Birthday Balloons

This year for my birthday Kyle and I celebrated with lots of beautiful, brightly colored balloons.  Not your typical party decor, each balloon reached over seven stories tall and weighed over two tons.  That's right... I'm talking about hot air balloons!  Wish I could say the balloons were flying in honor of my 26 years of life, but really, it was just an incredible coincidence that the annual Hot Air Balloon Invitational fell on my birthday.

The air was cool and crisp the morning of the Invitational, and the painted balls looked stunning against the clear, blue sky.  Balloons of all shapes, colors and designs ascended from multiple locations throughout the White Sands National Monument, where the Invitational was held.  Even Smokey the Bear's giant ranger balloon made an appearance for the special occasion.  The  breathtaking hills of white sand and majestic mountain range were just icing on the cake!  

The enormous balloons could be spotted from miles away and attracted hundreds of eager spectators to the National Monument.  Crowds of visitors sledded down the dunes, while others lounged comfortably in lawn chairs with binoculars and coffee in hand.  Since this was my first up-close-and-personal experience with hot air balloons, I was one of many photographers, snapping pictures left and right, trying to capture every balloon grounded and in flight.  My myriad of photos guarantees I'll never forget the best birthday balloons ever.

Future REMAX spokesdog?  I think so!

The pooches were thrilled to join us at White Sands.

Needless to say, I absolutely adored my new form of birthday balloons.  So, Kyle, take note.  Now that I've experienced the glory and grandeur of hot air balloons on my birthday, I'm afraid that Party City's small, rubber inflatables will never again satisfy my taste!