Cherry Blossom Festival 2011

Gone are the days of cold toes and layered blankies. Spring is in full swing here Gauw-ga. The trees are full of blossoms and the flowers are blooming. Our garden is growing everyday, and I'm in a constant state of Claritin Induced Coma to combat the pollen in the air.

My allergies are crazy. They call it an "allergy attack" for a reason, friends. They drop kick me in the sinuses, rendering me utterly helpless and unable to defend myself. My only hope is Claritin-D and I have to sign my life away at the pharmacy to get it.

Do I look like I'm cookin' Meth? Really?

It's not slowing us down though. We are fully enjoying the season: eating meals on our porch, working in the garden, walking everyday, and getting our Cherry Blossom on.

What's that, you say?

Our sweet little town has a huge community festival every spring called The Cherry Blossom Festival. So named, because we have a lot of-- wait for it-- Cherry Trees.

Not the kind that grow fruit...these are of an ornamental variety...you know, like D.C.

The Davester and I love Cherry Blossom Festival. In fact, I interned as a Cherry Blossom Event Planner in college. We try to go to as many events as possible. This past weekend, Supper Club (minus a few, who were greatly missed) gathered together to attend the famed Cherry Blossom Balloon Glow.

Dozens of hot air balloons were being inflated all over the park amidabout a ba-gillion people. Some of the balloons were even giving rides. To top it all off, there was a band playing all the hits for some sweet background music.

As the afternoon went on, more and more balloons showed up. They were all over the place.

While all the balloons were being inflated, we had ourselves a little picnic, complete with blankets, barbecue, and banana pudding. Classic.

 

Ashley and Alan.

Tiffany and Chris.

Tiffy and Kyrsten, because Brad is away. We miss you, Brad!

And, best of all, David's Mom and sister came to spend the weekend with us and experience all the wonders of Cherry Blossom Festival and Supper Club.

After supper, the sun started going down. This is where the "glow" part comes in! When it gets dark, all of the balloons fire up their stove/motor/gas burner thingies...

Which made it look like this! Oh. So. Pretty.

The balloons were actually even brighter than this, but Photo-Mel needs a tripod to capture pictures in the dark. She was was shamefully unprepared for balloon glow.

We had so much fun at our first balloon glow picnic and with our visitors this weekend. Hopefully we'll be going to more Cherry Blossom events this week.

Here's what we've done so far:

• Watched the Frisbee-catching dog competition (which David and Jack will be entering next year)
• Watched a strong man competition, where men pulled an RV up a hill with a rope.
• Cheered teams on in the Cherry Street Bed Race (Beds on wheels being rolled up the street at startling speeds...I'm not sure why this happens, but it's fun to watch)
• Eaten Cherry Blossom Pink Ice Dream at Chick-fil-a
• Drove our car on the Cherry Blossom Trail to see all the trees in full bloom.
• Hung a Cherry Blossom Wreath (Thanks, Mama) on our house that makes us feel like true Maconites.

Cherry Blossom 2011. It's serious business.

Mel