Glodeo-dee-odee-oo

And to conclude my once a year balloon fiesta post, the same day we went to the early morning mass ascension, we also went to the special shape glodeo. Once it's dark, it's pretty fun to see all the crazy shapes lit up like Chinese lanterns. We were very lucky that the event actually happened without any wind issues....typically each year at least one of the events we go to is cancelled.

We got to the field about 4:30...we brought our own pizza dinner, so we staked out a spot and started eating. Nothing like carting around a big ol' pizza box to say 'penny pinchers'!! The food is so good at the fiesta but very costly, and also time consuming. First you have to walk 2 miles up and down concession row to be sure you have a firm understanding of what there is to eat and we have a better chance of winning the lottery than finding ONE food vendor that all the kids would agree on. So pizza it was. We did splurge and get some Tom Thumb donuts to share though!

Then we wandered around a bit.....there's always so much to see. There are wood carvers that compete and vendors that set up booths with entertainment for all to enjoy. We came across these at the end of the field-a whole lot of silly-

As the sun sets lower in the sky, the pilots start laying out their balloons so they are inflated and upright by the time dusk settles in. If you've ever been around hot air balloons, you know that when they turn on the burner it makes a pretty loud noise and you can also feel the heat. It can really catch you off guard and give you a bit of a scare if you're not used to it. Every time a balloon would 'burn', Catalena would nearly jump out of her skin. Bill's trying to help calm her fears........

This is an 'all-burn'.....they all light up at the same time. Lucky for you and my computer that balloon pictures at night don't turn out so well......this is about the only glow picture I got! Plus, if I concentrated any more on taking pictures there on that dark field there's a good chance I would have tripped over my own children or someone else's. It's darn dark out there!

And of course, what would a family outing be without someone announcing they have to pee when bathrooms are the most inconveniently located. Let's just say Luke either killed a patch of grass or helped that patch grow greener. Thank goodness it was dark, folks were watching the fireworks and not us, and that Laurel has a bladder of steel!

The official one day Barry tour of the 2009 Balloon Fiesta is now over-come back in a year, there'll (my spell check just told me that's not a word....oh well, it works for me) be more of the same!