Our Almost Hot Air Balloon Ride

Awhile ago we started a list of things we wanted the kids to experience. (I wittily named it the Kids Experience List.) One of the things on the list was a hot air balloon ride. Hubby and I had never been on one and we thought the kids would get a kick out of it. However, we thought they might still be too young to take a full ride. I don't think Higgins could see over the top without climbing on the bucket, which probably isn't a good idea when you are 2,000 feet above the ground.

I saw that there was a Hot Air Balloon Festival less than an hour away and decided to go. The festival offered tethered balloon rides for $10 a person, but it was only offered early in the morning and later in the evening. We set our alarms and got up super early to head over. The closer we got to the location, the more hot air balloons we could see in the air. There were so many different colors and patterns! We didn't tell the boys where we were going, so it was great to hear how excited they were to see all the balloons.

We finally pulled in the parking lot and watched the balloons come in. We got in line for the tethered balloon ride and watched as people in front of us climbed in and out of the basket and went up 40 or so feet. When we were the second ones in line, the wind started picking up and the operators had problems keeping the basket on the ground. They tightened the tethers, but the wind was pushing the balloon all over the place and they couldn't get the basket to land long enough to get the current passengers out. Hubby even went to help grab hold of the basket to keep it on the ground so the people could get out. They shut down the ride for safety and we didn't get our chance.

We were disappointed at first, but went to sit and eat the breakfast that they were serving and watch the balloons. It didn't work out the way I had planned, but we still had a neat experience. After all, we got to eat breakfast outside and watch hot air balloons. None of us had ever seen so many hot air balloons in one place before. Maybe we will get our chance to ride next year!


DM TIP: You can check out HotAirBalloon.com to see if there are any festivals near you. Wiki also has a list of some of the festivals.

OTHER EXPERIENCE POSTS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

• Passing On Childhood Memories: The Cement Slide
• What Has Cheese, Broth, and Chocolate? Fondue! Our experience with fondue at home, including recipes!
• Wheelies, Noise, and a Flying Tire: Monster Trucks My kids love cars and trucks and we decided to take them to a monster truck show. I have my tips and learnings if you want to go to Monster Truck Show.
• Arg, Riverboat Pirates We took a riverboat ride and it was pirate themed!
• Life Experience Gifts I made this list for Christmas, but it has lots of ideas of things to experience with your kids.

Have you ever been on a hot air balloon ride? What was it like?

Arg, Riverboat Pirates

Have you ever seen the old movies where a paddle boat is lazily going down the river? I love those boats and thought it would be fun to take a ride on one. I found boats that offer different day and dinner cruises, and there is a paddle boat that offers overnight cruises as well.

On the day I decided to take the boys, they had a kids pirate cruise. I had to wake up Higgins when it was time to go, so there was a distinct lack of happy pictures as we boarded the boat. The boys each got a paper pirate hat, treasure map, and an eye patch. Of course there was a photo-op as you boarded and the crew were all dressed as pirates or in pirate wench costumes.

The cruise lasted about an hour and a half. There were a few different activities available on the ship for the kids to do. There was a walk the plank area (blue tarp with a 2x4 for the plank and plastic fish and crabs on the tarp), a face painting and tattoo area, swab the deck (the staff had buckets of mops for the kids to mop the deck with), and of course the treasure map. The captain announced different local tourist information, as well as pirate facts during the cruise to complete the treasure map. At the end of the cruise, the kids got to go through the captain's room and pick out a prize.

The boys had a great time, especially since they got ice cream. I loved taking them on a paddle boat ride. We sat for several minutes just watching the wheel turn. The company offered other types of cruises too, so I think we will try to go back and try another one. There were different options, including dinner, lunch, ice cream socials, and even a murder mystery cruise. I think you could find a cruise to fit almost any age!

What Has Cheese, Broth, and Chocolate? Fondue!

I love fondue and we knew the kids would love it too. However, taking my young kids to a fondue restaurant is a recipe for disaster. I had plenty of scenarios play out in my head: the kids catching something on fire, the kids knocking the pots over, the kids whining they were hungry and it was taking too long for the food to cook, and finally (and very likely) the kids burning themselves. This was one of the things on the Kids Experience List, so we decided to make the fondue at home. I am really glad that we made it at home. Both boys got bored waiting for the meat to cook and wandered off to play with their toys.

