After lunch at Taco Amigo we started gathering up stuff for our weekend in Provo. We checked into the Residence Inn
and then went to dinner at TGIFridays. After dinner we went to the creamery and got heartbroken because they *still* don't have good flavors of ice cream! Oh they let us down. It was better for my butt though.
While we were driving back to our hotel when we noticed a bunch of service people carrying what looked like a gigantic flag.
There were also two cranes. We knew what was going to happen and there was a modest crowd gathered so we joined. We had to wait a while but finally they lifted the giant flag up on the cranes. It took 24 people to carry the flag. We later found out that it was 90x150 feet! It was monstrous and beautiful.
I took my pictures and then we were done.
When we got back to the hotel we spent a little time in the pool and hot tube before going to bed. We knew we had an early morning ahead of us so we encouraged the kids to fall asleep as fast as they could. It didn't work. Oh they were beasts. I wanted to hurt someone. Neither one of them wanted to share the sofa bed. Emma was whining because Andrew was breathing too loud and then he was stealing the blankets. They bitched and moaned for over an hour!!! An hour. A whole freaking hour. Did I mention that they complained for an hour?
Finally Emma got off the bed and slept on the couch cushion on the ground. Since we had decided to go to the Balloon Fest I set the alarm but apparently my internal alarm had doubts that it would work. I’m running about 20 minutes fast. I got at 5:25 AM and lost out on the last precious 20 minutes that I could have had.
We got to the balloon fest before sunrise. The sky was gorgeous with pink streaks and the weather was perfect. It was nice and cool.
We watched the balloons slowly blow up one by one and then they took off.
We all had our favorites. This is mine. I just love the autumn leaves and the dangly thingies.
Here are some more shots.
We also noticed some balloons missing from previous years like the strawberry and one with a bunch of flowers on it.
After we were done we got Einstein Bagels (I guess it is now a tradition since we have gotten them after the Balloon Fest both times we have gone.) and then went to the hotel and took advantage of their free buffet breakfast.
Paul and I wanted a nap and we knew the kids *needed* a nap. We had a choice; go home and let the kids sleep in their own beds (keep in mind there are also a lot of activities at our house to keep them busy if they don’t sleep thus assuring that Paul and I get our naps) or stay at the hotel, the scene of an hours worth of sleep drama and try to take a nap there. Guess what we chose ;) We got a nice nap and after getting cleaned up headed back to Provo for the Stadium of Fire. We walked down and got our seats and waited impatiently for the festivities to begin.
We saw the jets,
we sang the national anthem, we said the Pledge of Allegiance to the same flag we had watched the cranes raise the night before, we watched the dancers, we sat through SHeDAISY and then hormones started running amok. The Jonas Brothers hit the stage.
The place went nuts. The kids lost it. Emma was so excited. She was jumping up and down and screaming. Andrew got into it too.
We couldn’t see them very well but we watched them on the big screens.
They put on a great show and really got the audience going. The kids weren't the only ones who were excited about seeing the Jonas Brothers.
I have a whole new appreciation for those boys. They were awesome. They played at least six songs. My favorite part of the night was watching the kids at their first concert watching someone they love perform. It was so cute.
After the concert was over the fireworks started. They went for a while and then there was even what seemed like the grand finale. I thought it seemed somewhat brief compared to years past but rain was coming, we had felt the drops, so I figure they had rushed through them. I was wrong. They just stopped them for a special ceremony.
That big beautiful flag that we had admired the night before was no longer in good enough condition to be used. A lady here in Utah had sewn it with her ward; it had been used at BYU football games, during the Olympics and other Stadiums of Fire. She had repaired it over and over again and referred to it as her baby. Much to my horror they decided to burn it at last night. I watched with a tear in my eye as they carried it in and loaded into a large drum and before I knew it, it was gone.
The lower flame is where the drum that they loaded the flag into.
I know that is what is supposed to be done but I have to say I didn’t like it. If I were the one who had made it and worked so hard to keep it beautiful over the years I would have wanted to keep it, somehow, no matter what its condition was.
After the ceremony was over the fireworks began again and we were treated to round two and they were awesome! I will tell you that that is the way to see the fireworks. We all hope to have a chance to do it again sometime. The only downer is that I couldn’t have my tri-pod and thus no really good pictures.
We walked back to the hotel, put Andrew on the floor and fell asleep. We slept until 10:30. We started loading up and headed home where I made a big breakfast for everyone and started working on Paul’s birthday cupcakes and dinner. More on his birthday later.
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