BR Balloon Festival

It was hot--darn hot--but we braved the Baton Rouge Balloon Festival anyhow. Immediately we found a spot in the shade, and TJ, in true hunter/gatherer mode, went off to find some dinner. Lila, Bronwen and I had to entertain ourselves on a tiny patch of grass in the shade, but we managed until TJ returned. I admit I had an amazing turkey and mozzarella crepe sandwich--yes, it was in a crepe. Bronwen enjoyed a tasty hot dog, even though TJ had to remedy his grievous mistake of putting yellow cheese on the top of it (plain, only!), and Lila enjoyed whatever scraps we would throw her way. That sounds worse than it was, since she was the only one who had a snack before we left the house.

They had a children's area, but it consisted of activities that were either too old for the girls, or that had a ridiculously long line. We did go by the petting zoo area where they got to see ducklings, rabbits, chicks, and a baby goat, and they loved it.

Finally, as dusk settled in and it began to "cool" down, the balloons began to inflate:I was really hot--don't know if you can tell :-)
Finally, the balloons are up!
Bronwen waits expectantly for the big finale:
Her favorite part, besides the glow, was counting down from 10 every time they got ready for the glow--she kept asking me to count down again and again with her:
Both girls stayed awake for the whole thing; we didn't stay for the 9:30 fireworks, but I have to say they were both so good on the ride home and for their late bath. I was especially impressed at how much of a trooper Lila was. She can definitely hang with the big kids!