My Birthday Adventure!

Last Friday for my 27th birthday, Jeremy surprised me and took me skydiving! Okay let me go back a few weeks.

We hang out with a group of friends once a week. Over two weeks before my birthday Jeremy had my surprise planned and was telling everyone...except me! The thing is, I knew they all knew, which was torture. Well, through comments he made I figured out how much he was spending. I started doing what I do and trying to figure it out! I thought it might be skydiving until the day I asked him if the activity depended on the weather and his answer was no! Well that threw me for a loop.

Fast forward to last Monday before my birthday and he came home with a gift bag. In it I found 4 little toy parachute men! What a cute way to tell me! Yeah he was yanking my chain about the whole weather thing.

So Friday we drove up to Xenia, OH to Greene County Skydiving. Its in the middle of a cornfield but Jeremy told me highly reccommended by lots of people. We were the first people there being that it was only 9:30. We walked in and "Shaggy" gave us paperwork. He is apparently the resident DZ (that's Drop Zone) hangout. He goes on a plane anytime there is an open seat. He also packs the chutes and usually signs everyone in. They got me suited up and explained a few things, oh and I had to watch this hilarious video and sign my life away basically.

The jump was awesome. I have no words to explain it. I have never felt that big of an adrenaline rush. Brandon was my tandem partner and Chrissy was the videographer, not from the ground, she jumped right with us! She actually hangs off that strut you see in the video until we jump! (By the way, still trying to figure out why the video is squashed and cut off on the sides.)

We did have a couple of funny/scary incidents! When Brandon pulled the chute I yelled up at him, " Are we good?".....no reply! yikes. I said it again...and then I could hear him struggling with the canopy. All of a sudden I felt it straighten up a bit and catch more air, then his reply, " Now we are! " Our strings or the canopy got a little twisted! Kudos to Brandon for fixing it! Then when we got down on the ground Brandon had me sign his jump log book and said, "I am glad I didn't look at this before we went, Do you know what jump # this was for me? 666! " HA! Just goes to show you God is bigger than a number!

All in all, the coolest birthday ever! I told Jeremy last night I am not sure how he is going to top that b/c that was pretty much the thing I wanted to do most! I love to travel and see places too, but I sure do love flying now! I will close with a couple of cool quotes. One funny and the last one that is now my favorite!

Saying you've flown because you've been in an airplane is like saying you've swam b/c you've been in a boat. Get in the medium!

"When once you have tasted flight,
you will forever walk the earth with
your eyes turned skyward, for there
you have been, and there you will always
long to return." -- Leonardo da Vinci