Planes & Peter Pan, Birds & Superman

The best way of travel, however, if you aren't in any hurry at all, if you don't care where you are going, if you don't like to use your legs, if you don't want to be annoyed at all by any choice of directions, is in a balloon. In a balloon, you can decide only when to start, and usually when to stop. The rest is left entirely to nature.

— William Pene du Bois, The Twenty-one Balloons

A wee bit ago, my dad took flight on his maiden voyage into the skies. He has flown planes before, but never ridden in a hot air balloon. The flight was a gift from his mother, sister and brother for his 50th birthday.

By far, out of the couple dozen balloons to lift off that morning, the one he rode in was the prettiest. Have you seen a better looking balloon? (It was handmade by the pilot herself!)

His particular ride was part of a bigger event in our hometown, the Northwest Art & Air Festival.

Being post-poned 2 days due to lightning storms and such, the flight was reportedly even more magical and worth the wait. I really would like to go on a ride some time. Sooner rather than later. From what I hear, it is a wonderfully peaceful experience - when the torch isn't lit.

Sand in the City

I spent this past weekend in Portland with the Waters family and my oldest friend from preschool (!) Stephanie. We went to Sand in the City in Pioneer Square which is a 3 day event where sand teams/architects construct sculptures out of 450 tons of sand and 4,500 tons of water in 6 hours. It was my first time and I was very impressed with the sand sculptures. Check them out! (All photo credit goes to Michelle Waters.)

My niece would have loved this scene. Ellie even recognized it, exclaiming "Doh."

"D D D D D Dora"

"I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the map!" (Ingenious song lyrics. Must have ripped off Blue's Clues.)

Best friend Boots.

"Swiper, no swiping."

Not quite the movie, but a little more Harry Potter entertainment...

There were more, but now I want to share a couple adorable pics of Miss Ellie.

This balloon reminds me of Christopher Robins' in Winnie the Pooh.

This whole event benefited Impact Northwest. Their mission is dedicated to helping people achieve and maintain self-sufficiency and to prevent and alleviate the effects of poverty. Admission was by donation. It was a fun event to be a part of!