The Air/rain show at Hill Air Force Base

Mike loves airplanes, so this year we decided to go to the Hill Air Force Base air show. The Thunderbirds were flying so we wanted to be there.

In preparation we watched the weather and we knew it would rain.  When we got to the base we saw a huge rain cloud on the way and decided to wait it out in the car watching a movie and eating lunch while staying dry.  Not 2 minutes into waiting two of the kids (they shall remain nameless) said they had to use the bathroom.  The only open bathrooms were inside the gates and that was a half mile away.  Well they needed to go so I took the kids and started running.  We made it to the bathroom but just when we were crossing the open tarmac the rain wall hit.  Winds were blowing at about 30-40mph and the rain was soaking.  Quickly I pulled out the two umbrellas I brought with but the kids could not hang onto them and they kept turning inside out.  Within 30 seconds our clothes were soaked. We eventually made it back to the car but we were all drenched!  This is one of those times having a movie player in the car was a LIFESAVER!  We watched a movie and ate lunch while the storm passed and our clothes dried (a little).  This ended up being a blessing because the crowds left and the storm cleared up just in time for the F16 dogfight and the Thunderbirds!

 Here we are watching the F16 fly around and pretend to shoot a plane in front of it.  They made exposions go off on the ground so it really seemed like it was dropping bombs. It was AWESOME!

 They also have a lot of other planes out on display.  This was Mike's favorite that was on display. Sorry I can't remember what it was.

 This is how we traveled with all our stuff.  Nick sure enjoyed it!

 It was a good thing we brought the headphones.  Kyle jumped evertime the planes went by, they were extremely loud.

Some propeller planes doing some stunts.

 Flying in an air plane is definately one of Nick & Andi's dreams, so the next best thing would be to sit in the cockpit of an operational plane and act like they were flying it!  I could not believe the pilot in the cockpit let them sit in the seats and play with the controls!  A dream come true.

This is the airplane they got to pretend to fly!  They were up in its cockpit.

 This is the inside of the belly of the plane.  It is used to fly tanks and drop air troopers.

Showing off her loose tooth on the top front.  It fell out a couple of days later.

 This was our little group again. 

Kyle did get pretty tired since he did not get a nap.  The plates were a little too loud to allow that.

 The best part of the show was the Thunder birds though.  This is one of them taxiing down the runway.  It is amazing to be that close to them and feel their power.

These were some of my favorite stunts the Tunderbirds did that I was able to catch on film.

Waiting for the crowds to leave, we went over to get a closer look at the Tunderbirds after their flight.  The best part was Nick got to shake the hand of one of the pilots!  Sorry, I forgot to take a picture :(.  This made his day!

Andi was happy to find out one of the pilots was a girl. Who knows maybe she will be one day, she sure loved watching them!

Overall the show was amazing! It is amazing to see what our airforce can do.  Seeing those air planes never fails to make me feel greatful for our country and freedoms.  At the same time it makes me hope I will never be on the receiving end of an air attack. I would recommend it to everyone, just get there early and be ready for crowds.  If you like airplanes this is the place to go!