Several strange lights in night sky

My wife and I were heading out to get some late-night ice cream when a string of bright orange-white lights in the sky froze us in our tracks.  The reason I stopped the car was because the lights were so bright, there were so many, and they were moving in a strange way. We both jumped out of the car and I proceeded to run down the street to get a better look.  Six balls of light emerged from behind the tree line at the end of the road and rose together to form a straight line.  Upon closer examination, I could see smaller blinking colored lights on each larger circle of light.  I wouldn’t be able to say exactly how far away they were, but I would guess a few miles.
These were not commercial airplanes.  Instead of flying in one path like a plane or helicopter they traveled straight up, in curves, and close together, at times seeming to almost touch, to form patterns. I took a picture that shows three of the lights in a triangle with one light alone at the bottom.  We watched these lights drift away out of view, and when we drove to the end of the street we saw another light rise from the same tree line.
I looked up weather balloons online and they don’t look like the lights we saw and don’t move the same way.  I don’t know much about how satellites get into space or if there was any military or government activity that night. I do live near major airports and military bases.
One thing is for sure, these lights were very strange and I have never seen anything like it.
Source of the report elects to remain anonymous; provides no contact information.  PD