Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

Cole  had a "full" agenda this last weekend. Friday afternoon we went to the Los Alamos Homecoming parade with friends. Cole sat on the curb like a big boy and watch the floats go by. He also caught on quickly to the candy being tossed into the crowd; he ate 3 suckers. My friend Stefani was placing her candy in her stroller. Twice Cole was caught taking candy out of her stash! :)
Saturday morning Cole and I headed to Albuquerque to begin the fun weekend. Dad came later after finishing his 12 mile run in the Big Tesuque Trail Run. Go Dad!!! Cole and I met up with a good friend Alison and Kate for a morning at the Corrales Pumpkin Patch and then lunch. Cole enjoyed walking through the corn field maze but would get upset if we got to close to the corn and it brushed his face. He also was more interested in the dirt piles than the pumpkins but loved the tractor ride. He sat in silence with big eyes as drove around the corn fields. We also got to see pigs, ponies, llamas, and a couple calves. (Thanks Alison for an awesome day!!!)
Saturday afternoon we met up with Dad and headed to the hotel for a nap and pool time. The pool ended up being a flop as it was outdoor and not heated. So cold!! We packed our bags and were off to the Twilight Twinkle Glow at the balloon fiesta. Unfortunately, the wind was too strong and the balloons were unable to be up. Cole didn't mind as he got to ride on a school bus twice! (We rode the bus from the hotel to the fiesta to avoid driving and parking.) He was memorized. He had to look over the seat in front of us our out the window at all times.

Sunday started very early for us. The mass ascension usually takes place at 7am so we got up at 5:15, got dressed and headed out again for the day. Again, Cole was completely in love with the bus ride. This time we got to sit in the front so he was able to look out the front window! (Why didn't I take pictures of this?) We started the fiesta with hot chocolate and breakfast burritos and then headed out to the field to watch the balloons fill up and take off. We were nervous that Cole as going to be scared because of the size of the balloons and the sound of the flames - but, he really enjoyed he. He studied every thing, pointed to them as they took off and watched in awe like the rest of us.