Hill AFB Air Show + Ordeal

**This is a longer post, but trust me, you're gonna want to read the whole thing.**

The day started out great!

It looked gorgeous, it was warm, and there were just a few clouds in the sky.

We woke up early to catch the train from Midvale station where we met up with family.

Porter loved the train and would give a play-by-play of what he saw out the window.

Wendy, Logan, Robbie, Donnie, Zoe, Seth, Mason

Brinda & Shad on the right

 Then we caught the new Frontrunner at SL Central...

This one was an 80 mph ride, and didn't feel like it at all!

Then we took a shuttle from the Frontrunner to Hill Air Force Base to see the air show!

This was the entrance...

Pretty awesome.

Porter was scared to go in, though, so Seth carried him through.

After finding a place to sit, we went umbrella shopping since we didn't come prepared for rain and it was sprinkling a bit.

Then the show started.

 The boys loved it!

Porter would get very excited about each plane!

All of the air-o-batics (I think they called it that) were amazing!

Then, it started getting colder.

I saw my breath, and began regretting wearing flip flops and capris, but was glad I brought a sweater.

We heard from the announcer, "the air show will be put on hold due to the weather...we would like you to stay...there will be two hangers open for you to stay dry, or you can go under the wings of some of the aircraft"

Then, almost right after he said that, the torrential rain and wind started.

Tents even started to come apart and blow away a bit.

It was sheer panic from the crowd...and from Porter.

Seth, Porter, Donnie, and I went to go find Wendy and Robbie as they were out getting lunch at one of the vendors.

I was very happy I bought that umbrella at this time, but it wasn't enough to keep the wind and rain out, and it wasn't big enough for all three of us.

Shad, Brinda, and their family left with friends to the parking lot as we decided to go into the medical tent to thaw and get a better view since we were blinded out there.

We were informed we couldn't stay there because it was for people who were sick...not cold.

We had lost Donnie in the commotion, but as I was calling Wendy to see where she was, I happened to spot her, Donnie and Robbie under their large umbrella!

We then made a run for it to catch them.

Porter crying in tow.

When we did catch them, we were all relieved to have found each other again as we started to head for the hangers.

Wendy donated her umbrella she bought with me to Seth and Porter, but it started breaking and wasn't much shelter.

Seth was happy to have it.

We made it to the hangers, but they were completely packed.

So, we kept walking in the freezing rain and wind to get back to the shuttle.

When we saw the line to the shuttle, I think my heart skipped a beat.

It was a least a quarter of a mile long.

Or, it felt like it was that long, anyway.

We thought taking the trax and the shuttle was a smart choice the night before and that morning, but not so much at that moment.

We stood in line for about an hour before getting on the shuttle.

Soaked through, shivering and numb, we found seats.

There was so much traffic on the way out of the base that it took about an hour to get to the Frontrunner station.

This was okay with me because it gave me a chance to thaw out and a chance for Porter to calm down.

Robbie and Donnie fell asleep basically standing up on the bus, and Wendy and I commented on how glad we were that baby Jordanne and little Kaysha weren't there to experience this.

Once at the station, the rain had stopped, but the wind was still blowing.

I felt like it was almost rude to get out of the warm bus and wait in the cold again while we were still soaking wet.

Twenty minutes later, the train came, and we started our journey back.

Out the window, we saw one of the Thunderbirds fly by.

They started the show again.

We didn't care.

When we switched trains at Central again, I was limping.

I had blisters from my wet flip flops that I couldn't feel while numb.

We joined happy, dry, unaware people on that train back home, and got some interesting looks.

"You can check off 'miserable experience in Salt Lake', now," Wendy stated while smiling.

Well, it started out fun, I said, laughing.

We left them to continue to their stop, and were very happy to see our Subaru.

Once in the car, Seth blasted the heater.

I didn't want to get out because the heat felt so great, but was glad when we got back home.

And even more glad that I have a washer and a dryer instead of a community one like I've had for the past four years.

Seth and Porter enjoyed the hot tub while I changed into warm clothes.

I would've hopped in that hot tub with them, but knew it wouldn't be a good thing to do while pregnant.

I don't think I completely thawed out until the next day.

So, lesson learned: even if it looks like it will be a nice day, it's always a good idea to come prepared for any sort of weather if you're going to be outside on a Spring day in northern Utah.