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I got to spend the weekend with some dear people in Washington, DC!

I'm back in Minnesota now and will tell you more about the whirlwind trip soon, but I'm starting the week with a happy, full heart after spending wonderful time with my friends.

A two-day Valentine's Day

Partly because I will be out of town this weekend, Valentine's Day festivities started yesterday. Besides this practical reason for celebrating early, Josh and I also decided that, because we got married on the 13th (of September), it would be fun to keep celebrating a day early in the years ahead as a little midwinter shout-out to our wedding day. We went out on the town last night and had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant that we love and hadn't visited in ages.

One of my colleagues kicked off the celebration yesterday, too. She handed out little packages filled with M&Ms, a little plastic shovel, and a heart-shaped note attached that read I DIG YOU. It was amazing and I loved the whole thing.

I dig you all, too. Happy Valentine's Day!

Sparkly trees

When I saw that amazing sun dog last week, it made me think of another beloved winter meteorological phenomenon of mine: hoarfrost. I usually notice hoarfrost once or twice each winter, and so far, it had evaded my observation.

And what do you know? This morning the trees were sparkling.

I don't know if it was full-fledged hoarfrost, exactly, or just a fun twist on a regular old frost. All I know is that the light shining through the trees was pretty nice.

Marvelous Monday: Week 6

This weekend included volunteering at the Valentine's Day TC 5K at Lake Harriet, a few Friday Night Lights episodes, pad thai, the hot air balloons and the annual White Elephant birthday party with my extended family. My parents host it, and this year was the first at their new house. It was a great afternoon (with a Mardi Gras inspiration to boot - credit my brother for the idea!).

Here is our traditional waving photo. My brother is hiding behind my husband's hand.

I keep laughing whenever I look back at this photo. Recapping this party might have to be a separate post.

Five more nice tidbits to begin the week:

1) I get to see some dear friends later this week and am so excited.

2) I've had the ingredients for no-boil macaroni and cheese since Friday and finally made it for dinner tonight. I like this recipe a lot.

3) This week includes both Valentine's Day and my sister's birthday!

4) My mom lent me The Language of Flowers yesterday. It was perfect timing, because I was just about to look for a new book.

5) I read today that this winter in Minnesota has been the coldest one in 32 years. The marvelous part: beginning tomorrow, the temperatures are climbing upward!

What's marvelous about the beginning of your week? What's for dinner tonight (or later this week)? And what are you reading now?

Hot air balloon festival

Yesterday I saw a hot air balloon mass ascension, and it was about as amazing as I thought it might be.

I've wanted to go to a hot air balloon festival for years, and when I made my 101 in 1,001 list, I put that goal in writing. I narrowed my options down to a few festivals: the famous one in Albuquerque, one near Josh's hometown, and a local one I stumbled across through a quick Google search.

This is Hot Air Affair, a festival held annually in February in Hudson, Wisconsin, which is about half an hour away. Hot Air Affair celebrated its 25th anniversary this weekend, so it has been around a lot longer than when I first found out about it a few years ago. That's also when I learned that coordinating a hot air balloon launch is a precise and challenging task, especially in Minnesota in February. Per Hot Air Affair's website, there needs to be a light wind (but less than eight miles per hour), good visibility, and either sunshine or high cloud ceilings. The festival hosts several launches each weekend, and in 2012, Josh and I tried to go twice but conditions ruled out a launch both times.

This year, we were in luck! We were about halfway to Hudson when we got word via Twitter that the afternoon launch was on!

When we arrived at the elementary school site that hosts the festival, we went over to the field, where plenty of people had gathered for the launch. One balloon was preparing. It was hard to get a sense of how many balloons there would be, but I was already in awe.

We popped inside the school for a minute, and I loved the concession area's decorations: hot air balloons hanging from the ceiling, of course.

When we went back outside, that balloon was in the air already!

Trucks and trailers kept rolling in with more and more balloons, and each crew would go through the steps to prepare its balloon. The whole event happened over about an hour, and I'd guess three dozen balloons lifted off during that time. It was neat to see several waves of set-up, preparation, and launching. I loved all the colors. In addition to the traditional bright stripes, there was one balloon that looked like a fish and one that had tomatoes and horses and butterflies on it.

Even with overcast skies, the balloons in the air were magnificent. The crowd was loving it, and the people in each balloon's basket would wave as the balloon lifted into the air.

 

It was beautiful. I went into the day hoping but not expecting to see a launch, and this was a wonderful surprise. I have a hunch that this will be among my 101 in 1,001 list's highlights.