500 Festival Parade

Cheryl got 4 tickets to the parade through work. They were awesome seats - right up close to the action and in the shade. Rylie loved the big balloons and the horses. Some of the celebrities this year included Mario Lopez (Dancing with the Stars & host of TV show Extra), Thomas Kinkade (artist), and Dick Vitale (college basketball commentator) and of course the drivers which included Danica Patrick, Tony Kanaan, Dario Franchitti (and his famous wife Ashely Judd - who always wears this big floppy hat during the race activities that hides her face) and Helio Castroneves. After the parade, we all went to the Weber Grill for lunch. Rylie decided she wanted to be like her Mom and drink root beer right out of the bottle.

Balloon Festival

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is celebrating 100 years this year and they decided to have a balloon festival since the very first ever race at the speedway was a balloon race back in 1909. We took Rylie over thinking she would love to look at the colors in the balloons. It was very interesting. They allowed you to go on the field and talk with the balloon drivers. Believe it or not, they are actually certified pilots just like airline pilots except they are not allowed to fly in the dark since the balloons have no transponder lights.