Nonni + Papa’s Visit

We loved having Nonni and Papa come visit in mid-June.  On this visit Jonathan had the awesome idea of taking my parents to the Carolinas Aviation Museum.  My dad was a fighter pilot with the Air Force for over 25 years, so I can’t believe we didn’t think of this earlier.  I thoroughly enjoyed listening to my dad teach the kids about airplanes and jets and how they work.  And, once we mentioned to one of the museum docents, a former Navy pilot himself, that my dad flew F-16s, among other Air Force jets, my dad was definitely elevated to V.I.P., rock-star status.  The docent took us around just about the entire museum, very obviously enjoying sharing old stories from his Navy days and slipping in a good-natured Air Force jab here and there.  I’ve always known that my dad’s awesome, so I loved watching him get the special treatment.  It was so wonderful to have my parents there with the kids, sharing with them bits and pieces of something that was a huge part of my parents’ lives, and mine for 18 years.  Sometimes I really miss the sound of jets taking off…





{there are many, many pictures out there of me sitting in cockpits.  we told jack the story about what my dad would do when he would return from tdy (temporary duty—trips away for usually 3 weeks or more), my mom, my sister, and i would be out at the squadron watching all of the f-16s land.  one after another would come in with daddies wearing their helmets and face masks.  you could never tell who was in each jet and we were all so anxious to see our dad, safe and sound.  so, each and every time my dad would come in from tdy, my dad would give us moose horns with his hands on his helmet and wiggling fingers—that one little gesture would immediately bring smiles to our faces.  so, jack heard this story on a saturday.  on the following friday, i was in the balcony of our church nave searching for my kids in the crowd of hundreds of vbs campers.  i looked down and found jack looking up at me with moose horns with wiggling fingers.  that definitely made me well up and smile at his cleverness.}



{that’s the miracle on the hudson behind jonathan.}


{i had a ‘remove before flight’ tag keychain from my dad in high school.  yes, i admit, having a fighter pilot dad definitely made me feel cool…still does.  :) }


{holding hands.  june 14th, my parents’ first day visiting us, was not only my mom’s birthday, but it was also my parents’ 43rd wedding anniversary.}




{can you find all of us in the picture?}


{afterwards, we went to the airport to watch some planes take off.  i love uptown off in the distance here.}


{more insight from papa.}




{we ended our day with some fun and dinner in the backyard.}


{we caught (and released) fireflies, too.  i love summer.  and i love when nonni and papa come visit.}