Hot Air Balloon Regatta, Page AZ

This past weekend we had the privilege of going to the annual Hot Air Balloon Regatta in Page, AZ (2 hours north of Flag). Our friends, Jesse and Kelly, invited us to go with them. We stayed with them at Jesse's parents house and had a GREAT time. His family was so sweet and kind...his Grandma was also visiting and we had a hoot with her. Boy did she just eat Emaline up. ( Side note: Grandma Verna is, I believe, first cousins with Dr. Ernie Stuery. Which if you haven't read, Miracle At Tenwick....READ IT. I only got to chat with her for a little bit about it, but it was still pretty neat, and I hope we get to see her again. She has so many great stories!)

The balloon behind us was called Moonshine

We got up early Saturday morning to see the balloons take off and happened to meet a pilot who needed volunteers to be his crew, so we all said YES! And the plus side that he said that he would take 2 people up for the ride. Kelly and I were going to go up, but when I told Thayne (pilot) and Mona (his wife) that I was preggo, they said I couldn't go. Not that it wouldn't be safe, but on the off chance they had a rough landing, it would be better to not go up. I was bummed, but also totally understand. So Andrew went up instead. It was still fun to be on the ground with Jesse, his mom and grandma and Mona as the chase crew to go pick them up wherever they landed.

Emaline liked the balloons, kind of. They are really loud when they are getting set up, first with the giant fans to fill them with air and then with the propane tanks to heat the air, which really scared her. If we got too close she would beg me to pick her up and bury her head in my neck. She kept yelling "boon!" And then she would yell whatever colors she saw that she knew, mainly yellow, blue and white, all from a very safe distance away. Once they were airborne, she was much more excited.

Unpacking the balloon. It is technically called the "Envelope".

Holding the envelope open for the fan to fill it with air.

This might give you an idea of how big the balloon is.

They look like yummy gumdrops in the sky! SO magical!

Andrew getting ready to take off. Emaline did not like being this close to the balloon. I don't think she understood what it was. She was holding on to me like her life depended on it and would not let me put her down. We all got in the basket to take a picture and Emmy went into near hysterics.....until she saw a dog painted on the balloon trailer...then she was fine.

As they were taking off, Emmy and I ran along the basket and we both gave Andrew a high five as he sailed off to OZ. Emmy of course blew kisses and waved. And from that moment on, whenever she saw a balloon she would say "Boon, Papa, Boon!" And when we could no longer see the balloons she would yell "Mo(more), boon!"

After the balloon took off, we got in our cars and drove to a mesa to watch the rest of the balloons, until we got a call saying they were about to land and back in our cars we got and sped away to pick them up and pack them up. After everything was loaded up in their trailer, Thayne and Mona, broke out champagne(and juice) as is tradition for pilots and crew. It was so fun to be so involved in the event. Saturday night was The Glow. The city shuts down Main Street and about 22 of the balloons set up and light up their balloons. They would coordinate a show of sorts and "twinkle" the whole line of balloons. It was unbelievable. I took some pictures, but they turned out so poorly that I will wait until Kelly sends me hers.
We were invited to help crew for them the next day (Sunday/today) as well. The winds weren't as cooperative, so the ride was much shorter (Jesse got to go up this time). After everything was all packed, we said goodbye to our new friends, who gladly invited us to crew for them next year. Which we are planning on going to again, especially since they said I could go up!

So more pictures from the Glow to follow.