Our celebration of good ol USA started last weekend at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. We attended Tattoo again for the 10th year in a row. Tattoo has grown tremendously and is quite a big deal these days. It used to be a few vendors and some corn on a stick but now we have famous artists showing up to sing and over 75,000 people attending.
We have this evening down to a science now; we know when to arrive to avoid the huge lines on and off base and we plan to "sit for a bit" before trying to leave in the sea of cars. It was an amazing evening and nothing makes me feel more patriotic than witnessing air men being sworn in, watching jets fly over while my insides vibrate from the after burners and listening to the band play while the fireworks shoot into the air. If you have never been you should get it on your calendar for next year for sure.
Our Aunt Robin and Uncle Dan were in town and it was nice to spend the evening with them too.
Leslie invited her boyfriend Anthony this year.... we did our best to make him feel like part of the family. :)
The fly overs were amazing!
And where else can you go to see a cowboy doing the 2 step to the song Love Shack?? Seriously people .... entertainment at its best. :)
My family teased me about being a creeper or a stalker while taking these next pictures... I however, see these pictures as the essence of Tattoo and America! So there!
We listened to a wonderful band play prior to the United States Air Force band and then Aaron Tippin came on stage and sang a few songs for us.... it was dark so you can't see him in my videos. He sang Stars and Stripes and Kiss This.
Greg ran into his good buddy Pat too.....
Then there were the fire works.... they were amazing!
We listened to a wonderful band play prior to the United States Air Force band and then Aaron Tippin came on stage and sang a few songs for us.... it was dark so you can't see him in my videos. He sang Stars and Stripes and Kiss This.Greg ran into his good buddy Pat too.....
Then there were the fire works.... they were amazing!
The wait in the parking lot was not as amazing, but we had fun looking at our pictures and videos of the evening.
Sea of cars.... notice there is NO organization to these paths.
Nick turned the back of the van into a disco by decorating the van with all the flashing necklaces we bought and then jammed to his mp3 player. We did a great job entertaining ourselves. Greg had loads of fun looking at the past pictures of my scar on my face. We laughed pretty hard for awhile with these....
Greg would flip to this picture on the camera and say "Rachael would you like some ice cream?" and then show this picture and say in a bummed voice "No, not really".....
Then he would flip to this one on the camera and say "Rachael, they have Chocolate ice cream... do you want some now?" and then in a high voice say "Oh, Chocolate? OK".
He did this at LEAST 20 times flipping back and forth between the pictures and had everyone in the van almost in tears. Now first of all... I didn't smile while taking a picture of my scar after having cancer removed. Who smiles? Here is a picture of my stitches.... aren't they pretty? *smile* No! They made for great entertainment though. :)
The evening was wrapped up by driving all over the city of Dayton trying to avoid the lines on the high way and when we finally did get on the high way the ramp we needed was closed. :) Poor Anthony finally arrived at home around 1:00 am after a lengthy wait for ice cream at McDonald's. :) He is still dating our daughter so I guess we didn't scare him too badly.
Next I will blog about the actual 4th of July since Tattoo was June 26th.
Sea of cars.... notice there is NO organization to these paths.
Nick turned the back of the van into a disco by decorating the van with all the flashing necklaces we bought and then jammed to his mp3 player. We did a great job entertaining ourselves. Greg had loads of fun looking at the past pictures of my scar on my face. We laughed pretty hard for awhile with these....
Greg would flip to this picture on the camera and say "Rachael would you like some ice cream?" and then show this picture and say in a bummed voice "No, not really".....
Then he would flip to this one on the camera and say "Rachael, they have Chocolate ice cream... do you want some now?" and then in a high voice say "Oh, Chocolate? OK".
He did this at LEAST 20 times flipping back and forth between the pictures and had everyone in the van almost in tears. Now first of all... I didn't smile while taking a picture of my scar after having cancer removed. Who smiles? Here is a picture of my stitches.... aren't they pretty? *smile* No! They made for great entertainment though. :)
The evening was wrapped up by driving all over the city of Dayton trying to avoid the lines on the high way and when we finally did get on the high way the ramp we needed was closed. :) Poor Anthony finally arrived at home around 1:00 am after a lengthy wait for ice cream at McDonald's. :) He is still dating our daughter so I guess we didn't scare him too badly.
Next I will blog about the actual 4th of July since Tattoo was June 26th.
OK Rachael - I am here and love your blog! I am a friend of Jeff and Loree Wolfe ... and would like to Face Book with you also ...
ReplyDeleteBob VL
This really makes me feel like I was there...
ReplyDeleteGregory!
ReplyDelete