Birthday Balloon Ride!

My mother-in-law has always had a fascination with hot air balloons so we decided to go together with John's sister and get her a hot air balloon ride for her 60th birthday.  She was soooooo excited about her gift - I think that we chose well!  The day finally came that we had scheduled the ride!  The ride was with a pilot from around Huntington, so we all (9 of us!) had a big sleepover at my parents house to be ready to take off in the balloon bright and early at 6:30 the next morning from my aunt and uncle's yard!

 Nancy, John and Sondra rode in the balloon and the rest of us followed them along as they spent an hour flying over Huntington County.  They went about 14 miles in total and had an awesome ride!

 I think that we all learned a lot about balloon flying in addition to having a lot of fun.  Nancy, Sondra and John shared a toast with us all after the flight - a balloonist tradition apparently after a successful flight.  I think that this turned out to be a very memorable birthday gift:)