Out West Balloon Fest

More than 35 hot air balloons will decorate the sky at the first annual Out West Balloon Fest and Fun Run at the University of Phoenix in Glendale, Ariz. Locals, if you're looking for something fun to do the first weekend in March, this is it! 

On March 6, 7 and 8, join us for a weekend filled with much more than hot air!  We will kick off the weekend with a Friday night balloon glow. From bumblebees, to butterflies and even Smokey the Bear, there will be a special shaped balloon to please every member of the family. Come see these gentle giants as they light up the night sky and enjoy tethered balloon rides.

 Bring your appetite because on the ground attendees will find dozens of food and novelty vendors, hours of live music, wine and craft beer tastings and opportunities to mingle with the balloon pilots. For the kids, there’s a special area with a slew of inflatable attractions a climbing wall and much more.

Saturday morning will begin with a family-friendly 5K fun run, proceeds benefitting the 100 Club of Arizona. A second balloon glow will follow that evening. Also enjoy the “Hare and Hound” balloon competition. Grand Marshall Bill Cutter will start off the race by launching his own balloon. He will land his balloon and lay out the target where the other balloon will then launch and race to the finish line. Each balloon pilot (or hounds) tries to drop a bean bag closest to the center of the target to win a variety of prizes. 

Sunday morning will round off the weekend with a competitive balloon race. Our hot air balloon pilots will show off their skills by competing in a race to launch and land at one of three declared spots to win a prize. It’s a fun spectator event for the whole family.

Tickets range from $10 to $20 per person. Kids ages 12 and younger are free.

Event Information and Schedule:

Friday Evening Balloon Glow 4-9 p.m.

4 p.m.

Gates Open

4-9 p.m.

Vendor Market, Food vendors, Kidszone

5:30 p.m.

Tethered Balloon Rides

5-9 p.m.

Live music on the main stage

6:30-8:30 p.m.

25 hot air balloon glow

8:30 p.m.

Night skydiving demo by the Arizona Skyhawks

9 p.m.

Gates close

Saturday Morning Balloon Launch 6-11 a.m.

6 a.m.

Gates Open

6-11 a.m.

Vendor Market, Food vendors, Kidszone

7 a.m.

Morning Passenger Flights

7 a.m.

5K Fun Run

7 a.m.

Balloon launch, Hare and Hound competition

11 a.m.

Gates close

Saturday Evening Balloon Glow 4-9 p.m.

4 p.m.

Gates Open

4-9 p.m.

Vendor Market, Food vendors, Kidszone

5:30 p.m.

Tethered Balloon Rides

5-9 p.m.

Live music on the mainstage

6:30-8:30 p.m.

25 hot air balloon glow

8:30 p.m.

Night skydiving demo by the Arizona Skyhawks

9 p.m.

Gates close

Sunday Morning Balloon Launch 6-11 a.m.

6 a.m.

Gates Open

6-11 a.m.

Vendor Market, Food vendors, Kidszone

7 a.m.

Morning Passenger Flights

7 a.m.

Balloon Launch, Declared balloon race competition

11 a.m.

Gates Close

Events subject to change based on weather.

Some activities require an additional fee. Please visit the website atwww.outwestballoonfest.com for more information.

Disclosure: I received tickets to this event free of charge for my promotion of the events, all opinions and thoughts are my own. 

What Making Classroom Valentine's Taught Me.

There we were standing in Hobby Lobby starring at their 30% off Valentine's Day display trying to decide on what to get for Ava to take to pre-K next week. 

Me trying my best to persuade her to go for my idea that was way creative and over the top, I'm pretty sure everyone would know a four year old didn't come up with that on her own. 

Her reaching for the glitter glue pens and these foam hearts. 

Me again trying to direct her back towards my plan, and circling around a few other ideas. Her once again throwing more foam hearts into the cart and saying;

"Mom can we just get these? These are what I want."

I realized something that day in Hobby Lobby, it should have been clear to me after the months of her wanting to pick out her own clothing and weeks of miss matched outfits that just made her happy and delighted, or about how for months hasn't been on board with any of my 5th birthday ideas and readily had her own thoughts about what her birthday should be.

I mean who is she anyway?! I kid. 

Sitting there that day while picking out valentine's it struck me louder than before, she's becoming her own little person. With ideas and thoughts all her own. 

She gleamed at the idea of putting together her own special Valentine's and even though they weren't what I wanted nor as over the top as I wanted it to be. I remembered that she's growing and changing and taking ownership of her ideas. Expressing the things she likes. 

I wasn't about me, it was about her class valentine's and wanting to do them her own creative way.

It reminded me to take a step back and see that everything doesn't have to be the way I think it should. It can be as simple as foam hearts, some stickers and practicing writing her name 33 times for each valentine. 

To see her sitting at the table decorating each one with such pride and accomplishment. She wouldn't have gotten that if I'd taken it away from her to do my own silly thing. 

It not only taught her to let her own ideas come to life, it taught me a bigger lesson about letting go of my own ideas and what I think things should be. Or what I think I should do as a parent when it comes to school project and holiday parties. 

An important lesson, maybe you've been there too. Let's raise up a generation of confident kids. Kids who are confident in their ideas and let them explore their creativity and see it flourish. 

All it takes us us stepping out of the way sometimes. 

A Day in February.

I love documenting life, I consider myself the family memory keeper. Recording a 'day in our lives' once a month is not only fun but also a great way for us to look back on that season and see what we were up to.

My kids love filming videos with me too. This day in the life video is a bit longer than usual only because my kids got super involved. I filmed this last week, I hope you enjoy it.

Tell me, how do you keep memories for your family. What are your favorite ways? Do you like recording videos as well? Tell me in the comments below.

Coffee Date 2-6-15

Happy Friday Friends! I hope that you had a good week! I'm happy you're joining me for coffee this week. It's been so nice here in Phoenix, I feel a little bit bad for the rest of the Country. But, these are the days I live for here in Arizona. 

Another week has gone by fast, I'm starting day 5 of my #whole30 journey. So far it's going really great. I hope to have another update for you after I complete a week this coming Sunday. 

Tell me, if we were having coffee today what would you tell me?

Also, I'm running a super sale on my note pads on Groopdealz today! If you've been wanting to purchase either now is a great time to get them at 32-40% off! You can find The Everyday Page here or The Coffee First Notepad here. 

Whole30 for the Month of February

Hi Friends! Happy Wednesday! Today, I wanted to share with you the beginning of my Whole30 journey. I've attempted Whole30 once before and felt very unprepared so it was a bust. I got my act together this time and I'm doing it. I'm officially on Day 4 and so far so good. 

I created a little video talking about my intro and thoughts about this next month. You can watch below.

I highly suggest buying the book 'It Starts with Food' this really helped me understand the "why" and science behind our food and what we should avoid. You can pick up the book here.

Follow my Whole30 journey using the hashtag #andreaswhole30 on Instagram & Twitter. Also subscribe to my YouTube channel here, I'll be posting more videos there as well. 

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