Plano Balloon Festival 2008

We went to the Plano Balloon Festival again this year and we had a blast!  Sam has definitely entered the stage where outdoor events like this are a lot of fun.  He was actually interested in what was going on around him and we didn't have to chase him around every where.  

Chris took 435 photos, so it took me a while to go through them and pick my favorites. 

Sam was mesmerized by the balloons, but he was sure to tell us about all the red, green, yellow, blue, etc. triangles (flags).

Of course pulling on the ropes was a lot of fun while we were waiting for the balloons to inflate.

Almost there ...

And ready to take off!

Sam loved this balloon with the star and rainbow on it.

We had a lot of fun waving at the people in the balloons.

This was another favorite with all the animals on it.

And here's a shot from the other side.

This balloon was set up right in front of us.  We had an interesting vantage point and got to see inside as it was inflating.

Off and away ...

There were a lot of balloons there this year.  The weather was perfect.  

Time for a teddy graham break.

There wasn't much wind so the balloons were low in the sky and hovered around for a while.  Ian said that some of them even landed in the streets of our old neighborhood.

We had BBQ sandwiches while we waited for the balloon glow.  Sam was more interested in running up and down the hills ... so were most of the other kids.

Sam even convinced Mommy to run with him for a while.

What's a festival without an Elvis impersonator?

Sam loves music.  He did a lot of swaying and clapping.

Mmmmm sucker!

I love this balloon.

Closer shot of the burner and flame ... getting ready for the glow.

This balloon is always fun.  It was here last year too.

This yellow balloon was very pretty at night, and don't miss the Texas flag!

Yes, we got Sam a glow stick.  They guy came by and asked Chris if he wanted to buy one.  He almost said no, but then remembered that kids like that sort of stuff.

Sam had a blast playing with his glow stick.  He preferred it as a circle instead of a stick.  He would roll it down the hill and chase after it.  He played with it till the minute he went to bed.

I thought the glow was a lot of fun.  We've seen the balloons take off three times now so this was something different.

Sam loved the balloon glow.  They would count down from 10, and then either do "all burn" or "twinkle burn."  With twinkle burn, they would all glow on and off like they were twinkling.  

This was our favorite glowing balloon.

Here's a video of all the balloons glowing.