Colorado Balloon Classic

This weekend I took Eric and Charles to the Colorado Balloon Classic. It's the largest hot air balloon festival in Colorado. I think I read that it has been going on since 1977. I heard on the news that there are 83 balloons there this year. Every Labor Day weekend there is an early ascension in the morning and the balloon glow in the evening. We missed the early ascension Saturday morning. By the time we arrived there was only one balloon left that was giving rides to kids with disabilities. We were lucky enough to see five parachuters from the Air Force Academy though. The pictures of the sky with trails of white or yellow smoke are the parachuters. We watched the plane circle above us and then saw the five of them jump. Later that evening we went back for the balloon glow. There weren't as many balloons in the evening. It is so awesome to see the balloons at night. We found a booth that sold rubber band shooters. Of course the boys had to have one. Eric brought his birthday money to buy his own. We found a place on the grass without too many people around so they boys could try out their new favorite toys. It wasn't long before we had to move back because there was a balloon being set up right in front of us. They are huge! It was exciting to see them being inflated and then to see them glow in the night sky was amazing. Eric and Charles loved the Energizer Bunny balloon. It was so huge. My picture is a little blurry but you cant tell it's the bunny. If you haven't been before I recommend it, just get there early because parking is a nightmare.

Another Charles-ism

Tonight we had spaghetti for dinner. Eric and Charles said they were starving. Eric was eating his food really fast and was almost finished before any of us were half way through dinner. I said to Eric that he was going to town on his spaghetti. Now, Charles doesn't usually eat much, especially spaghetti but tonight he was eating well. He looked up from his plate and said to me, "I'm almost to town mom". When he had eaten all of his dinner he put his plate in the sink and came back over to me to announce that he "made it to town."

1st Day of School

Yesterday was the first day of school for Eric and Charles. They were both really excited to get back to school. They each have great teachers. We were thrilled to meet their new teachers and see their classrooms at the open house. Tuesday morning when I was taking their pictures Katie ran over to pose with them (she doesn't miss a photo opportunity). Charles went on a Safari hunt to find Ryan the Lion (the school mascot). He thought that was the coolest thing ever. Eric jumped back in the swing of things like he had never left for summer break. Let's just hope they're both this excited in a month or two.

Cooking With Charles

Today Charles wanted to make play dough. This is one of his favorite things to do. Every time we make it we have the color lesson. Red, yellow and blue are primary colors and when you mix two of them you get a new color but when you mix non-primary colors you get a yucky looking color. Charles got out the box of food coloring to choose which color or colors he wanted to use. He pulled out the green bottle and said, "I can't use this one right mom, because it's not a church color". My mind slowed for a second as I thought "church color"?? My back had been turned to him and when I turned around and saw the green bottle it clicked, he meant primary color. How cute is that. He ended up mixing yellow and blue to get green.
Here's the recipe for great play dough from Trish Kuffner's book The Preschooler's Busy Book.

Colored Playdough

1 c. water

1 T. vegetable oil

1/2 c. salt

1 T. cream of tartar

Food coloring

saucepan

1 c. flour

Combine water, oil, salt, cream of tartar, and food coloring in a saucepan and heat until warm. Remove from heat and add flour. Stir, then knead until smooth. Cream of Tartar makes this dough long-lasting--up to six months or longer--so resist the temptation to leave it out if you don't have it on hand. This dough should be stored in an airtight container or a ziplock bag. Do not regrigerate.

I make a half batch at a time (which makes about a baseball size chunk of playdough) then you can have two colors using one recipe.

Helen Hunt Falls

More Helen Hunt Falls

Saturday afternoon we decided to take a trip up to Helen Hunt Falls. It is so close to us and I've known about it for years but we've just never gone . The falls are located in North Cheyenne Canon Park. As you're driving there is a fork in the road and to the left is Seven Falls and to the right is Helen Hunt Falls. We haven't been to Seven Falls yet so I'm glad we started with the smaller ones first (and Helen Hunt Falls is free). The drive to the visitor's station was beautiful. So many trees and rock formations to look at. Once there the hike is short, easy and on an established trail which was perfect for Katie. Eric and Charles loved it and were constantly racing ahead of us. They couldn't wait to get to the top. When we first parked the car and got out there was a family in a creek below us panning for gold. By the time we climbed down the visitor's station was closed so we just walked down to throw rocks. We took tons of pictures and had a fun time.