Scott AFB Air Show

I started typing this post a few days ago. I got bogged down in stories and details. After a lot of thought, I have decided to use a more list-like format with a few stories.

Highlights for Me and Bay (David was out of town, shocking, I know):
1. The static displays
You could walk into several planes and chat with the pilots. We went into a c-21. This is the plane that David usually flies on. The kids call it "Daddy's plane."

Spencer asked if it was a "real plane." I said YES.

And then he was heartbroken when we got off.

He thought if it was a real plane, we should be able to go for a quick ride!
We also went into a C-5. What a huge plane!!

2. The Army Golden Knights.

The Army Golden Knights plane.
The Army's parachute team. They are awesome. They even jumped the flags in at the beginning of the day.

This is the American Flag being brought in.

They played the National Anthem as he glided to the ground. Chills.
3. All the flight performances were cool, but my favorites were:
(a.) The Heritage Flight - where 4 planes, both vintage and current all fly together. It represents the past and present of the Air Force. I am a sucker symbolism - especially if it is military or patriotic. . . Breathtaking.

The fly-by featured a P-51, an F-4, an F-16, and an F-15.
(b.) The Canadian Forces Snowbirds - they were so awesome! It is like Canada's version of the Thunderbirds or the Blue Angels. We even got to meet them at a reception before and talk to them after. I am sort of fascinated with Canadians. They seem so nice and say cute things in cute accents, ay. I like it when they say Saskatchewan. Oh and their performance was incredible, too. AMAZING.

WOW! Hard to get a picture, but trust me, WOW!

This is the plane flown by our favorite pilot. He was super nice and gave the kids stickers at the reception the night before.
4. Daddy got us into the VIP section with free food and even beer. But I did not care about that. The part that was the most exciting was the Porta Potties. Oh. My. Real toilets. Real sinks. Running water. WOW! Oh and it was AIR CONDITIONED.

Yes, that is potpourri on the tank.

Yes, art on the walls of a PORTA POTTY.

A real sink for handwashing!

5. Funnel Cakes.
Who doesn't like a plate with a big pile of fried dough covered in powdered sugar? Right? Are you with me? Seriously, Daddy and I drooled over them all day and finally bought one on the way out.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Highlights for Jessa and Spencer:

1. Strollers.
I dragged out the umbrella strollers to save our backs. I know the M.O. of my children very well- after walking about a block, they are all tired and begging us to carry them. They were happy to sit in their strollers and take it all in. And we were more than happy to push them.

Best seats in the house.
2. Acorns.

Yes, acorns. And I definitely do not mean the community organizers. I mean the small nutty objects that fall out of oak trees and that are loved by squirrels. We passed several trees on the way to the air show and they collected them and carried them and loved them all day long. Acorns. Who knew?

3. Bounce Houses

I have a love/hate relationship with these contraptions. The kids love them/ I hate them. But they are usually gross. I never used to think about all the germs all over them, but now it is all I can think about. There are always long lines. There are always mean kids with no parents. And once my children see these germ traps, they cannot think of anything else. They cannot talk about anything else. They do not want to do anything else. I sucked it up. They had fun. I soaked them in Lysol when we got home!

The most fun play things in the world, according to the kiddos.

4. Naps
Well, Jessa, anyway. She fell asleep during the heritage flight and woke up after the Snowbirds. For real. She slept through it all. Loud music. Loud announcers. LOUD Jet engines. I guess her ear plugs worked better than I thought.

Yep, that's my girl. Napping.

5. Geico Geckos.

There were booths set up all over for companies to advertise. If Daddy and I registered to win some Geico contest (hello junk mail and spam), they got to try and win a prize. Spencer won ear plugs. Jessa won a Gecko. Spencer cried. I offered them $20 for another Gecko. They gave him one for free. Whew. Thank goodness for the understanding Geico lady. . .

Posing with their new BFFs: the Geckos.

So there you have it. We all had a fun day, even though we did not all enjoy the same things equally, there was something for everyone, I guess.

One funny story:

Before we left home, I was trying to talk Jessa into wearing the red shirt. I had red shirts laid out for all 3 of us. There are many reasons for this idea. First, I like them to be somewhat coordinated and in a bright color when we are in crowds. It really does help me to be able to spot them easier. Second, this is an Air Show at an Air Force Base, patriotic dress is a must, right? What is more patriotic than a family all dressed in red? Nothing, right? And third (and yes, maybe the most important) is they will be way cuter in pictures if they have on matching shirts, right?? So I am trying to coax Jessa into hers (she has already dressed herself in a white Hello Kitty shirt - not very patriotic). She was really pulling out all the stops. She said it smelled bad. She said it was uncomfortable. She said she did not like the pocket. She said Hello Kitty was softer. I, of course, held firm to the "it is safer if y'all are both in red so I can keep up with you in the crowd." My 5 year old, future lawyer responded, "Well, Mom, how do you know all the other kids will not have on red, too. Then you may just grab the wrong children, Did you ever think of that?" I (without grinning at all) replied, "We will cross that bridge when we come to it. Get dressed in the shirt I gave you." And as you can tell from the pictures, I won the battle. Oh, and speaking pf pictures, aren't they precious in their matching shirts!??!?

Perfect matching shirts!
Oooops, someone forgot to brief Bay. . .