The Wild Blue Yonder

Last night we packed in the car and headed west to the Battle Creek Air Show and Balloon Festival.

At first things looked pretty dismal, since the balloons had been grounded due to wind.  And it was blazing hot in the shadeless air field.  And there were more than a comfortable number of toothless people milling about.

In truth, Mr F was about to pay for this brilliant idea...

But do you see what I see?

Yes, the Amish were all over the place.

So we waited it out for the night time air shows.

We let the kids ride the one ride I didn't think could kill them.

 Then the evening air show started up.  I have to say, I was surprised at how spectacular it was.  I didn't go into this, thinking I'd be too impressed by the planes.  We were there for the balloons.

While we were waiting for the night time Balloon Illume, we got ourselves situated near a large group of partying Amish teens (they really know how to throw back the Mountain Dew) and split this year's funnel cake.  It's taken me a long time to learn, but 1/4 of a funnel cake really is enough.  If only this were true for pans of brownies (it's not).

After a bit the balloons got into formation and they started to fill them up for the illumination.  It's hard to capture the full effect, but it was pretty awe inspiring to see so many in one place, so close together.

Just watching them blow them up was pretty fun.  

But as it got darker they started to light them up for the show.  There were about 30 balloons there and it was pretty amazing to see them lit up.  

We wish we could have seen them all fly, but watching them twinkle made the 2 hour drive worth it.  Maybe even waiting for 3 hours in the heat. Maybe. We'll definitely go back next year... with chairs and an umbrella like all the cool kids had.

Good News Bad News

Well the bad news is MY DOG IS DEAD.

The good news is that it has completely taken my mind off of "project change" (or lack thereof... whichever it may ultimately be).


As far as the grieving goes... it's still going. I am shocked at how grief stricken I am. I never really appreciated what the loss of a pet was like for someone before this. I really feel like what I would up until now only have thought you could only feel for a person. I said to Mr F that I have to rank this right below losing either him or the kids. Not just because I have spent everyday all day for over a decade with him (or... yes... maybe that is it) but also because dogs are so dependent on you. They need you. And that is where the guilt comes in. As I said to Kid "unfortunately Putty didn't speak English and he couldn't tell us if something was wrong." And, right now, that is killing me. The what ifs. I'm working really hard to let them go as they come up... but they do come up about every 5 minutes.


I'd love to have something else to write about... but other than watching the horrifyingly large hives that have taken over Baby's body... I've got nothing but tears.

This week has been one of those weeks where I just want to turn my grownup badge back in.

I just want to get one of those beer helmets and pop some cold cans of cherry coke in them and watch 12 straight hours of real estate shows on HGTV.

But Baby just woke up. The hives are now around her eyes. We're off to the ER.