Up, up and away!

This Holub family sailed out of town for the weekend....Dad had asked us to come back this summer for a weekend, so we sat and thought about it and decided we would really love to visit for the National Hot Air Balloon Festival weekend! They actually took the kids last year and the pictures looked awesome. We did just that...last weekend we packed up the car and Skylar on Friday afternoon and headed to Des Moines! The first stop was a very nice dinner at a place called The Latin King. It was a completely renovated, very rich looking, dimly lit Italian restaurant. The kids were both very good and very excited to see their Grandpa! But first....earlier that day I talked to Dad and he said I will be surprised when I see him. Well I pondered this and that over in my head and just couldn't get a grasp on what would be so different! Well when we walked in the restaurant his back was facing me, I waved to Keeley and my Dad turned around...I gasped....he was sporting a mustache!!!! I laughed and said, no way, you have to be kidding me, Dad really you need to shave it! Really it didn't look too bad, it wasn't gray, just not use to seeing my Dad with it! Well he came back from Canada with it and it has stayed, little did he know it would make his Granddaughter pucker her lip at him!!! We all laughed it was pretty funny. All was good after he started talking and she realized Grandpa was behind the furry 'stache' on his face! We sat and had dinner and a bottle of wine. As you can tell Dylan LOVED his food!

Friday was a late night. We got situated at the house, tucked the kids into bed and sat on the deck and relaxed. They have a great back yard perfect for a little R&R and the nature sounds you hear at night are amazing. Oddly enough Keeley has mastered the owl call and her and the owls were literally having a conversation, it was crazy! And then Brad started calling in the turkeys.....then it was time for bed, HA!
       The next morning we were up and packed into the car and headed downtown to the big Des Moines Farmers Market. This was high on my 'to do' list for the weekend, I very much look forward to markets! The kids were just as excited as their mama!!!

First stop was a little boutique Dad and Keeley had been eyeing a super cute dress for Danielle. They wanted to check sizing and sure enough...perfecto! Adorable dress for a cute little girl and matching hair bow was the gift of the day, thank you!!

We made a few other pit stops along the route and Dylan found a little monkey he wanted also! So adorable and Dylan loves it. But so sad later we found out this monkey has magnets in his feet and hands, magnets are a huge 'no no' to have around Danielle, so sadly it has to stay in his room, but it is adorable and he loves it to pieces....it's name is Gabby!
Brad found a few stands he really liked and I did the same. It was funny to see a Hawkeye stand considering we were in the heart of Cyclone country, but we didn't complain and they had some really neat things! Next stop was a snack, Dylan loved the sticks of watermelon and the adults got a little something more....

Mimosas to go...YES please!

The Des Moines market offers something for everyone, young and old alike it really is that fantastic! We tasted a few yummy treats, Brisket sandwich, Cabbage rolls, Sausage and cheese pastry, Buffalo chicken and bacon jalapeno crab ragoons, kettle corn, it was all very delicious! Dad picked up a few things from their favorite vendors, fresh mint and herbs, mushrooms, tomatoes, all of the wonderful findings at market!

 A few other super fun things....homemade fresh ice cream from a real fly wheel John Deere Ice Cream Maker and little barrel rain rides which Dylan just loved!

 Great turnout for a fun Saturday morning Market!

We headed back to Dad's for an afternoon of relaxation! Dylan made his usual bubble/washing station out on the deck where he loves to blow bubbles, wash up strawberries, play in the water and what ever his little heart desires. It is quite comical to watch as his imagination runs wild!

And Danielle and the puppy's, well they have just as much fun too, making themselves at home also and relaxing and playing, perfect for a Saturday afternoon at Grandpa's house!

The afternoon came to a wind down, perfect time for a homemade mojito, some of Dad's famous grilled steaks, and then we were off to Indianola!
We headed to the Balloon Festival, never having been there before I wasn't sure quite what to expect. Dad said it was in the middle of a HUGE open field and I wouldn't be able to miss it, well I wasn't able to miss the miles and miles of cars we waited in line with just to get there! We arrived just in time for the first show balloons to begin filling up and the chaser balloons heading out to drop off their racers. See since this was a National festival it also was a contest. There was a HUGE 'X' in the front/middle of this field, the object is to get the balloon as close to the 'X' as possible to throw down your dummy, the closest one that lands to the middle of the 'X' gets the top prize, another contest was that there were 3 poles on the outside of the 'X', each pole had rings on top, so to get your balloon close enough to the pole to be able to pull the ring off. Well this was NOT an easy task for these balloons pilots, because you never know where the wind will take your balloon, away from the field, close to the field etc. It was very interesting to watch.
We parked a spot under a big tree with just the perfect amount of shade, it was HOT out and we needed some shade for the kids. It was amazing to sit and watch these balloons head up into the sky from every single angle, and the ones that took off from other locations were flying in trying to drop close to the 'X' or pull a ring. The announcer said that the conditions were perfect in the sense that there was not hardly any wind and that caused you to be able to look literally 360 degrees around you and see a balloons covering the sky, it was AWESOME!

It had been 3 years since a balloon had come close enough to pull the ring, well this balloon this year did just that! It was so cool to watch and the crowd was going crazy cheering them on. This pilot had to get low enough and pray the wind would coast him towards the 'X' and then stay low enough without landing so he could coast and grab the ring. Well they did it!

The festival was like a mini carnival for the kids. Lots of fun play activities and games for them. Food stands and all of the naughty sweet treats like funnel cakes! It was also Vineyard night, they had 5 local winery's come in and you could buy samples of local Iowa wine. We tasted and tried a few, very very good! After Dylan got some time on the bounce activities and games we came back and cooled off a little in anticipation of dusk and Fireworks!!! Off in the distance came lightening as well but the Fireworks went off without a hitch.

We headed back to the house and on the drive back the lightening was more and more frequent and vivid, almost freaky! Well storm chaser Dad kept saying, oh yeah, oh yeah the deck is PERFECT for a storm, hurry and get us home so we can watch. We were laughing at him but by golly he was right! We got home, tucked the kids into bed and again sat on the deck and all around the lightning put on quite the show for us. Not too long later I headed inside just as the wind started howling and the rain started literally pouring down. Brad and Dad sat out there with their beverages on the covered deck and took it all in. It was pretty cool but I much rather preferred watching the storm indoors! Strong storms came thru and make for great sleeping weather, this family was tuckered out!

The next morning we headed to a small restaurant/post office called Gabby's for breakfast. Yes it was actually a post office and restaurant all in 1....very small town! Then it was back to Dad's to pack up and head home. We had such a fantastic weekend, the kids had a wonderful time. We had a great little trip and visit and can't wait to do it again soon!!

We got home around 1, just in time to head to the big pool for another afternoon of family fun!

It was a weekend full of smiles from everyone! Much needed for a little rejuvenation for a busy rest of the summer to come!