The Keebler Two

J+M+J

It was the afternoon Monday, June 16. One moment I was planting tomatoes, and the next moment I was running around the house like crazy, getting ready to go chase Mr. Wilson’s balloon. A little while later, we were in the car driving to the park in Brandon where we would soon launch the balloon. For a detailed description of the launching process see http://sarah.frederes.com/2007/11/09/the-keebler/. This post will be mostly pictures. Mr. Wilson’s children, Jacob, Adam, and Anna joined us for this launching adventure.

It’s amazing to think that the huge balloon fits into this tiny bag. Well, at least the bag is tiny for the size of the balloon.

I caught Joseph in a cute yawn.

Setting up the basket.

Landon and Adam were assigned the job of getting the balloon out of the bag.

This is the fan.

Joseph observes the goings on.

Dad and another lady are holding open the balloon for the fan to blow into.

We aren’t the only ones setting up balloons.

Jacob and I are velcro-ing the top to the rest of the balloon.

Maria is going to try to hold the balloon steady until Jacob and I are done. I am not sure how much the balloon was pulling her, but it looks like the balloon is dragging her. Anna is behind Maria

The balloon is more rowdy this time than last time. It was swinging from side to side, and Jacob and I, who were now holding the rope Maria held earlier, did our best to steady it. Easier said then done.

Dad and Adam took a ride this time. He got into the basket, and it began to lift off the ground.

If you look closely, You can make out Dad’s hand waving at us in the car.

Night is falling, and it is time to land.

Maria and Anna climbed over the fence you can see in the picture to join Mr. Wilson and Dad. Unfortunately, they had a dilemma. Anna was caught on barbed wire by the seat of her pants. Landon climbed through waist-high grass to the girls, and he freed Anna.
Afterwards, we went back to the park. Mr. Wilson had cookies, carbonated juice, and champagne for the adults. The cookies were from the Keebler brand. Mr. Wilson explained the history of the hot air balloon.
A few hundred years ago, people noticed smoke rising upwards when fire burned. They also noticed that little bits of grass and sparks would be carried upward with the smoke. They wondered if they could harness the smoke and use it to carry people. They believed that the blacker the smoke, the more weight it could carry. So they would pour dirt, tar, and other black filth into the fire, and then they caught some of the smoke in a bag attached to a basket. Because of the hot air, the basket went up. Eventually, they sent up some farm animals inside the basket. They also put a bottle of champagne in the balloon to prove that the ballon wasn’t a dangerous animal from the sky, but was actually made by men from earth. Each bottle of champagne from France included the name of the town it was made in. To this day, people still take up a bottle of champagne with them to give to farmers as a gift for using their land to land the balloon.
Just before we left the park, I am pretty sure I heard a coyote howl. We ate Taco John’s for supper. and then it was time for bed.

A+M+D+G