A Ride of a Lifetime!

For Terry's Birthday Celebration this year, we went for a hot air balloon ride in Eden, Utah. It was soooo much work to get the balloon off the ground but once we were up in the air.........WOW! The scenery was breathtaking and the quiet--UNBELIEVEABLE! There were a total of 12 balloons that day. Each balloon was colorful and  were different sizes.  We were lucky enough to fly in a basket with only the two of us and our pilot, Mac. Other balloons held as many as 8 people. The ride lasted for a little over an hour and we were definetely not ready for it to end. We landed in a field and had to lift the basket over a farmer's gate and then fold the balloon back up and put it and the basket into the trailer that carried it on Mac's truck. We learned alot that day about hot air balloons and flying. We know that we would like to do it again someday. After the balloon gear was packed away in the trailer, we all headed back to the launch site for a brunch and an initiation. There were 4 of us first time flyers to be initiated that day. When you fly, you become a member of the "aeronaut" family of flyers. The initiation is fun, lengthy, and private--uh, secret to the point that they ban you from ever flying again if you reveal the details to a non-flying areonaut!!  Afterwards, we enjoyed a beautiful and relaxing brunch. These aeronauts really know how to put out a food spread! There was BBQ pork loin, hamburgers, chicken, hot dogs, brats, spicy mexican fajitas, chips galore, fresh fruit, cake, salads of every kind imagineable, and on and on and on.......it was good stuff. These people really enjoy spending the mornings together and enjoy whooping it up when they are done with their ballooning activities! They are like a ward family. We had to be to the launch site (a field owned by Wolf Creek Resort) at 6:30 AM and we didn't leave the brunch area until 11:30!  And we were some of the first to go......but I had to pee and there were no facilities so we went on.  They were a great bunch of people that were excited to have a few newbies join them.  It definetely was an experience of a lifetime. And we are already talking about doing it again in the wintertime when the scenery would be different and the balloon could stay in the air longer. All in all, a GREAT way to celebrate a birthday. It comes highly recommended -- by us -- 2 of the newest aeronauts around!

Happy Birthday Miss B!!!

Today is Brinkley's 8th Birthday. Man, where has the time gone? Brinkley is the oldest of our grandchildren. She will always hold a special place in our hearts as she made us Grandparents. She holds a VERY special place in my heart though that is different than any place that I have with the other grandkids. Not sure what it is, I like to think that we were friends in heaven, but all I know is that I truly fell in love with this child the VERY minute that I laid my eyes on her. I can't describe the feelings that I had that day--I just felt like I was finally reunited with a very close friend. I have always felt comfortable with Brinkley and continue to feel like we were, at one time, very close friends. (Maybe the sister that I was never blessed to have.) She is such a sweet, fun loving, and obedient little girl. She brings out the best in people and is a pure joy to be around. She doesn't mind getting dirty and yet, somehow can be "girly" too. (She seems very balanced to me!!) She loves to read and I enjoy reading with her. It thrills me that she enjoys reading and is always "up" to starting a new series of books with me. She is a great big sister and is always cheerful about helping around the house and with her sisters. She is a huge animal lover and that thrills me as well. (I'm a big animal lover too!) She is a pure delight and I can not imagine life without her. We love you, Brink. We are soooooooo proud of who and what you are. Keep smiling and being kind and loving to all that you know. Happy Birthday, angel.