Flyin' High Friday

Friday started off with a bang!! We all woke up earlier and made our way out to Aurora, MO, which is about 30 minutes from my parent's house, so we could watch PaPa fly his airplane. The kids were super excited because they got to go up in the plane with him. After the disappointment of his lesson getting cancelled last week, this was must anticipated. I should be clear, in case I haven't been up until now, that my father does not have his license yet. He is still working toward that. He is currently doing his 40 hours, so an instructor still rides with him. He is actually flying, but an instructor has controls also, and therefore the ability to take over if need be. This scares a mother! Knowing that my two babies were going up thousands of feet above the ground in what could easily become a flying torpedo was the scariest thought ever! Thank God for instructors though. I felt a bit more secure knowing he was there too.

Regardless, the kids went and nothing went wrong.

This is my father standing in front of his airplane. He was doing all his pre-flight checks.

Kaedyn was so excited!
So was Kylie!

Here are the kids getting all strapped in and putting on their headsets so they could communicate with PaPa. Once everyone was buckled up and all flight checks were complete, it was time to get going. They are on their way to the end of the runway here.

They spent an hour just practicing take offs and landings. This meant that they would take off, circle the airport, land, then take off again, without stopping.

Here is a take-off. The kids loved this part!

And a landing. This was one of the better ones. A few were pretty darn scary for a mother who was watching, knowing her kids were in there. Remember, PaPa is still learning. So once again, thank God the instructor was in there too!! =)

This is a video of one of the touch and go's.

After doing about 10 touch and go's it was time to get out. Dad had just parked the plane and was shutting down all the controls here.

Kaedyn was telling Grandma all about it. He said it was "so much fun!" He also told us how hot it was in the plane. He talked about the cows, ponds, and trains he saw from the plane, and said they all looked like ants. Kylie said she saw the first cow.
A priceless picture to mark this event in the kids' lives. I think they look up to their PaPa even more now.

After the plane ride, we went back to my parent's house, grabbed lunch, then packed up the car to go to St. Louis to visit my grandparents. They actually live in a town called Bonne Terre, which is outside St, Louis. They live on a lake, so we were looking forward to swimming, boating, and fishing. Even though it takes 3 and half hours to get there, it is completely worth it. They have a beautiful home and lots for the kids to do.

Here is a picture of their house on the lake side. My dad took this from the boat dock.

The kids and I sitting on the dock getting ready to start fishing. My grandpa said we shouldn't swim because they had recently spotted a huge snapping turtle hanging around their dock.

Kaedyn likes to sit with his feet in the water when he fishes. It thought he looked so cute sitting there.
Look, he got one!
And Kylie too. Even with a popsicle in her hands!
After fishing from the dock for a few hours, we decided to take a boat ride. My grandparents have a 20' pontoon. The lake they live on has a no wake policy, so all you can really do is drive around real slow looking at stuff. We had fun though. They are some beautiful homes on the lake, so it is nice to dream for awhile.

This is my grandma, and you know those people behind her.

We went back to my grandparents once it got dark and enjoyed some time in the sunroom that overlooks the lake. It is really tranquil out there just watching the water while everything is so still. You can just get lost with your thoughts and feel at peace for a while. Then, back to reality once the kids come in! It's okay though. Since we were spending the night, I was holding on to hope that there would be another chance to relax, alone by the lake, tomorrow.