HA!

Finally! I worked out how that picture posting thing works. Not bad for a computer ignoramus. *Me here, with a big smile on my face*.

See my son on the picture? He wasn't exactly happy with me asking him to pose with his back to the hot air balloon.

So, how many people do you know who celebrate 25 years of marriage? I think it's an event worth commemorating. So, we all decided to pitch in to give my brother-in-law and my sister-in-law a trip in a hot air balloon.

Before he saw the balloon, Joel was excited about the prospect of seeing one up close. But once they started up the huge fan and starting blowing fire into that huge thing, he started getting homesick.

Here's a sample of what our conversation sounded like:

Joel Jan: I've seen it, Mom. Can we go home now?

Me: We can't go home yet, sweetheart. We have to wait until it launches. Don't you want to ride in a balloon too?

Joel Jan: Not today, Mom. I think I'm too small. Besides, I'm homesick.

Picture the other adults around us, laughing at his words. Well, I suppose if I was five and a half and confronted with that huge thing, I'd be homesick too.

Joel Jan: Are they going to leave the earth now?

Karin (his cousin): They're not leaving the earth, silly.

Me: They're going to Mars. And when they come back, they're going to bring us huge sacks of Mars bars.

Joel Jan: Can we go home now? I'm homesick.

So, that was sort of the theme for that evening. I'm homesick, Mom.

Listen to me...I'm homesick too....