We decided to do three different fondues. We were lucky enough to borrow an electric fondue pot, which we used for the cheese and chocolate fondues. We also had a cast iron fondue pot, which we used for the broth fondue. We began with the cheese fondue, followed by the broth, and we finished with the chocolate.

The kids loved the broth and chocolate part of the meal, but not the cheese part so much. Bernardo  does not like cheese to begin with, but I thought Higgins would gobble it up. I used a Colby and Swiss mixture, but it was Emmentaler cheese (a Swiss made Swiss cheese) so it had a stronger flavor. The adults seemed to like it, but I think for the kids I would use an American version of Swiss cheese next time.

The boys loved dipping their fondue forks into the broth and chocolate (with help, of course) to make their own food. It is something I am glad we did with the boys. If you want to try making fondue at home, I have the recipes below!



RECIPES:

CHEESE FONDUE:
You will need:

• 3 Tbs flour
• 3 Tbs butter
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 3/4 cup milk
• Dash of cayenne. It's a little less than 1/8 tsp.
• 6 oz Colby Cheese, diced
• 4 oz Swiss Cheese, diced. If you want to use a stronger cheese, use a Swiss made Swiss cheese like Emmentaler.
• Saucepan

Directions:

1. Melt butter. Stir in flour and cayenne. 

2. Add in broth and stir to make a smooth mixture.

3. Add milk and heat until almost a simmer.

4. Add in the cheese and stir until completely melted.

5. Serve. I served mine in a fondue pot to keep the cheese mixture melted. A crock pot would also work.

BROTH FONDUE:
You will need:

• 5 1/4 cups chicken broth
• 2 tbsp line juice
• 1/4 fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp paprika
• Dash ground ginger
• 2 tbsp black pepper
• Saucepan
• Dippers: 
• Veggies: carrots, potato pieces, mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini
• Estimated Cooking Time: 3-5 minutes
• Meat: steak chunks, shrimp, chicken pieces
• Estimated Cooking Times:
• Beef: Well done, 45 seconds. 
• Seafood: 2-3 minutes. Shrimp turns pink when cooked.
• Chicken: 2 minutes.
• Cut into meat before eating to make sure it is cooked through.

CHOCOLATE FONDUE:
You will need:

• 8 oz heavy cream
• 12 oz dark chocolate (chop from block or use chips)
• Dippers: Strawberries, banana chunks, pineapple chunks, dried fruit, apple slices, Rice Krispe treat bite sized squares, pound cake pieces, angel food cake pieces, marshmallows
• Whisk
• Saucepan

Directions:

1. Heat cream over medium heat. Watch carefully. When it starts to boil, pull off of the heat. Add in chocolate and whisk until completely melted and mixture is smooth.

2. Transfer the chocolate to a warm fondue pot. You want the mixture to stay warm, or it will harden. Eventually it will harden on its own if it is left out long enough. If it starts to firm up, add a little bit of cream and stir together.

Optional: Add in 1 tablespoon coffee or vanilla extract to the mixture to add additional flavors.

Wheelies, Noise, and a Flying Tire: Monster Trucks

Growing up, there were a ton of neat things that my husband and I did that we want to share with our kids. Some of them are as simple as building a snowman and having a snowball fight or going down a cement slide. Others are things that we always wanted to do, like going on a hot air balloon ride.  There have been so many times that we saw something while we were out and thought "the kids would love that" or "I wish that we thought of that!". Finally, this year we made a list of things that we wanted to experience with our kids. We aptly named the list The Kids Experience List.

Planning for the Event:
The boys love monster trucks. Personally, I do not see the appeal. However, when the opportunity presented itself to go to a monster truck show, we grabbed it. None of us had been to a truck show before. The only thing we had heard was that the trucks were loud. So, we headed off to the hardware store to buy hearing protection. We bought ear plugs and ear muffs for us and the boys.

Pre-Show:
We walked in and after they took our tickets, we were funneled past the concessions and merchandise booths. Luckily, we had already discussed buying with the kids so we skated on by. Once inside the arena, you could go down to the pit and see the trucks up close and pay to ride in the back of a monster truck. The line was huge, so we just went to our seats. We sat down and put on the ear muffs. It took awhile for the show to actually get going, although I did get to see a parade of low hanging pants and butt cracks. I was glad that we had some snacks packed to keep the boys busy until the real show started.

