Mr. & Mrs. Link

2009 was an amazing year, and we weren’t going to let it go without a fight.  So Tiffany, Kevin, Vanessa, Mitchum, Naj  and I drove out to Perris, California to strap a dude to our backs and hurl ourselves out an airplane from 12,500 feet above the ground.

Sweet.

Video and some pictures below

This was my second time, Vanessa’s fourth time and the first for Tiff, Kevin, Michum and Naj.  I remember after the first time, realizing that I had no idea how to land to maximize my chances of survival should my ‘chute not open.  Most skydiving sites suggest that you never get to the point of having to make those kinds of decisions (Q: How to survive a fall from great heights? A: Don’t fall.), since there’s really no good way to land at over 100 mph.  I also think having another person on your back changes the equation a bit (oh, sweet game theory).  Still, if you are lucky enough to find water to land in: straight like a pencil, toes pointed and legs crossed.  They say you’re still likely to die on impact though (which is why suicide from the Golden Gate is so effective).  Legs first is probably best if you fall on land too – the goal is to protect the vital organs so the you can survive until the EMPs arrive.

Our group assembled late morning on New Years Eve.  We signed some scary liability forms while a lawyer on TV explained what we were signing (“If you die in any way – falling, drowning, exploding etc – you can’t sue us, even if it’s totally our fault.”).  I suspect the documents we signed would have permitted our being lined up against a wall and shot without any legal repercussions.  We had to read a disclaimer on camera, and then it was off to suit up.  Harnesses attached.  Very little prep and we were on the plane ready to jump.

We paid extra for the pro video package that includes a wrist-camera video on the tandem guy and a second cameraman shooting video and pictures.  I’ll complain a little because my photographer was by far the worst of the group.  Tiffany’s was really good at capturing the entire event with neat tricks, while Mitchum’s had a sweet Australian accent.  Mine, not so much.  But on the other hand, they did risk their lives to jump with me to shoot the video, so I can’t complain that much.  Besides, I’m used to not being in photos.

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This Christmas holiday was the first extended time I got to spend with my family and my new baby sister Savannah. In helping to take care of her, I found some things that would make her smile and laugh, the best one being a popping sound I would make with my mouth. She would smile and giggle whenever I did it, even when she was in a mood. She was in our room the last morning we were there and I was doing the noise. We realized that when I stopped making the noise, we would hear another tiny sucking/popping sound. Savannah had learned how to do it and was trying to imitate me. It was just so gosh, darn cute that we had to post it. We even included a few baby sneezes in for good measure.

Click here to watch video if you’re on facebook

While the ladies went shopping, my step-father-in-law Kevin took me to a shooting range in Orange County.

Kevin is LAPD, so he’s got some nice guns with features that aren’t available to the general public (like, for example, a 13-round magazine). I got to shoot a Glock 21 .45 caliber, a 9mm Baretta 92fs and a Smith and Wesson 442 .38 caliber revolver with an internal hammer.

While I’ve recently shot a rifle, I haven’t shot a pistol in years, and then my experience is almost exclusively with revolvers.  I admit that I was a little nervous that I wouldn’t be very accurate.  Fortunately, I think a combination of having shot guns so often when I was young with shooting photography more recently brought everything back to me very quickly.

The Glock 21 was my favorite, and I can see why it’s so popular in the U.S. – especially with law enforcement.  It was stable and the trigger was smooth.  There was definitely a kick, but it didn’t hurt.

Here’s a video of me shooting the Glock.  I emptied two 13-round magazines at this target – the first in the chest and the second the head.  This is the second magazine.  It’s harder to see the holes in the darker parts of the target, so I didn’t know how I did until we brought it back for review.

Here’s Kevin shooting the Glock at a larger distance.

The Barette 92fs was a heavier gun, but I had more trouble with accuracy.  The bullets never seemed to go where I pointed them.  I think it was the yaw of the gun in my hand, adding an axis that I was too out of practice to control.

The Smith and Wesson is extremely light-weight and small.  It’s affectionately called the “hand-cannon” because you feel it kick hard.  It’s even painful after enough rounds.

All three were fun though, and it was cool to get back on a shooting range.  Maybe I’ll have to find one in D.C…

Our Merry Christmas video – the production value here rivals Avatar.

And, of course, it’s baby Savannah’s first Christmas.

PS – If you can’t see the vids click the links below to watch them at our site.

But baby, it’s cold outside…

No kidding! I’m not sure how many inches we’ve accumulated over the past day or so, but our lawn chairs in the back are nearly covered, and the snow is up to our windows! Being a California girl, I never grew up with snow. There would be the occasional trip to the mountains where snow lived from time to time, for some sledding, snowball fights, and restaurant trips for hot chocolate, but it was never a way of life for us. Therefore I have never really known how to live in and handle snow. Although, to my credit, living in Maryland for the past six years and being with a Montana man for the past eight, I feel I have a decent handle on snow these days. I was wrong.

The snow started at some point while we were watching the Montana Grizzlies game in Arlington VA. There was probably 2 inches of snow on our car and the ground. It continued to snow the whole way home, and apparently through the night. When we woke up, there was like 6 inches of snow on the ground and maybe more. It snowed all of yesterday and by yesterday evening, the snow had to be somewhere in the ballpark of 25 inches. We finally went out to play in it and it was amazing. I have never even seen anything like it. Over two feet of freshly fallen powder covered our condo area. It was quite beautiful. We laughed. We frollicked. We made snowangels. We unsucessfully made snowballs to throw at eachother (the powder just wouldn’t stick together). It was pretty awesome. We had a snow day!

I woke up this morning and it looks like it finally stopped snowing. Everywhere is just piled with white. The sun is out and it looks like a beautiful day. I tried to convince Jed to strap on our skis and just slide around Columbia. Apparently our skis aren’t made for that sort of thing. I must say, I think I’m finally coming around to this snow thing.

Enjoy some clips from our romping adventure.

Be afraid, but not too afraid ’cause guess who’s got a shotgun and a bucket of gasoline!