it's a bird! it's a plane! it's a...balloon?

So my kids and I were hanging out, when we began to hear a loud noise outside our house that has become quite familiar--the sound of hot air balloon fire. Tonight however, it was louder than usual, so I hopped up from my seat and ran with my kids outside to find strangers parked in our driveway and a hot air balloon landing in my neighbor's yard. The people parked in our driveway must have been (what I assume) balloon chasing, which is something I've been known to do on occasion. We live in a community where hot air balloons float above the tree line most summer evenings, and if we happen to be driving and see one descending, my kids will make a plea to chase it, but until tonight, they've always landed somewhere hidden.

We invited the family who parked in the driveway to join us as we witnessed the balloon gently land in my neighbor's field.

up

going...

going...

*and this is the point when I decided to ignore the niceties of politeness and stand at my neighbor's gate smiling until he let me and my kids in [thanks neighbors!].

In the words of my 9 year old son, "those were about the best 17 minutes of my life." (he's very literal by the way--it probably was 17 minutes, in fact I'm sure it was; he noted it)

(jen)