Balloon Glow & Hot Air Balloon Race

Each year in mid-September Forest Park, the huge park near our house, hosts a Hot Air Balloon race. The night prior to they have a "Balloon Glow" where all the participating balloons are inflated in the middle of a field with festival type booths and activities all around. It's a free family event, and draws quite a crowd. Ryan has worked EVERY SINGLE YEAR he's been here and has never been able to go to this event, but has seen it from the hospital several times. This year he was able to make it to this event but not the next day, the actual "take off". It was amazing to see all of the hot air balloons up close and lit up at night. Owen was not a huge fan because they kept having to turn on the fire to keep the balloons inflated, which as you can imagine is quite scary for a little guy. But it was an amazing site to see.  

The Energizer bunny is the "hare" and all the other balloons chase it during the race. 

Hot Air Balloon Race Day

I found out from someone who knows more about this race than I that it is not really a "race" in the traditional sense of the word--speed based, but rather accuracy based. The Energizer bunny lifts off first and sets the course based on the way the wind is blowing. Then everyone else takes off and "chases" the bunny. The goal of the race is to land as close to the bunny as possible, not necessarily as fast as possible. 

On the day of the race the festival is set up again and many families bring picnics out and sit in the shade until they begin to release the balloons. It was so cool to watch these huge balloons float off into the sky. 

This one is my favorite! It was so pretty at night!

Camping with the Cox's

Labor day weekend we went camping again near the Johnson's Shut-Ins with our dear friends the Cox's. They are hard-core campers, and we are definite want-to-be campers, but we had a great time! We ate and hung out by the fire, devoured s'mores, played in the water, and went hiking. The weather was fabulous--hot during the day, cool when the sun went down and cold as we sat by the fire at night. I even melted the bottom of my tennis shoes on the fire pit one night. Burned rubber stinks! 

Owen and his girlfriend Alexis on the riverbank near our campsite. 

Owen with a leaf in his hair. I love this expression. He has since mastered the stern face. 

Tori and Alexis. Notice the perfect splash between them from Dan's rock skipping. 

The Cox Family. 

Us by the river.

The men got packed up with the kiddos for an intense hike at Elephant Rock State Park. We then found out that it's more like a "hilly stroll" on a 1.5 mile paved path. But since everyone was packed up and we really wanted to hike, we climbed on everything possible and headed off the paved path whenever we could.

Loving being outside on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon with the family. 

The men on the top of a large granite boulder pile. 

 

Our little mountain goats, climbing high and fast. Tori and I were definitely a bit nervous watching them bounce up these huge rocks with our children on their backs. 

Dan is so righteous he is glowing!

We had to climb up on something too! The view from up here was amazing! Tons of green trees for as far as the eye could see. We don't get views like that too often in St. Louis. 

The OBX

Last week we were fortunate enough to go on vacation for 9 days with my family to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. I grew up going to this beach every summer. A lot has changed, the beach has been severely eroded, cottages we played in as kids have been torn down or washed away....but still, for me there is nothing quite like going to that beach. It is truly good for my soul to go there! And it was so fun to be there with my family. Mom, Dad, Ryan, Owen and I were there for the whole week and 3 of my 4 brothers were able to make it down at different times with their families. There are too many of us to all be in the cottage together now, but we made do. 

Owen's first day at the beach--not the biggest fan of the sand and loud ocean. But by day 3 he was having a ball. 

Playing underneath one of the abandoned cottages we played in as kids (we befriended all the out-of-towners). It is now a sad sight but provides great shade and fun place for the kids to play out of the sun.  

Clay, Madeline, Dad, and Jack

Owen and I hanging out on my favorite spot on the boat as we cruise around Manteo.

Dophins.....and lots of them.....really close! What a treat. 

What a beautiful sight!!! We would often get up early and take a walk before breakfast. There is something so rejuvenating about being on the beach early in the morning with the waves crashing and the sun rising! I loved showing this to Owen. 

My sister-in-law got Owen a matching crab shirt for our trip to the beach. We HAD to document 

it. 

Singing "The Itsy Bity Spider" to keep the kidos happy.

