Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Plano Balloon Festival: 2014

Last year was our first time to go to the Plano Balloon Festival with the boys. We loved it so much that we decided to get up before dawn again this year to attend.

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And, of course, we brought donuts. Thanks to some friends (who attended the same time as us last year and we didn't know until it was over) we got to sit close again. They saved us a spot since we got stuck in traffic this time. 

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The nice thing about arriving at the launch site right at sunrise was that the balloons were already inflating and we didn't have to wait long. 

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Not a bad view for breakfast. You can tell by our clothing that it was quite a bit warmer than last year. We didn't even need jackets. 

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The balloons fill up pretty fast and almost as fast as they are inflated...they take off! It's kind of like watching flowers bloom at warp speed. And just as colorful...

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Clearly Ethan was thrilled with this family photo opportunity!

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Up, up, up they go. Honestly, watching these balloons take shape and then take flight is so amazing and peaceful...except for the "announcer" they have narrating everything. I could probably do without that. 

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The specialty balloons are the boys' favorites. The pig was fun. So was the monkey and lady bug. The shaped balloons like those inflate last usually. 

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Some of the other fun shaped balloons...a dog, gnomes in a mushroom house, and a pirate. 

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After the main launch, they open up the field to the spectators and you get to walk out there and get up close to the balloons. This one was just inflating and we got so close to watch how it's done. The boys were amazed at the fire and how the balloon looked from the inside. 

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Then we got to walk up close to the mushroom and dog balloons. They hand out cards with photos of the balloons on them. The boys had a great time collecting them like trading cards. 

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This was another really fun morning. There are few things worth waking up that early for...and this is definitely one of them. 

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