Blown Away

It has been a really long time since we have gone to see the hot air balloons. So we decided to venture into those early morning hours which are only seen by birds and freaky people that work out before breakfast. (Wait, that is me on Tuesdays and Thursdays.) By 'we' I mean I got two out of five kids there. Tyler doesn't do mornings, so that left someone to watch the kids who couldn't be bothered to get up. These are the two that made the scene. (Pearl wanted to come, but she needed her beauty sleep. I insisted.)

We found a good spot on the field. We were right in the middle of the action. We brought our breakfast, met up with Tricia, and sat back to watch the balloons fill and rise. See how close?

(Although I guess that picture doesn't prove much since you can walk around and take pictures of anything. But take my word for it that we had prime seats. Actually, I'm not sure if there is a bad seat on the field?)

I didn't get any pictures of Tricia with her cute girls (and hubby). But I snuck in there.

We got there before any balloons were filled. I am still not sure how they give the secret cue when it is time to get going. Alexander's always seems to be one of the first. (Or it was five years ago as well.)

 The pig started filling around the same time, but it has a bit more volume to expand.

Smokey is one of my favorites. Come to think about it, I didn't see the strawberry this year. Shame.

The company was fantastic. It was nice to chat with Tricia, and these two were so good.

They did some exploring on their own. As the balloons near us started to fill, they were right in the action.

This balloon was blowing up right next to us. They hadn't attached the top yet and you could see right through to the basket.

The weather was not perfect. It didn't look too bad to me, but I think there are specific rules for hot air balloons. Or maybe not. For instance, this guy lifted off. Yay!

But when the wind seemed to pick up just a little, almost everyone deflated their balloons. Even ones that had been up, like Smokey, went back down. Only two stayed up. So, maybe it is just up to the balloon owner? When we left the pig was still floating, and I hear he took off moments later. But not the best showing in the air. We didn't mind. It was still a fun experience and worth it to get up early. Goodbye pig. Maybe we'll see you next year.