Keeping Up With Kaleb: Birthday Flight

A few weeks ago, I went to Kentucky to visit my best friend, Aubrey. Well, Kaleb and Paul picked me up at the airport when I got back into town. Apparently, that was all Kaleb could talk about that day. He kept telling everyone that he was picking momma up on the airplane! When they got me, he was very disappointed that he wasn't going to be riding the airplane like me. He kept talking about it for the next few days. So, I got the idea of trying to find out if there was anywhere we could pay for a short flight in a private airplane. There is a small airport in Madison with private planes. I knew they did flying lessons, so I contacted them and asked if they did any flights for birthdays, explaining Kaleb's situation. He got right back with me explaining that they will do an introductory flight with me and Kaleb for $98. That would include about a 30 minute flight! We decided that instead of a birthday present, we would do this for him instead. With Christmas just a few months ago, and the party in Covington in a few weeks, we really couldn't think of anything to get him. So, they told me to just stay in touch and if there was a weekend that looked pretty, to let him know a few days in advance and we could get everything organized. This week, the weekend forecast was supposed to be high 70's and clear skies. So I called Mr George, the pilot and let him know we would be planning on a Friday afternoon flight. We got to the airport around 3:30 pm. A person was learning to fly the helicopter and Kaleb was very excited. He actually wanted to ride the helicopter, but we persuaded him that an airplane was more fun. We went into the office and met Mr George, who couldn't have been nicer. He sat down with Kaleb and explained everything that we would be doing. After getting instructions, we headed out to the plane. It was a little four seater, single engine plane. Kaleb got to sit up front with Mr George while I sat in the back seat. He looked so big and was so excited! We put the headphones on him and he left them on for a total of 5 minutes, and then wanted nothing to do with them. Oh well! I got a few shots with them on so I was a happy momma! I love to fly so I was just as excited as Kaleb. I was very nervous as to how he would do when Mr George cranked the plane, but he did great. Mr George even moved his seat close to the front so he could reach the steering wheel, which Kaleb LOVED! Luckily, he couldn't control anything from his side. As we taxied around the runway, he did really well. Mr George did warn us that it was going to be a little bumpy because of the wind, but I was even a little surprised at how much turbulence there was. I guess I'm not used to the small planes. After we got into the air, Kaleb wanted to hold my hand due to the turbulence but didn't cry or whine. He just kept looking out the window. Mr George had said that we would fly over the Reservoir and look at all the boats, but after about 5 minutes, Kaleb said he wanted to "go down". So, we turned around and headed back to the airport. We did fly over our new house as we were coming in, which was neat. Overall, it was a great experience and Kaleb did really well. I honestly didn't expect us to get off the ground before he wanted to get out. I guess my little man is growing up! (tear)!
Here are a few pictures of Kaleb's first plane ride! Excuse my hair... we took the top off the jeep and my long hair doesn't do well unless pulled back!