Alabama Jubilee, Sunday morning flight

Kenny took our crew member Stacie on the competition flight Sunday morning. We launched from a beautiful yard. Our local crew did a great job of getting us to the best yard in the town!

There's nothing like being in the sky and being surrounded by lots of balloons. So beautiful and peaceful!

There's the X! They made it!

And there's the baggie being thrown on the X

He did score on the target; however, not as close as Saturday morning.

We did finish in 16th place, out of 65 balloons! We are very excited as this is our first competition with Kenny as the pilot.

Soft Landings,

Kenny and Marianne

Alabama Jubilee 2011, Saturday evening

Saturday evening at the Alabama Jubilee was supposed to be a fun flight; however, the winds kept us ground. But they did not keep us from glowing! We had a great time and a lot of compliments on both our balloon, and the safety of our pilot. This is one of the pictures that was in the Decatur Daily Sunday edition.

The Alabama Jubilee 2011, Saturday morning

Wow, what a weekend we had in Decatur, Alabama. We kicked off the competition Saturday morning with a Hare and Hound task.
We launched from the park to follow Balloonmeister Mike Wahl across the Tennessee River.

I was so proud of my pilot, he did a great job on his first competitive flight, and first balloon festival.

The scene from the sky is beautiful. Nothing like being surrounded by balloons on all sides of you!

We saw the target, and even scored on it!! Such a great accomplishment for our first festival!

Stay tuned for more photos from the weekend soon.

Soft Landings

Kenny and Marianne Jay

Wow!! Is it really spring?

I can't believe it's been over 3 months since my last post. It seems like when I have time to post, there's nothing going on. But once we start flying, I don't have time to post.

We have gotten a couple flights in since my last post. Our last flight started out perfect; however, about half way through the flight, the winds shift. This left our mightly pilot going into a direction that he didn't really want to go into. But being the awesome pilot he is. He had a great, yet tense, landing. He came in over Hulen Lake in Columbia and landed in a very tight back yard.

Here's a picture of his landing spot. We had a large tree on one side, and a tree and power line on the other side. He has become such a great pilot, and I am so proud of him!

Memorial Day weekend we are off to Decatur, Alabama for the Alabama Jubilee. This will be our first festival with Mai'Ken Dreams! We couldn't be more excited! Stay tuned, I will hopefully have pictures posted soon after our return.

Soft Landings
Kenny and Marianne

The blizzard of 2011

Welcome to the great blizzard of 2011

The snow at the basement door drifted so tall it was about to my knee. Almost two feet.

I don't think I could get the car out of the garage if I wanted to!

The drifts in the back yard are up to the porch.

The Explorer looks pretty stuck.



And I told Kenny I didn't think he was going to get his truck moved. He said 'It will be okay, it's a Dodge!'

Drifts up to the bottom of the front door.

The drifts at the basement door are half way up to the door handle.

Drifts up the shrubs, half way up the house!

And about that Dodge...STUCK. Looks like he got a little close to the Explorer.

I guess I will be staying inside again today! In the almost 10 years I have worked for MBS, they have closed down one day due to snow, until now. We were closed Tuesday and Wednesday due to the weather. I am kind of ready to go back to work!

Marianne

Stacie's first hot air balloon ride, Jan 29, 2011

Kenny took our good friend Stacie for her first hot air balloon ride this past Saturday. We had a beautiful, sunny day and thought the conditions would be perfect. She has been the best crew since the day we met her, with her only missing a few flights. She's always the first one ready to go...and..I think she may be a better crew than me!

Here are Stacie and Kenny, ready to go...by the way, what's up with that tongue, Mr Pilot!


There they are, soaring above Columbia!

Beautiful scenery from the sky!

This is a park, but we are still trying to figure out which park it is!

Beautiful snow covered bridge.

We are hoping to fly again soon. Wanted to this weekend, but not sure with the Blizzard we are currently getting.

We, along with a couple other balloon pilots, have started a balloon club. Here's the link if you want to check it out:

www.showmeballoonclub.weebly.com

Soft Landings!

Kenny and Marianne

Marianne's first ride with Kenny!!

We woke up to a cold 12 degrees at our house this morning, but we thought 'what the heck, it's a beautiful morning'. I finally got to take a ride in Mai'Ken Dreams, with my husband as pilot in command! It was a beautiful flight; however, it was freezing cold.