Balloon Festival 2013

First off, I have a cold sore and it is awful. I am 32-years-old and have never had a cold sore in my life--I thought I never would (or could) and now here I am with one right in the corner of my mouth and it hurts and I smell like carmex. Blah.

Okay, now that that's out of they way let's talk about something better. Let's talk about hot air balloons. Each year Boise has a balloon festival right around Labor Day and we always try to go. It is so fun for the boys and this year it was even MORE fun because they got to ride in one!

 On Friday night we went to the Glow event. It was pretty, but I'm not sure we'll do that one again. There were TONS of people and only about 7 or so balloons were glowing.

 I love going in the morning, though. It means an early wake up but it is so worth it. It is fun to watch the sun rise and to watch them roll out the balloons and see them grow and grow. We all love it. This was Zachy's first experience with hot air balloons and he cried for a bit when they all started blasting the fire but after a little snuggle, he recovered and enjoyed the rest of the morning.

 The rocket is a Richey family favorite. We look for it every time.

 On the morning we went, the weather conditions seemed fine on the ground, but I guess up higher it was pretty windy so the balloons couldn't launch. Instead, all the balloonists offered free rides to the kids, taking them up about 15 feet for a few minutes. We decided to go up in the Panda bear balloon. As we were standing in line, I could tell Eli was getting a bit nervous about the whole thing. We just kept being excited and tried to convince him that it would be so cool and he may not get another chance like this. The lady pilot was so nice to him and tried to help him feel comfortable, but as you can see from this picture, he was not digging it at all. As soon as she blasted the fire, he started to cry so I had to take him out but Owen and Marcus stayed and loved it. Afterward, Eli was still crying so I told Marcus to go talk to him because my snuggles and comforting words weren't getting anywhere and we all know Marcus is Eli's idol. Well, Marcus went over and held his hand and I heard him say, "It's okay, Eli. I'm proud of you for getting in the basket." And you know what? Eli stopped crying.

Hooray!