Balloon Fiesta

Thursday night: Pack sweaters, put shoes and socks in the van, make muffins, pack elmo lunchbag with snacks, put blankets in the front seat, pack diaper bag, double stroller, and baby carrier, dress my kids in comfy real clothes and not pajamas (so I don't have to change them in the morning), fill up sippers with milk and place in the fridge, pack Beau's medicine (for acid-reflux)....try to go to bed early...(um, Beau didn't get that memo...oh well, late it is...)



Friday, 5am: Alarm clock goes off, thank you Rus for setting it for me...but my bed is too comfy and I try to talk myself out of a crazy pre-dawn outing. Again, Beau had a different idea, he wanted to get up, eat, and get on the road! Oh well, I'd committed myself the night before when I'd explained to Bekah and Jacob how much fun we'd have seeing the balloons fill up...Find jeans, shirt, sweater, load up kids, kiss sleepy hubby and remind him gently of how he's missing all the fun (he doesn't think he's missing anything, his bed is calling him and he has a strong aversion to large crowds and organized gatherings and early mornings). The kids and I take off and enjoy the dark, like we've never seen it before. Closer to the balloon fiesta grounds we suddenly see a balloon in the air, brilliant and golden yellow, the color flickering but bright. And then just as suddenly the balloon disappears, the flame turned off for the moment, the balloon free to drift invisibly. The kids ask question after question, "Where'd it go!?" and I try to explain as best I can in the bumper to bumper morning traffic. Soon we're pulling up into our parking space, bumper to the fence of the fair grounds. Pretty good, I thought! Kids get loaded up, blanket on, Beau strapped in the Snugli, burritoed again inside his blanket with his hat on. We were ready to go. I give the stroller a push and realize it weighs at least sixty pounds. Later I find out that Bekah weighs 33 lbs and Jacob weighs 31 lbs and the stroller weighs at least 10 lbs. And then Beau strapped to my chest weighs 15 1/2 lbs. Yep, I officially feel like super-mom! We huff and puff our way to the grounds and watch the balloons take life while the sun comes up. Bekah and Jacob carry the varying expressions of confusion, awe, and sleepiness as we plow our way through the crowd. Their favorite balloon was the one that looked like Nemo, while my favorite was a jack-o-lantern. We got to see the balloon laid out, basket laid on its side at the bottom, and then the fans kicked on to blow air into the balloon. When it got big enough the flames finished the job of inflation. The basket was eased upright and the balloon continued to get bigger until members of the crowd got pulled in to hold the basket down...another 7 minutes and the balloon was off, joining tweetie bird and a haunted house and enormous castle, making mockery of the plain clouds in the sky. Here are some pictures of what we saw...

Darth Vader Rising!The typical response to me trying to take a picture...More sleep, anyone?
Inflating Tweetie Bird (FIRE!, as Jacob said)
Beau was a model balloon fiesta attendee, never once making a peep. He was awake the whole time. I think he loved all of the commotion.
Please make way for Supermom and the Walking Circus!
Meet Jack...He has the perfect shape for a hot air balloon!What a goofy, intriguing sight! Where do they come up with this stuff?!

We were too close to Nemo, so this is all you get to see of him!

I think the castle was the largest of them all! Just look at how tiny that basket looks under there!We finished off the morning with a sprint up (UP!) the walkway and out of the park, 20 minutes in traffic, and a quick jaunt by the doctor's office to get Bekah's 4 year shots and Beau's 2 month shots (at three months). We know how to pack a morning! We had a blast and I'd probably do it again! (The balloon fiesta part, not the shot part. :)