Balloonfest

On Saturday, we headed north to Howell for the 23rd annual Michigan Challenge Balloonfest. I had heard about this event a few years ago from a woman at work. Her Dad flew a Halloween-themed hot-air balloon (appropriately named "Boo!") in this event and the sight of 55 other very cool hot-air balloons in the sky seemed like a fun thing.

Since we've never attended this event, the only knowledge we were armed with was that balloons launched each night (Friday – Sunday) between 6-8 p.m. We got there around 3:30 p.m. and figured we would walk around (they had carnival rides, a mini art fair, etc.), maybe grab something to eat and then watch the balloon launch. Rookies! First of all, the balloons didn't launch until 7:30 p.m. so we had LOTS of time to kill. Second, even though the balloons didn't launch until 7:30 p.m., all the best viewing spots were taken by 7:30 a.m.! We did manage to find an awesome spot on a nearby soccer field to see all the balloons take off and pepper the sky but, now that we know how it works, we'll plan better for next year. And, as we found out later, there is an event at dusk called the "balloon glow." Evidently several of the balloons return to the launch field and light up as a part of a bigger musical, pyrotechnics thingie – cool!

By the way, Harmon loved the balloons and kept saying "more, more, more" as they kept taking off into the sky. He didn't call them balloons, though, like we thought he would. He actually said apple at one point (weirdo)! In addition to the balloons, he got to see a few helicopters (or, as he calls them, helpacas) and he LOVED them. One of them landed near where we were sitting (albeit beyond the trees) and he just wouldn't stop yelling HEL-PA-CA, HEL-PA-CA! And then, when it took off again, he went bananas!

As the night was winding down and he was getting tired, he sat with me face-to-face in the grass of this huge soccer field and we just talked. It was one of the quietest, sweetest moments we've had in a while. We talked about helicopters and a nearby bunny and the balloons and all kinds of things. I loved that he just sat there with me – so sweet.

It all made for a fun Saturday!