Thunderbirds

One of the cool things about living in Colorado Springs is that every year on the Wednesday before Memorial Day, the U.S. Air Force Academy holds its graduation exercises. When the master of ceremonies pronounces the cadets graduated, they throw their caps in the air. If all goes as planned, at that moment, six F16s rocket over the mountains and swoop down over the stadium. Pretty impressive.

They then proceed to put on a 45 minute air show that's visible from the whole north end of town. As my friend Julie said: "Ah, AF Graduation! The time of year when the Thunderbirds come out and productivity in Briargate goes down the toilet." She's right. The show usually starts a bit after noon, so everyone takes a long lunch and watches.

This year Lorien joined me for the show. The first plane flew right over our heads as we were walking out of the apartment to go watch. It was LOUD. Like, shake-your-sternum loud. She wasn't sure what she thought of it, but since I was holding her close, she decided not to cry. (That was almost as impressive as the air show itself.) She was pretty nonplussed by the rest of the exhibition, but I enjoyed it as always. I love taking pictures of it, even if I end up with hundreds of images that look virtually identical to the previous year's shots. :)

Flying in formation

For a good part of the show, four of the planes stick together

and the other two do solo stunts

My little buddy

My view from behind the stroller.

These little feet are about the cutest things I've ever seen.