"Loons!"

A few weekends ago, we made a return trip to a fun local summer event we discovered last year...a hot-air balloon festival. The weather here was weird that week: some rain, but way more distant rumbles of thunder which seemed harmless, but apparently are potentially threatening enough to require the evacuation of the Y's swimming pool (booo!) and keep hot-air balloons grounded. So, unfortunately the planned balloon ascension we'd hoped to see didn't happen, but the weather cleared in time for the parachuters to jump and the balloons to inflate that evening for the glow. It was a slightly soggy but fun time! You'll notice I'm sharing way more photos of the girls than the balloons, because the balloons didn't get going til dusk/dark and the girls are way cuter, anyway!

AG and LL surveying the scene just after we arrived


We brought along some sandwiches and snacks, which turned out to be a fun diversion since we had a little extra time to wait before they started inflating the balloons. T had come home from a grocery trip with these huge cheese puffs, and the girls, usually deprived of such things, gobbled them up!




The "firey" noise of the balloons inflating scared LL a little at first...she's always been bothered by weird noises. Thankfully there was a Daddy there to happily comfort her! She's gotten so tall this summer, steadily closing the height gap between her and AG.


Me and my girls, and a peek at (part of) the 28 week tummy!


A few of the many balloons glowing at twilight. The girls' favorite was the "twinkle burn" when the balloons all randomly flicker like a pinball machine. Since then we've had a lot of countdowns ending with "tinka burn!!!" squealed by SJ.