ben finally takes the plunge.

for ben's big 3-0 birthday
(about 6 mos ago, ahem.)
he was given the gift he asked for.

to jump out of a tiny plane and plummet himself to earth with only another human being and a little backpack which would (hopefully) contain his life line to return him safely home.

also known as skydiving.


he couldn't wait.

i apparently was experiencing some anxiety about this because last night i had a dream that i was skydiving, and our parachute flew off, so my tandem rider said to me "don't worry! we have a backup!" and pulled a string to reveal 3 different colored balloons. and i yelled back, "THOSE are supposed to help us??" as we careened to the ground.



so today, he left all common sense on the ground and took the plunge! (and i phoned our life insurance agent to make sure those on the ground would not be left destitute)

and here are the pictures to document the event...also known as temporary insanity.



the location:

airport terminal, casa grande, AZ

the spectators:

me, (no picture)

one very excited 4 year old,




one very un-interested 10 month old,

since i don't own photoshop, and am without the ability to draw a little circle with an arrow pointing out the tiny dot that dropped out of a plane, for the next couple of pictures you are going to want to pull out your magnifying glass. or your grandma's bible readin' glasses.

can you see the 30 year old dot?

here he is getting closer...

and closer...

and closer...(right about here was where we could pick up on him WHOO-HOO'ing)

and just when i could have taken a completely AWESOME picture, my camera went out of focus and i got the 30 year old looking like this instead...

and this...

i mean seriously! that could have been a money shot! oh well.



the 30 year old kissed the earth he thought he'd never see again,
(actually he just took a breather for a second)




then un-attached the person attached to him...


de-robed the gear...





and smiled proudly.


the kids embraced joyfully,






and i called our life insurance agent and took his policy back down to a monthly payment we could afford.

happy birthday my 30 year old man!
here's to a new decade full of hot women, riches, success and happiness!



or...
being married to me, student debt, living in an apartment
and putting up with the 3 of us everyday!

(pick door #2 ben! pick door #2!)