Up, Up, and Away

We drove to Albuquerque on Friday to attend the Balloon Fiesta (over 500 balloons and 20 countries).  We knew we had to get up quite early on Saturday, so we tried to wear the kids out with some hard swimming prior to an early bedtime.  This actually worked quite well . . . for most of them.  Unfortunately, Tennyson did not get the memo that sleep was a precious commodity that evening.  Thus, she decided not to sleep despite our best efforts to convince her otherwise.  Since we were in a hotel, we couldn't just let her scream and cry, so we kept trying to calm her and get her to sleep.  Finally, Courtney won . . . around 1:30 a.m.  This allowed 2 good hours of sleep before getting up for Saturday's events. 

We left the hotel about 4:00 a.m. and arrived at the park.  We dressed warmly, which was needed.  The hot chocolate helped too!  We scouted out a nice spot to watch the Dawn Patrol take off -- balloons lit up to show other pilots how the wind is blowing.  Quite impressive at 6 in the morning. 

Then, we waited about an hour before the air started to fill with balloons.  There were hundreds of balloons of different colors, sizes, and shapes.  Once the sun climbed over the mountains and started hitting the field, it became even more vibrant.  We were allowed to walk among all the balloons as they set up, filled with air, and then ascended into the sky -- a photographer's dream!

The cow rated as one of the favorites from the girls (and dad). 

After all was said and done, we found a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop on the way home, grabbed some sweets, and then hit the road.  We reached home around 3:00 with one tired crew.  We told the girls to play in their rooms by themselves for a bit, and Katelee actually fell asleep.  And now, all are in bed with mom and dad following closely behind them.  It was worth it though! 

Enjoy the pics, and see more at http://www.flickriver.com/photos/taylormadefamily/.