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.