Our Monster Truck event.

Show:
The beginning event was wheelies, which began with the trucks driving over cars and trying to catch some air. The first truck to go was hailed as a brand new truck. It drove over the cars and ended up flipped on its back! It took about 8 minutes to get the truck flipped back over, moved out of the way to get repaired, debris from broken pieces cleaned up, and the dirt ramp repaired. So of course the next truck tried to out-do the first truck. It lost control, broke off a wheel and landed on its side! That one also took about 10 minutes to clear out. Once the truck was flipped back over it drove off to the side with only three wheels, which I didn't even know trucks could do. After that, things went pretty smoothly. 

During intermission (yes, it had an intermission) we walked around to stretch our legs. The air circulation was better than I had expected, but there was still a faint exhaust smell so we also went to get some fresh air.

After intermission a truck attempted a back-flip.  It drove up to the flat side of the large dirt ramp, lined up, reversed and then sped forward. It started to flip, but didn't have enough height. It landed on the front bumper and flipped onto its side. Next, the Megasaurus came out. This thing was crazy. It came out looking like an armored car, but the top opened and this dinosaur looking machine came out of the top. It had movable arms and a head, and it breathed fire! The crew lined up an old junker car in front of the Megasaurus. The arms reached out, grabbed and lifted the car and the jaws proceeded to tear pieces of the car off until it broke in half.

After the Megasaurus finished its show and the debris was cleaned up, the other trucks showed off their moves in the final free style event. One truck did donuts, which somehow broke the truck and it had to be pushed out of the way. Luckily it broke down right near the edge of the ring so it didn't take too long to be pushed out of the way.

The Monster Truck show was definitely a one time event for me, but the boys loved it. If you have kids who like monster trucks, I think it is an experience they will enjoy. I learned a few things about preparing for a Monster Truck show. Here are my learnings:

• Monster Trucks are loud. I know, no brainer, but they are super loud. Make sure you get the right hearing protection for the kids AND for you. I was amazed by the amount of parents that had hearing protection for their kids, but not for themselves. You need your ears too!
• I know loud events (like concerts) can cause my ears to ring and even hurt. Eventually loud noises can cause hearing loss. I knew we needed hearing protection for the monster trucks, but I was curious as to how loud they really were in comparison to other noises so I did some research. Here's what I found:
• Sound is measured in decibels (dB). Decibels are measured in a logarithmic scale. I was not familiar with a logarithmic scale, so I tried to find an easy explanation. Based on my findings, here is how I understand the decibel scale to work. The scale increases by a power of 10; the sound is multiplied by 10 for each 10dB increase. 

• If a sound increases by 10 dB, it is 10 times louder. 
• Examples: If a sound increases from 10dB to 20dB, it is 10x louder. A sound that increases from 10dB to 30dB, is 100 times louder (10x 10x). If a sound increases from 10dB to 40dB, it is a 1,000 times louder (10x 10x 10x).
• Sounds above 85dB can cause hearing loss after prolonged exposure. Your ears begin to hurt around 120dB. Even short exposure to sounds at 140db can cause permanent hearing damage.

My decibel chart findings. Click to enlarge.

• Pack snacks. Our venue didn't have a rule against packing snacks. No one likes to spend $5 for a bottle of water and it will be a lot cheaper to pack some candy from home.
• If you don't want to buy cheap stuff there, talk to your kids before going. If you know they are going to want a glow stick, flag or toy car, it is much cheaper to buy the cheap pirate or checkered flag at a party or dollar store than at the event. My kids are young enough not to care where the souvenir was purchased from.
• Take a break at intermission, or make your own break time, to get fresh air. Even if the venue has a ventilation system, if it is not working properly carbon monoxide poisoning can occur.
• Have a meeting point. Going into the venue, we scoped out a meeting point outside in case we had to exit the building and were separated. We picked a spot that was far enough away from the building that if an emergency happened (like a fire) we were far enough away.
• Hold your kids hands. Bernardo is getting to the age where most of the time he just walks next to me, but in such crowded conditions I made him hold my hand. It was especially useful when we left the show. It was dark, people were tired, and everyone was leaving at once. There were several times when people tried to cut in between us and we would have been separated if not for holding hands. Higgins tripped and I was able to pull him up before he got stepped on by the people behind us.