Balloon Festival

I know I am backwards on my posts but I really need to update the old stuff first.  About a year ago one of my friends went to a Balloon Festival near where she lives and when I saw her pictures I thought it looked like a lot of fun.  So I did a search on line and found that Houston has their own Balloon Festival every year (can't believe I did not know about it before).  I told Dan about it ever since and patiently waited for the day to come and take the entire family, what's the best part about it? It was only $10.00 per car for every one to go in.  We took two cars since my mom is here visiting but it was still a great price for the kind of show it was.  It happens at the NASA Space Center, kind of far but not so bad.  They had all kinds of displays, we saw the firefighters, the policemen took the kids fingerprints for me to keep in case they ever go missing, they had free coloring books and crayons, yummy food and some games for the kids do while we were there.  Since it was our first time there I didn't know what to expect and if we do it again we will probably show up just about when the balloons are supposed to show up because it was a long wait.  The frustrating thing about the show was that there was a lot of wind and they canceled it... yes I know but they still had their festival of lights once it got darker.  Sadly my husband could not wait any longer and he took the grouchy kids home with him.  My mom and I stayed with Kahlan so I could take pictures of it and then show the kids all the fun stuff they missed.  It was a firs for us and we thought it was the coolest thing ever.  Those balloons are huge and since it was windy at times also kind of scary.  The coolest part was when they had the National Anthem and right at the end all the balloons lit up in the dark, it was really cool.
We also got to see a lot of sky divers, model planes fly and little rockets go up in the sky.  They had some guy pull the hand glider guys up in the sky and they would fly over us the entire time we were waiting so there was something to enjoy while we waited.  Kahlan did great on her first long outing and didn't cry that much.
It was a LONG day but fun and I really want to go back next year and hopefully it wont be so windy again.

 This car was taken from some drug dealers and is now being used by the police, the cars were awesome.

 Only two balloons were allowed to take flight... still kind of cool.

 It was so interesting to see how they put the air into the balloons and how they make them go up, they need lots of man power for it.

 It look really pretty when they were all lit at the same time.

My first time at the shooting range.

Dan has been asking me for months since he got his gun to go with him to the shooting range.  I of course had the excuse of having the baby and not being able to go... but since my mom is here I had no more excuses and when I asked him what he wanted for his birthday he only had one request.
I hate guns, I don't feel any more secure with them than without them... it actually scares me more that there is a deadly weapon in my house.  Yes I know that the gun is safely sitting in a locked box but still.... maybe my fear of guns comes from a distant memory of when we were kids and we played with my father's gun thinking it wasn't real and later on were told that is was real (not sure if it was loaded).  In any case I went with him and was really OK with the idea until we pulled into the parking lot and the loud noise made it very real. I did not want to get out of the car and I think by that point Dan was getting very embarrassed... I made it into the building but jut barely, it was loud and I kept jumping with every single noise I heard.  We walked all the way out into the actual spot where you shoot and even with the ear plugs it was still loud and the casing kept flying every where, I got hit by those things in the face, shoulder, back...
We found a spot where it wasn't as crowded and started to set up but the one thing I could not figure out was how in the world we were going to put the targets out there, every body was shooting...  Dan calmed me down by explaining that they all stop shooting and then tell you it is OK to go and pin your target int he field... I was a mess I know.

We finally got our targets out there and Dan explained carefully how to load it and point and shoot.  I am telling you the first time was so scary and I kept jumping still, it took me a long time to finally feel comfortable with it and the noise but it eventually got better.  I do have to say that I am proud of myself for not being so bad at hitting the target. Dan says I was actually doing better than him but he is so competitive that in the end he did do way better than me.


All in all I have to admit that it was fun and I will probably go back with him in a few months.  I still don't like the idea of holding the power to take life in my hands and I don't think that I will ever be able to shoot any one even if my life depends on it.  And I don't know how soldier deal with bullets flying by them and the noise... it is SO LOUD!!!


I took this picture because I told Dan that these spots appeared to be blood, he said it wasn't but I am pretty sure what blood looks like and we were at a shooting range, chances are accidents happen... maybe some other lady got too nervous and accidentally shot herself in the hand???

Angry Birds costumes.

I spent a lot of time designing, cutting, measuring, making adjustments and of course sewing these cute Angry Birds costumes.  The kids were so excited and each one of them pick out what they wanted to be, even my mom got to wear one. I have to be honest, they are not exactly what I wanted them to look but we were on a budget and we had to do with what we could, so we didn't stuff them but I think I did a good job at making them keep their shape.
Dan got to be the slingshot since he is the tallest one, I was the box since I did not want to be a bird or a pig and if you know the game then you understand what those are for.  Kahlan's bird was supposed to have feathers on the top of the head but then we were not going to be able to see her face so we put the feather piece on her head and it look absolutely cute.
We went to the trunk or treat at the church and the kids had some chilly for dinner,





since we are not a chilly kind of family we didn't eat that much and afterward we went to IHOP for free meals for the kids, they got to decorate their own huge pancake for free and were barely able to finish it, it was the size of a plate.





 
Monday night we waited for Dan to get home, took pictures and then went trick or treating in the neighborhood, the kids got lots of candy and most of the people that saw the entire family walking around understood what we were supposed to be....
We all had fun and we hope everyone else did too.