Yesterday we got to go on a field trip to the weather center.

I was probably more excited to go than the kids.

We learned all kinds of things and saw different instruments to read and forecast the weather. And I can't remember what anything was called. But here he is showing us a rain gauge.

I learned that every weather station in the world sends up 2 balloons at the same time everyday. They send it up "Greenwich time".

So here in Nashville they send it up 6AM and 6 PM. The balloon measures about 6 feet across when fully blown up. And do you know what it is filled with? All of us guessed helium, which is wrong. Helium is expensive so they use hydrogen. EEEKS! That's explosive! And I learned that as the balloon goes up it gets bigger. All of us except one little boy thought the balloon would get smaller as it got colder. Anyway these balloons have a little GPS signal attached to it and they are able to gather all kinds of information from it. And since everyone sends it up at the same time they are able to compare their findings with everyone else's findings. He told us that only 20 to 30% of the packages or bags are returned to the weather station. I'm surprised I didn't know about this before or maybe I've seen one and didn't know what it was when I saw it.

This tower with the big "soccer ball" on it is a radar. It has a disk inside that spins around 3x per minute. When we first got there one of the girls said, "Whoa that is one big soccer trophy!"

I found it fascinating to see all the different maps.

It was a small building but we got to see where they went when the storms hit too close to them. They have an interior lunchroom that had reinforced steel walls with a big steel door that they could shut and bolt in case of an emergency. Our guide, Tim gave us a poster that has all the different cloud formations on it. I found it most interesting! It shows the types of clouds they need to watch to see if they develop into tornadoes. You bet I'm going to use that information during a storm.

I was really glad to see our friend, Chance. This was the first time we got to see him in person since the airport when he came home to live with his family. He is such a happy boy. We gave him some clothes and books and he is tickled! Aussie got to speak a little bit of Chinese to him and Chance answered him back.

After learning more about the maps inside it was time to let the balloon go. So we headed out to watch it. Up up it went. I didn't have my sunglasses so I couldn't look up for too long.

The guide commented on how good our group was. Everyone asked questions and answered those that he had. **insert bragging on Aussie who knew many of the answers** We had 2 two year olds in the group and they were perfect too. Really proud of all of them!

And I already have gotten to use my new found knowledge. I was awakened by a huge thunder that roared and roared after it struck this morning. I rolled over and told Greg, "Now that was a positive charged lightning strike." Greg still asleep didn't really acknowledge me. FYI most lightning strikes are negative charged. The one that you hear that hit and roar for a long time are positive.