Loving the song.

"Out came the sun"....Owen's favorite part.

Just love this look.

Showing off his muscles. 

His first time on e big kid swing.

Clay's, Will's and Ann's kids. 

Just the boys...

Owen's new buddy, cousin Enoch! They really took to each other. What a blessing for both Owen and I to have Enoch there. Thanks E!

When I was young, once a week, we would go down to Oregon Inlet to see the big chartered fishing boats come. I really wanted to share this adventure with Owen. As you can tell, he's loving every minute of it.   

Apparently he likes the bigger fish, Dolphin. 

Yum.....Tuna anyone! 

The vacation was amazing! It was so great to be with my family who I do not get to see enough living so far away. It was wonderful to relax with my feet buried in the sand, a great book (The Help) in my hand and the sun on my face. I love it! Can't wait until next year! 

Do you know anyone considering adoption?

Then mention Rachel and Ryan!

Rachel is the sister of my dear friend here in St. Louis. She and her husband Ryan are hoping to adopt a baby and they have been told that the best way to get chosen by a birth mother is to have some sort of connection or recommendation. To that end, they are trying to spread the word to all of their family and friends in the hope that some of you will consider mentioning Rachel and Ryan if you know anyone considering adoption. The adoption agency that they are using is affiliated with our church, but the birth parents do not need to share our religion, nor do they need to live in New York. Also, Rachel and Ryan would love a child of any race or background.

For those of you who don't know Rach and Ryan, I would like to share a little with you from those that know them best. I have met Rachel and can verify that she is truly a kind and gentle soul. I've seen her with my friends child, and she would make a fabulous mother!

A note from my friend:  "Rachel and Ryan are truly two of the most remarkable human beings that I know. They are loving, lively, intelligent, accomplished, spiritual, and FUN! Ryan is a dental student and hopes to specialize in pediatric dentistry for children with disabilities. He is also an accomplished athlete and loves to get outside and play, especially snow sports, soccer, and tennis. Rachel is a high school English teacher, but she is looking forward to being a stay-at-home mom and hopefully writing a book some day. She is a fabulous singer, a great connoisseur of sweets, and gives 110% to everything that she does. They have both volunteered extensively at the Hogar Del Nino, an orphanage in El Salvador for persons with disabilities, and Rachel runs a program through Help, International where she recruits and trains volunteers to live at the orphanage for several months at a time to enhance the lives of the residents. I can not imagine two people more suited to being parents, and any child would be blessed beyond measure to join their family!"

Please take a minute to head to her blog and read her post about this, which includes more details, or to check out their adoption profile by following this link. We would greatly appreciate any help in spreading the word about Rachel and Ryan via blogs, Facebook, etc. If you are willing to put a "button" on your blog that links to Rachel and Ryan's adoption profile please let me know and I'll get the appropriate information to you.        

Thank you all for your love and support in helping this unique and outstanding couple get a baby!

Beautiful Sunday at the Park

Ryan, Owen and I spent a few hours at the park today. We walked through some of our favorite spots...across a creek where Ryan and I took our engagement pictures 3.5 years ago, by the Muny-an outdoor theater where we have camped out and picniced many times for the free seats, the gazebo in front of the Muny where we picnic often and watch the ducks and swatting away the aggressive pesky geese, and a final stop by the World's Fair pavilion and the big fountain in front. We have absolutely LOVED Forest Park, and are very sad to think this is our last year to enjoy all it has to offer...but we vow to do just that while we are still here!

Ryan and I were trying to feed the ducks that were pretty stand-offish by throwing the bread out to them, but Owen's little throw lacked the umph it took to get to the ducks, and it just plopped over the edge right into the water. Little did we know he was luring in a rather large snapping turtle who after about 10 minutes surfaced and ate up all of Owen's offerings. 

After he ate up all the bread and swam away we moved on to the fountain to cool off. Even at 7:00pm it was still pretty toasty in the sun. 

After the park adventure we came back and had a late but traditional dinner of pancakes with strawberries, eggs, turkey bacon and grits! Can't beat that! What a wonderful Sunday!