Up, up, up (in a hot air balloon!)

My 31st birthday was perfect. Went to brunch with some dear friends, took a tour of some local farms, and then a big adventure – Josh surprised me with a hot air balloon ride! We went up at dawn, in the mountains of North Carolina, and got to watch the sun rise as the mist burned away. It was every bit as magical and gorgeous as I always hoped it would be. I’ve wanted to ride in a hot air balloon since I was a little girl. In fact, my childhood bedroom was decorated with hot air balloons, including a cross stitched birth announcement that hung on my wall, made by a friend of the family. I guess you could say that I’ve been dreaming about this since before I was old enough to talk. And it really was dreamy…as birthday presents go, this one was pretty amazing. Some years ago, I read a book about happiness (Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project), and one thing I took away from that was that adventures and shared memories make us happier than stuff ever could. So take it from me – give your loved ones an adventure as a present, rather than a material thing. It’s one of the keys to lasting happiness! I’ll forever treasure the memory of this day, spent with someone I love, doing something amazing. I can’t think of a better way to spend a birthday than that.

I took quite a few photos of our adventure – click through for a sampling!