Bloons!

We got up early to go see some bloons! this morning (the way Amber says "bloons!" requires an exclamation point as one of the letters in the word). Jeff was at a cross country meet, so it was a mama-kid activity. We love adventuring together and discovering local gems. The Prosser Balloon Festival is so much fun. We felt like seasoned pros, this being our second year in attendance. I drove into Prosser the back way to avoid traffic. We arrived just after 6:30am, parked at the Jehovah's Witness church across the street, and walked over to admire the balloons. Amber was skeptical for the first half hour or so because there were no balloons in sight, just a bunch of giant shriveled bags on the grass. But one by one they started puffing up and magically lifting off into the sky just as the sun peeked over the hills. It was SO MUCH FUN TO WATCH! Even cool-as-a-cucumber Jay was impressed, although he did not like standing too close to the baskets when they blew the fire-hot air into the balloons. It was loud and hot, but Rose and I thought it felt wonderful in the 40 degree air.

 Pre-dawn drive

 Watching and waiting

The first balloon begins to fill

I brought a case of Costco pumpkin streusel muffins, because cake for breakfast seemed like a fast, festive, fitting fall feast. 

Jay and Rose tracked down the traditional Trust Jesus Balloon Man and received their free balloons. I boringly turned the stroller the opposite direction so Amber couldn't demand one. Every time she gets a balloon, it flies away and she sobs forever. Plus I knew that eventually Jay and Rose would be ready to hand their balloons over to her, which they did. We tied them to the stroller and they popped on mailboxes while we walked down the sidewalk. 

Kids and balloons 

There was so much going on. 

Amber could not take her eyes off of the bloons!, but I did manage to coax this one out of her...that face! What was she plotting? 

 Flaming!

I kept trying to get a group picture that did the scene justice, but that was beyond the scope of a selfie. 

 BLOONS!

We had to move over when this balloon launched; it went straight for us! I could've reached up and touched it. It was like standing in the middle of a giant bubble gun, blowing bright big bubbles. 

We stayed for about an hour and a half, taking in all of the colors and sights, then loaded up and slipped out down the back country roads the way we came, neatly avoiding Prosser's bumper-to-bumper balloon day traffic. Good morning, Prosser, and thank you for the bloon! show.