on her wall by the front door. The hearts don't look the same from the inside of a balloon. Missy says they look like a_ _ cheeks! A good time was had by all - Mark, Dan & Max all got current with 3 take-offs & 3 landings! Ha Ha. We drew quite a crowd.

Remember When...?

When 7 inches of snow didn't mean bad road conditions??
When it meant building a snow fort!! (or a "hot tub" in this case)
When snow storms didn't mean HAVING to shovel??
When 7 inches of snow meant GETTING to shovel!!
(Brandon got up this morning before anyone else, put on his coat, gloves, & boots & went out to start shoveling!)