The Airshow!

The whole family in front of Ben's plane: the Rivet Joint

This last weekend was the annual Airshow and Open House here at Offutt AFB. We didn't get to go last year because I was on bedrest, so we've really been looking forward to it. We weren't disappointed! We checked out the website first and found what we thought was a good place to park. There were places all over town where you could park and be shuttled to base. We figured parking on base was a good option, even though we would still have to be shuttled over to the tarmac. Turns out that we went to base, parked, got on the shuttle bus with kids, stroller, water, blanket, snacks, etc, and then went back off base and all the way around to the other side to enter again. I guess the FAA shuts down certain spaces when they know crazy airplane stuff is going to be happening there, so there were several parts of base that were closed down. Once we got to the other side, we noticed that there were several open parking spots right in the commissary parking lot! It was a huge waste of time doing the shuttle bus thing, but I think the kids enjoyed riding on the bus. Oh well, next year we'll know just where to park!

Sammy and Luella on the bus ride home

There were tons of vendors, of course, and big tents with food and activities. The kids spotted these little bicycle planes right away and had a great time "flying" around the track. There were about a million bouncy houses, but you had to pay to jump in them. I thought that was pretty lame. We bought some tickets and the kids got to pick two bouncy houses they wanted to play in. There were several open planes, and some that the kids could sit in and walk through. At some point during the festivities, we realized that the camera was missing. We backtracked and scoured the ground, figuring that it had fallen off of the stroller. I was just sick thinking about the pictures we had lost and the thought of paying for a new camera. Ben checked the lost-and-found thinking there was no way it would be there so quickly, but it was! I couldn't believe it! I was so grateful and happy that the people who found it were so honest. It totally made the day for me that someone turned it in.

After that we found some grass to sit on and waited for the Thunderbirds to do their show. There were vendors selling smoothies and drinks for crazy prices, so Ben just ran across the field to the commissary and bought a box of ice cream sandwiches for 2 bucks and we all enjoyed ice cream while we waited. Yay commissary!

The show was awesome! Some of the stuff they do is just crazy. Carli told us she wants to fly one of these planes when she grows up . . . talk about fulfilling your parents dream! Ben would bust his buttons if one of the kids became a fighter pilot. There actually was a female pilot in one of the Thunderbirds, Ben thinks she's the first. They did a great job. (We actually saw a lot of the Thunderbirds this last week. On Friday, they were practicing and the flight path went right around our house, then the show on Saturday and Sunday, then this morning they took off for Colorado and we saw them leave.)
So, except for the wasted time on the bus, the camera scare, and a few diarrhea runs to the bathroom with Eli (which actually was a good thing because Ben just ran into the firehouse with him and told them he was sick and got to use the bathroom there instead of waiting in line with about 500 other people!), it was a totally fun day! The kids were really good and the weather was fantastic! It was hot in the sun, but there was a little breeze and some cloudy moments throughout the day. When we finally got off the bus, we went to Mcdonalds for dinner. They had an Air Hockey game there and Sammy thought it was hilarious to watch Ben and Eli play.

Sammy loves Air Hockey!