you've already seen these...

 I realize that most everybody has seen these pics- but I've got to document the entire experience.  For christmas I surprised Kent with two (nonrefundable) tickets to skydive. We've both talked about it here and there and always said we were going to do it someday.  When I saw the passes show up on Groupon- I could NOT resist.  Life is full of things I want to do 'someday'- but if I don't act now- they'll never get done!

We finally made our reservations and went yesterday. May I start out by saying that EVERYone should go skydiving. I think it should be a life requirement. You HAVE to go at least once in life.  It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Honestly. It definitely compared to having a baby- and running a marathon- only without all of the hard work and pain involved!!!!

Once you get up there in the plane and they open the door and people just start diving out- it's CRAZY.  13,000 feet in the air!! and you just walk off the edge of the plane.  Kent and I were the last two people to go and it was so amazing to just watch all of these people go flying out into nothingness!

I totally lucked out with the coolest tandem instructor EVER.  His name was Gila (as in the gila monster lizard) and he was crazy!  I told him I wanted to get the most out of the experience and he let me!! We got to the edge of the plane and just dove. That first sixty seconds of freefall is like nothing you'll ever experience.  My instructor did all sorts of cool crazy spins and tricks. We got going really fast into a crazy spin and I thought I was going to lose my head.  I loved it.

After the freefall- the chute is deployed and everything slows way down and gets much quieter.  I really wanted to dive through a big cloud- so we did.  Plus we did all sorts of more fun spinning and twisting. It feels like the world's best roller coaster.  Being up there just looking at everything is crazy. It's so strange to just be up in the sky floating around. It honestly feels like you are flying. I felt like harry Potter on his Firebolt.

Kent had a slightly different experience! Once they landed my tandem instructor told me they had missed the landing zone altogether and had reached the ground faster than the others (strange since they jumped last!). Apparently they were ONE second away from cutting away their chute to make room for their reserve.  The chute was tangled and falling with them- not above them!  Kent asked how much longer before he would have cut away their chute and his instructor said literally one second.  If only we had come home with a reserve parachute story :)  Maybe next time!!

 Here's a sign on the whiteboard where you put on your gear!

 We both LOVED it and would be VERY happy to take any visitors who come :)  Best safety record in the U.S. and the least expensive!!