Anyway... my birthday was back in July and Michael kept saying he had a birthday surprise for me. I kept trying to get hints from him but he is a vault! He told me he would tell me what the surprise was the day before.
The day finally came and he told me the big news... he was taking me skydiving! I could hardly believe it. In fact, I didn't believe it... I think it was such a surprise that it didn't seem real to me. It wasn't until we were driving up to Ogden that I began to realize that this adventure was indeed happening! As we got closer to the area I started to become a little nervous. We got to the 
hanger, and we were able to watch other divers for about an hour before I jumped. It was actually nice because it calmed my nerves to see everyone have so much fun and arrive safely.The time came, and I got all suited up (in a sweet Little Mermaid jumpsuit with Flounder on the pantleg). Dude, I was ready to go! I swear, it was another 15 minutes of waiting, so the anticipation made me a bit nervous again.
About 5 other jumpers loaded into a small plane with me and we started our flight up. We basically climbed to our height by taking big circles up to stay over the landing sight. I LOVED the flight up. We were right right above the mountains, and I could see the whole valley. I don't know if it's because of flying with my mom so often, but this was completely peaceful to me which calmed any nerves I had collected.
So in this tiny little plane there was only a plastic door that rolled up and down. Next to the door was a red and green light. My instructor jumping with me (Keegan) told me we were about ready to go, and before I knew it- the light turned green, the plastic door rolled up and people starting falling out of the plane! Before I had time to realize it, we had scooted up to the opening and my toes were over the edge.
Keegan did a quick countdown before we jumped! It was crazy!!!! 
The initial fall was the scariest because I was falling upside down which meant I couldn't see the horizon or ground, leaving me a little disoriented. Once we turned around, it was sa-weeeeeet! We were free falling for about 60 seconds. It was crazy, because I didn't really feel like I was falling, it was just VERY windy! :)
Keegan then pulled the parachute and we coasted to the ground for about 7 minutes. It was one of the most incredible things. The Salt Lake Valley is so beautiful! One of my favorite things we did is when Keegan had me look up to the parachute. He then was able to tilt it so we were at an angle where I could see the Horizon and the top of the parachute at the same time. He pulled these awesome 360s so I could see the entire horizon! This view was beyond anything I can describe. When he would pull out of it, the chute would swing us up, and as we fell back into our harnesses, it gave the most incredible sensation of being weightless! It was by far one of the most fantastic things I have ever experienced!!!
This next part makes me laugh... we were only about 20 seconds away from the ground when Keegan says, "Now we're gonna talk about the landing..." Ummm... isn't this something we should have discussed before I leapt out of a plane? Apparently not, as all I had to do was lift my legs straight out in front of me so I could land on my butt. Once I was on the ground my legs felt like jelly as they were full of adrenaline! Michael said my entire body was shaking when I gave him a hug. I didn't even notice as I was still on a high.
To say the least the entire experience was... AMAZING! It is something I have always wanted to do, and is definitely something I will remember for a lifetime. Thanks Michael for making my 26th birthday so memorable. I love you!
Chelsey Hadley Skydiving in July 2009 from qbd3v14nt on Vimeo.
