Last weekend we attended a Phoenix hot air balloon festival, the Out West Balloon Fest, in Glendale Arizona. I have never seen hot air balloons close-up, so we thought this would be a fun, family and kid friendly event, and a nice way to spend a Sunday morning.

The morning of the Phoenix hot air balloon festival, we woke the kids up a little earlier than usual so we could get out the door by 6:30 AM. After a few hiccups, we made it to the balloon fest by 7:30, just in time to see the large American flag-style balloon rise up, as the national anthem played in the background.

We loaded the kids into the ‘BOB’ and headed for the entry. Without knowing it, we chose to attend on Sunday which also happened to be the one day of the festival that was free admission for kids! We arrived at the perfect time. Just in time to see about a dozen balloons fill up and lift off. The site for the event was directly west of the University of Phoenix stadium, so it was neat for Rocco to see the football stadium in the midst of all the rising balloons.

If you’re in the Phoenix area for one of the balloon fests that happen here, I’d highly suggest you attend. This specific event was really cool because it wasn’t that crowded (at least early in the morning), and we were able to get up very close and actually watch the balloons as they filled up with air.

My kids got a little scared a couple times because we were so close to the fire that you could actually feel the warmth, but it was so neat to see the balloons go from flat on the ground to up in the sky. Once all the balloons were up in the sky, there was a large green space left for the kids to run around and get out some energy.

Lexus lent us the 2016 RX-Hybrid so we could ride to the Phoenix hot air balloon festival in style. When they first dropped off the car, I was impressed with the luxurious leather-lined interior and the shimmery, and sleek blue exterior.

The day before we received the car, we told Rocco we would have an SUV the next day for him to ride in. When we picked Rocco up from school the next day, the first thing he asked us is if we had the SUV. When we told him yes, he literally sprinted out the front door of the school so he could see it, with his dad and me chasing behind. He loved the car so much. He especially loves being able to see more things due to sitting up higher and he loved looking at the large maps on the monitor on the dashboard.

Overall, we had a great day at the Phoenix hot air balloon festival and I definitely think we’ll go back again next year.