Lookin' Up!

Early this month, my friend Shari and I took our boys to the Jacqueline Cochran Air Show in Thermal. It is always free, and such a boy thing to do, so we try to go every year.

The first thing the boys wanted to do was climb aboard this huge C-17 cargo plane. It was like a huge cave inside. The boys strapped themselves in, ready for the ride. Unfortunately, they wouldn't fly it anywhere until everyone got out. Bummer. That means we had to watch the rest of the air show from the ground.

They couldn't hitch a ride on the Sheriff helicopter either.

We also explored some other vehicles up close and personal. The boys loved this part.

They had a bunch of planes of all sorts on display. It was fun to get so close.

You know which one they liked best, don't you? The one with the big guns! Of course they each had to take a turn blowing me to bits.

Of course, most of the time we were looking up into the air watching the fantastic tricks. The biplanes went every which way! It got pretty hot for a while there, and snow cones were extremely necessary.

It was really fun watching the parachutes too. They were so high when they jumped that you could barely see them. Wow.

We love the huge American flag descending from the sky. It was so neat to be right there next to the runway when they landed.

There were a few old WWII planes doing a mock fight, chasing each other through the sky.

This parachutist was doing tricks up there.

My favorite was the F-16 fighter jet! The crew did a precision drill to prepare for the flight, and it was really interesting to watch! But the best part was when they started up those jets! When they did is super-speed flyby it was SO LOUD! I loved it!!! It really gave me a thrill! I am so grateful for the wonderful fighting force we have to protect our great Nation, and this jet just seemed to be a symbol of that for me. Thrilling!

The boys got to meet the pilot and the team and have a picture signed. Cool.

The last plane was the very same C-17 cargo plane that we got inside earlier. Amazing how such a huge machine can get into the air, on a relatively short runway too. Getting it's big belly up into the air reminded me of trying to get up out of bed when I was pregnant - lumbering, and not graceful. But it got up and was fun to watch.

After all the excitement Dylan had fun digging through a bin of old pilot patches to find the perfect ones for his patch collection, and of course I let everyone pick out a tiny toy plane (and a few for the older brothers who didn't come because they were at a merit-badge clinic for scouts) so we went home with our own little fleet.

What a fun day at the airshow! Thanks for joining us Shari!