We just love it when the cousins are together and they love seeing each other too :)
These two are just too cute...
Lucy just can't get enough of Norah. She stares at her and smiles at her all the time. It's sad that Norah doesn't live closer (maybe someday!) but it makes these times together even more special.
One word to describe this trip...AMAZING!! If you have ever wanted to go hot air ballooning I would highly recommend it. I was a little nervous (not of the balloon collapsing, but of the basket not being sturdy enough :) ), yet I had nothing to worry about and it was so much fun in the end. I think I concentrated so much on documenting this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I didn't have the chance to get nervous :).
Our flight started off very early in the morning. (Good thing we're really used to early mornings right now). The sun had just risen at Santa Rosa Airport as we all met to launch the air balloons.
This guy was pretty excited :).
We watched as they inflated the balloon with air and propane. Even before we took off the pilots went through 10 gallons of propane to get the balloon off of the ground!
I love this picture...
Once all the preparations were ready we were set to take off. Three balloons were flying that day and we were in one of the bigger balloons. Thirteen people fit into our basket. It was pretty cozy, but there was enough room.
In no time we were floating through the air above all the vineyards and houses below us. The pilots said it was one of the best days for flying in a long time. The winds were calm, the sky was clear, and weather was perfect! We could not have asked for a better day to fly. It was breathtakingly beautiful.
The pilot ever so often had to put more heat in to keep our balloon afloat.
We floated above the world for about an hour and a half. It was so quiet and so different than flying in an airplane. We tried to take in every moment...
At one point our balloon passed one of the others and we had a little balloon eclipse.
We decided to do some house hunting while we had a different point of view :).
The winds took us back fairly close to where we had taken off. While we waited for one of the other balloons to get out of the way, we came really close the active runway. The pilot had to get permission from the tower to have the ground crew grab the balloon and push us out of the way while we hovered a couple of feet off of the ground. The pilot jokingly called this the "walk of shame."
After the balloons were taken down we headed to a local winery where we were served a delicious homemade brunch. We sat in the middle of the rows of vines, picnic style, under a tree. Perfect ending to this wonderful morning.
After brunch we walked the beautiful grounds of the winery a little before we had to head back home to our girls (who by the way did AWESOME for both of our parents!).
So now Brandon's 30th birthday extravaganza is officially over. What a memorable way to celebrate this guy. Thank you to all our family for making this trip possible!! This is going to be a day we'll remember for a long time...
Today our little girl got to start gymnastics! We've always called her "our little gymnast" so now this makes it more official :). She could do handstands in her crib since she was 18 months old and loves to do somersaults around the house, so letting her get a taste of gymnastics was always on our to-do list. Man did this girl have a blast today!! You couldn't wipe the smile off of her face!!
Aubrey's friend Zachary got to join in on the fun today too. We love seeing these two together :).
Aubrey gets to have three more weeks of tumbling, jumping, and bouncing!! We think it's going to be great!
Preparing for this years fathers day started a few weeks ago. Now if you have a kid who is still on a pretty strict feeding and napping schedule it can be a little tricky getting out of he house at times. I had to seize the opportunity one day to get Brandon's Father's Day gift. It was nothing really special but he needed some good sandals and with that we got him some of his favorite goodies. I had to take the girls with me and Aubrey is at the age where you really have to explain things and she asks a lot of questions. She also has a really good memory.
That brings me to a couple of days ago. We're sitting at the dinner table and Aubrey out of the blue says, "Daddy, we got you sandals!" Brandon really tried to ignore it, but he couldn't contain his laughter. I just hung my head. This was the first incident where she spilled the beans.
Second incident. We were making cookies yesterday and Aubrey was helping me. Brandon had to run some errands so he left. While he was out I told Aubrey we needed to wrap his present. Brandon all of a sudden comes in to get something he forgot and Aubrey blurts out, "Daddy, we're going to wrap your present!" I mean really cute, but seriously girl?! Spilling our secrets twice?! Well it wouldn't be the last in preparation for this day :).
Third incident. Brandon comes back from running his errands and Aubrey drew on his card while he was gone. She excitedly states when Brandon comes through the door, "I drew on your card. Go and get your card!!" I just looked at Brandon and simply stated, "Epic fail." I laugh at Aubrey's innocent, excited enthusiasm for giving these gifts. She has shown time and time again that she really is such a caring girl and we just love her for it.
Now Father's Day morning has arrived and Aubrey is eager to greet her daddy. Well she drank a little too much water last night and she got up a little wet. When Brandon got up she rushed to give him a hug. Brandon happily picked her up and she said, "Happy Father's Day! I'm sorry I'm a little wet...with pee." Brandon just started laughing :). I know Brandon loves being a dad and these moments just make it even more memorable. Our quirky girl is just too much for us sometimes and we can't wait for what Lucy might say and do. We later gave Brandon all of his random gifts (of which he already knew most of them) and we had one of his favorite dishes for breakfast.
I asked Aubrey some questions about her daddy this year and these are the answers she gave me:
This was also Lucy's first Father's Day and it was a special moment for Brandon when she cuddled with him and laid on his chest during church today. These two have a special little bond and he can really make this girl smile and (almost) giggle :).
On top of that Lucy was happy and had a really good day today!! Daddy also loved the way she looked today in her dress :).
I would say these girls look pretty darn cute with their daddy's arms around them. I just love these three so much!
The rest of the day was busy with church and family. We had a delicious lunch with Brandon's parents and Tyler and Jessica.
My mom and dad came over in the late afternoon for some dessert and I got to give my dad his cookies Aubrey and I made for him.
We also got to FaceTime with Krystal, Jon (who had his very first Father's Day!) and Norah.
We're missing one grandchild in this picture. Aubrey is spending the night with Nana and Papa and Lucy will be spending the night with my parents. For the final leg of Father's Day Brandon and I are spending the night away in Santa Rosa because we're going on a hot air balloon ride tomorrow!!! This is Lucy's first night away from me and of course I'm a little anxious, but I know she is in good hands. Here's to celebrating Father's Day and Brandon's 30th (again) in one weekend! We love you daddy!! We could not ask for a more sacrificing, caring, loving and overall awesome daddy and husband!!
