There were so many fun things going on this weekend that I just didn't want to give up the opportunity to do so the girls and I got a bit adventurous and we went out without him not once, but TWICE this weekend.
The Plano Balloon Festival was this weekend and I was determined to go to see all the fun hot air balloons. I thought the girls would really like to see the big balloons shaped like kittens and puppies and such. We had other plans for Saturday, so I decided that on Friday after school, we would make the trip out to Balloon Fest with the hopes of seeing the hot air balloons not only blown up, but the glow as well (where the balloons are lit up after dark).
This trip was one of my biggest adventures as a mommy yet. Half way there, while sitting in traffic on the highway, Nora informed me that she needed to potty. Well, sorry babe... When we finally got there, we made our first stop at the potty, which was of course, a port-a-potty. We parked the wagon outside the potties, which Nora HATED because I think she thought it would blow away. So not only did I have to take both girls into a port-a-potty with me, but I had to carry Nora kicking and screaming about the dang wagon into the box of disgust with me. Then, of course she didn't want to use the potty. After finally getting her to go in the potty and Janie surely touching every inch of gross-ness in there, we got out & sanitized thoroughly, then went to look for the balloons.
Nora did not want to do anything but find the balloons so we walked and walked and looked and looked and for the life of me I could not figure out where the balloons were. I thought, surely they are easier to find than this, more than once. Then... (rookie Balloon Fest goer) I realized that they were not inflated. They only inflate when it is time to "lift off" or "glow"... OOPS. So, we found a couple corn dogs and sat at a table to eat them until they figured out whether or not they were going to be able to inflate the balloons because of the wind.
As it turns out, it was too windy to take off so the balloons did not blow up. That was a bummer because Nora was so looking forward to seeing those balloons! I contemplated leaving at this point because it was warm and they were getting kind of tired but when I heard that they would blow them for the glow regardless of the wind, I decided to go ahead and stay. I'm glad I did!
We walked around a bit more and then found a place to sit down. We spread out our towel, danced to the live music, read books about hot air balloons, and drank some lemonade. Around 7:30 the balloons started to inflate for the glow. By this time, Janie was pretty much done so it was all I could do to keep her happy. Nora was intrigued by the balloons and watched them like a hawk. We watched them inflate for 30 minutes or so and then they started lighting them up. After about 10 minutes of the glow (it was now after 8), we needed to start herding back to the car. Nora was not pleased, but we got to watch the balloons all the way back to the car and ended up seeing the whole thing anyways. It took awhile to get out of the parking lot and back home, but Nora still talks about Balloon Fest so it was a good thing we went. I'm pretty proud of myself for going it alone! I learned a lot, too.
I feel like this represents the slight chaos of the evening, me being outnumbered.
Lemonade & books
Oh, Janie!
Balloons inflating!
Puppy dog & Janie's favorite - monkey!
We also went to Grapefest this weekend. I went with my parents and we went right before dinner time, so it ended up being another relatively late night, but at least we were closer to home.
We ate dinner on the grass, which Nora kind of hated because of the wind, but she did alright and didn't ask to go home at all. That's progress I think? After we ate, we went to the children's area and Nora got to ride on some little kid rides for the first time! She is exactly 36 inches, which is the height requirement, but some of the rides' height checks were higher, and some were lower, so some of the operators told her no. She handled that okay and got to ride on a helicopter ride, a lizard ride, and a car ride, which was her favorite. Also, both girls rode the carousel with me and Pops.
The girls & their Pops.
Nora trying to eat her pizza away from the wind...
Sharing!
Round two!
She wasn't sure at first, but loved it by the time it was over!
Waving every time around!
So cute.
We walked around, Mimi & Pops got their wine glasses, we got to see Jonathan Jackson & his band play a song or two, rode the cars one more time, and headed home.
Sunday we spent the day at home relaxing. Justin got home in the early afternoon & we just hung out as a family, which we all needed!
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