Balloon rally 2012

After we got back from our road trip it was time for one of my favorite mornings of the year- the Great Prosser Balloon Rally. Seeing hot air balloons up close just does not get old.

 It was one of the warm years so we were not too bundled up. Anja was with us again.

This balloon in the middle had to squeeze between the other two. Funny to watch.

 And suddenly it is daytime.

We made reservations at our usual breakfast spot and it was a good thing we did since they were busy this year.

Mimmu has my little girls drinking their coffee black.

Scenic overlook

We stopped on our way home to admire the view (and feed the baby). Our last visit to this rest stop was eight years ago.

Idaho : Family reunion

This time when we went to Idaho all of Mark's siblings and their kids were there. That's fifteen kids 11 and under and fourteen adults.

Thankfully the weather was good the whole time we were there so we could take advantage of being outdoors.The trampoline and bounce house were popular entertainments.

 We ate lunch and dinner outside,

played lawn games,

munched apples,

 took up archery,

 watched rocket launches,

and enjoyed spending time with each other.

Aunt Cindy has a cool airplane at her house.

Camilla : 6 months

Cindy took some pictures of Camilla while we were in Idaho.

So this is the little one at six and a half months. She has two tiny teeth on the bottom. She sits independently. She weighs just over 14 lbs. She is still a happy, mellow baby. She's started tasting solid foods and likes almost everything she's had.

Idaho : The Zoo

There was free admission to the zoo on Saturday.  So all the cousins headed for the zoo.

Helena and Liam were good buddies. This is before they started walking like penguins.

Penny is counting on Liam to keep her from falling off the tiger.

Oldest and youngest

Nora is a good big sister and likes helping to take care of the baby.

 Feeding Camilla is one fun way to be useful.

Sitting up

This is after about a week of sitting on her own. She mastered this skill pretty quickly without too many falls.

It makes such a difference to be able to sit and play and watch the action.

Huge food

We got to see the Wienermobile again!

They gave us whistles and stickers.

Unfortunately, we didn't find out that the Big Idaho potato had been in town just a few days before until after the fact.

Tumbleweed

My mom and I took the kids to the local music festival. We packed a picnic lunch and selected a performer at random for our first stop.

The weather is usually great and it's fun to eat outside and listen to folk music.

We saw our favorite Celtic band perform and Helena kept me company in the slowest-moving-line ever for an elephant ear.

It was tasty, but next time we're getting kettle corn.