Up, Up and Away . . .

For Christmas Kent gave me a groupon for a hot air balloon ride near Winchester, VA, in the Shenandoah River valley.  We took that ride on the last weekend in April.  

We met our pilot at 6am, so that's why you can see the moon shining in the first two pictures.

Another balloon went up while we were waiting to get ours up; the black balloon isn't the one we rode in.

We were involved in the whole process of filling the balloon with big fans,

and watching it rise into the sky when the air was heated.

 It was a beautiful, clear Spring day, and we both LOVED the ride.

 I think we got up to about 10,000 feet.

Kent contemplating the view below.

 I thought it was cool to see our shadow on the ground below.

 We had a nice, gentle landing in an open field.

 Then came the process of rolling up the balloon and loading it onto the trailer for the return trip back to where our cars were parked.

 After the balloon ride we toured some homes and gardens in Front Royal, VA, for Virginia Historic Garden Week.

Here are some pictures taken in 1993 and 1994 when we lived in Walla Walla, WA, and they hosted a hot air balloon stampede each year.  I think seeing them many years ago inspired us to want to take a ride in one someday!!

 

 The next Saturday we spent painting our kitchen a lovely gray color to match the stone in the backsplash Kent put up in April.

 Here's the completed look.  We have now pretty much totally redone the kitchen.

Tyler and Rachel gave us this sign, which fits in perfectly with our new kitchen colors!!

And here's how the kitchen looked when we bought the house eleven years ago.