Kennetta's 30th Birthday!!

Once again my husband prooves that he can still surprise me... I had a big birthday coming up and I felt like I needed to do something a little bit crazy. I left it up to my more than capable husband to plan. He is always so good at those things, and I love surprises:) My actual birthday was a Saturday, and Brian had to work. So, I spent the day with a few friends and then later that evening had a nice dinner with Brian, Hannah, and a group of friends... The next day we woke up early and packed up the car with everything imaginable - so as not to give me any hints about our plans - and then we headed north. I was beginning to believe that we were going up to Flathead lake when Brian pulled onto a dirt road just outside Ronan. We soon turned into a small airport and I realized what we were going to do...skydiving!! This was something that has always been on my list of things to do in my life and I was excited and terrified to finally try it. We signed our lives away, were trained in what we needed to do during the dive, and then waited for the sky to clear up a bit before the dive. I was the first to go up because the plane can only hold one pair of tandem divers at a time. I won't lie, there were a couple moments on the flight up over the clouds when I was wondering if my 30th birthday would be my last:) It made for some great prayer times!! By the time we made it 10,000 feet over ground it was hard for me to see the ground because of the clouds. I suppose that made it a little bit easier for me to take that first step out of the plane onto the ledge. Once on the outside of the plane I was supposed to hold onto the wing until he told me to let go. For me, the hardest part of the whole experience was letting go of the wing to cross my arms. Then we fell. I watched the plane fly away for a second and then I saw nothing but white as we fell through a cloud. It was exhilarating, and FREEZING!!! However, soon we broke through the clouds and fell for a total of 30 seconds - a surprisingly long time - before pulling the parachute. The moment the chute opened everything was so calm. It was surreal. Yes, I could see the Mission mountains next to me, and Flathead Lake behind me, but I felt like it was a dream. We floated around for 5 minutes turning the parachute and practicing our landing etc. and then, before I knew it, we were getting ready to hit the ground. We had a nice landing -although I ended up falling on my stomache - and I was so full of adrenaline that I was more than ready to go back up and do it all again! However, it was Brian's turn next and so Hannah and I stayed on the ground while he went up in the plane. The skies were a bit clearer for his jump and so I was able to see everything - including his first step out of the plane:) He had a nice flight as well and then landed right on target. We both enjoyed it so much, and I think it was fun for Hannah to watch us jump out of a plane as well:).

Later that day we drove Hannah back to her mom's house and then drove on through to Salmon, ID where Brian had booked a Bed and Breakfast for us. Brian had found some fun hotsprings up in the mountains with waterfalls flowing into the pools. I love hot water, and I love waterfalls, so it was a wonderful combination!! We had a sweet time there in Idaho and then made our way back to Missoula on Monday.

All in all, this was an amazing birthday! I can't think of a better way to ring in this new decade... Now, I have about 9 months to think of a way to celebrate Brian's 30th birthday. The only problem is...how can I top skydiving!!!!

Brian looking just a bit nervous during the training...I think the reality of what we were about to do hit me as we were practicing on the groundGetting all suited up for the diveMy handsome husband looking ready:)Flying away over the Mission MountainsTrying not to think about the dive during the 20 min. flight upA view of the Mission Mountains at about 7,000 feet. We had to get up to 10,000 feet - over those clouds - before we doveMe flying - It is actually quite peaceful after the 30 second freefallBrian FlyingJust after landing...It took about a half an hour for my heart to stop beating so fast!!!The Bed and Breakfast Brian and I went to in Salmon, IDThe waterfalls leading up to Goldbug Hotsprings The falls flowing into the pools


The view from the pools

Brian playing under the falls - This water was NOT hot:)

Soaking in the pools...what a wonderful vacation!!!