Skydiving

A couple of weeks ago, Nicky and three friends plus one tag along uncle went skydiving. 

They were originally supposed to go back in April, and when they were twenty minutes from take off, the wind picked up, and they had to shut it down and reschedule. We'd been there for nearly three hours when they canceled the jump, so it was really disappointing. It worked out, though, because Nicky's friend Addi turned 18 in the meantime, so she was able to go with them. 

Nicky has become a bit of an adrenaline junkie. He had no fear about jumping out of a plane, and he didn't even get butterflies! He said it was the best feeling in the world. As soon as he hit the ground, he was talking about going again. 

Scotty, Nicky, me, and Zoe right before they loaded the plane

Nicky and his instructor

(This is Nicky's signature photo face right now)

Ready to jump from 12,000 feet

Hello, Earth

Parachute release

Coasting to the ground

The four seniors walking back to the base with 

lots of enthusiasm after their dive

I wasn't sure what it would be like to watch my son jump out of a plane. Would I be chill? Would I be freaking out? I ended up being pretty chill. They were so high in the sky that I couldn't even tell which person was him (until I finally heard him hooting and hollering when he was closer to the ground). They had several people falling from the sky at once, and they are so tiny up there you really can't tell who's who until they've been falling for quite some time, and at that point, you can feel pretty confident that they're safe. 

It was funny to watch their landings. They were strapped to their instructors, and the boys were told to lift up their legs and land on their butts (which they all did - some softer than others). But Addi, being a lighter female, was allowed to land on her feet, and she did it so elegantly. 

Now Nicky can't wait to go again, and he has all sorts of people lined up to join him skydiving after his mission. We'll see who's still convinced two years from now!