BALLOON FIESTA!

We had the Dan Turley family come and visit for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta this year! We were so excited that they were able to squeeze it into their hectic schedule! This is a picture of all the kids! Bobby, Brigham, Lydia, Peyton, Quinton, Ray and Loralyn! They all look like they could be related! In fact, I took them to the zoo later that afternoon, and a lady kept looking, counting, and trying to figure out if they were all mine! Finally, she said, "I am sorry, I just hav to ask, are these all yours?" I said, "No, only five of the seven." She then said, "Five are yours? Are you going to have anymore?" me, "Oh ya, I have always wanted 6 or 7, so this is great practice for me!" I think I freaked her out, and she may have thought we were the most unbelievable exhibit there! She said, "I just couldn't figure it out, because they all looked enough alike." Well, I must admit, they are all cute! :)
For those of you that don't know, Albuquerque always has this annual Balloon Fiesta! From the first weekend in October through the second weekend! It really is spectacular! We would LOVE for anyone to come and see it! It is one of our favorite things to do!
I ADORE this picture! Steve always carries our babies like this! It looks like a great view to see all the balloons! And Brig was just in shock with all the balloons and even more so, I think, with all the people around! He may be even more of a people watcher than me! With donut in hand, he is just taking it all in on dad's shoulders!
Here are the kids watching them inflate a balloon! It was a really warm morning! Usually, it is really quite cold, and you have to be bundled from head to toe. Getting close to the fire, usually is my way of warming up, but this year it was just fun to watch them inflate the balloons! The weather really was unbelievable!
Brigham taking in the flame! Love the little perched hand on dad's hat!
There are just so many shapes and colors! I just love it all! Here is Smokey the Bear, of course!
They start off, with a flag going up on the balloon, and the anthem or pledge being played! It really is so fun!
Strolling through the Fiesta park! It got so crowded at one point, that we could barely move! It was a busy day, because the kids were out of school for "fall break", otherwise known as, "take your child to the Fiesta day!" Bobby is such a sport to carry my diaper bag for me! His "man purse!" :)
Here is Bobby with Quinton! The Darth Vador balloon is always a hit! They have Storm Troopers around, and a real Darth Vador standing on the ground! This one was so packed, this was as close as we got to it this year! It is a really fun balloon to see!
The sun coming over the mountain, and hitting "the dark side"!
Another one of my favorite pictures this year! I just LOVE these two look alikes! And this shows off Brigs big puffy lips, and BLUE eyes!
Here are Peyton, Dan, Evvie, and Quinton Turely! Such a great looking family, and we just had so much fun! They were only able to stay from Thursday night to Friday night, but even though we didn't have quantity time, we sure had quality! The kids were so excited to have their friends come, and so sad to see them go! Roo even went in her room, and had a little cry! They took her and Bobby on a fun morning out with them, and had her hook, line, and sinker! I think shopping and treats were on the agenda that morning...totally up Roo's ally!
The Schmutz kids, minus Brig, who was with dad! These are the famous Bees! They are really cute, they go up together holding hands, and then as they rise, the hands let go! They added a third bee this year!
Thought the crab and zebra were cute balloons! Steve has a lot of fun here too, because Brazil has TONS of the balloons, so he usually gets to speak a little portuguese with the Brazilians! It is always a treat for him! On his mission, they would sell little hot are balloons that you would just blow up yourself, and send in the air! They are really cool. He brought one home, and we let it off on July 4th...1999!

And this is why Brigham wasn't in a lot of the group shots! Dad let him walk, and it was over after that! He just wanted to roam, and enjoy the Fiesta! Not entertain mom by posing for pictures! Our little monster!
The cute Noah's Ark balloon, and all the cooperative kids posing! :)

Had to get in a funny face shot! My girls missed the memo to do a real funny face, but Ray and Bobby have it down to a science! :)
Totally season appropriate balloon! This is a pretty "wicked" balloon!
There are just so many different shapes! It is fun just to go see all the variety!
Love these two! Brigham checking out the wicked witch!
Ray called this balloon the "Monkey Plane" balloon, because its face resembles a monkey! He is so funny! He is a lot like Steve in his observations...doesn't miss a detail, and everything relates to an animal!
And headed back!

The zebra people are like refs! They help move people out of the way when balloons are taking off or laying down! This lady just jumped in to the picture with us! The more the merrier! We sure love the Fiesta, and having some of our favorite friends come along, only made it that much more fun! There is nothing like Albuquerque in the fall!

Harvest Time!

I am so obsessed with Mason Jars! I just LOVE them! I always want to think of things to do with them! But, of course, my favorite thing to do with them is bottle some of the harvest from our garden!

So, on my birthday, September 17, I decided to tackle some tomatoes! We had so many! We have given a lot to neighbors and friends, and already had a round of bottled tomatoes, but still had tomatoes galore! There really is nothing like garden tomatoes for a nice spaghetti sauce in the winter, or stew! So, I decided I better get a few more tomatoes bottled!
Two of my favorites...Mason jars and home grown tomatoes!

It's quite a process, and I usually have to clear a whole day for it, but it sure is nice in the winter to go out in the garage and grab some of our garden fresh bottled food! Thank goodness for good old salt and lemon juice! Two things that are always on hand during bottling!

And the finished product! I was talking to a friend about how yummy home bottled food is, and we both said, "And it is just so pretty on the shelf!" So true! The perfect decoration! It's the Mason jars...they are just so great! :)

We also had a TON of peppers too!!! We had some yummy chile rellenos and stuffed peppers! We also had jalepenos in lots of our food, to spice it up! I need to get better at figuring out how to preserve them, so I can use them all year round too! SO GOOD! We had some delicious sweet peppers too, that we just picked and ate! They are just so pretty too, with all the different colors! We did have a few hot peppers mistaken for sweet! So, Ray and Roo both had the experience of feeling the fire! :) LOTS of HONEY and MILK and BANANAS to put out the fire!

This was a yummy stir fry we made with some garden peppers! It was so fresh and delicious! Just that light yummy flavor of summer! :)
I LOVE the fall! I love when the summer cools down a little and leaves change to brilliant colors! And one of my favorite things is harvesting some of what we planted! I would one day like to be brilliant at it! I have noticed it is a live and learn hobby! Each year I conquer a little more, and try something new! It is also a messy hobby, and doesn't wait for my schedule! We were too busy when the peaches were ready, so I just had to freeze them! And when I feel I am too tired to do it...I remember how yummy it is in the winter months! Then I usually can get enough motivation! I would LOVE to get to where my grandma and Steve's grandma were...where every meal they could go and grab a bottle of veggies to go with the meal! Cheers to HARVEST TIME! and HARVEST BLESSINGS to all! Welcome fall!