In June, Abe had a training in Colorado for a month long. I decided to hop on a plane and go home during that time. I was not looking forward to the plane ride very much, but the 8 or 9 hour flight wasn't too bad. After all, my kids could run around most of the time and didn't have to be buckled into their seats. It's not ideal of course. It gets really cold and hot, it's really loud and bare to the bones. It's free though, so I can't complain. It would stress me out way more if I had to fly commercial that long with all of them!
The military plane I got on went right from Geilenkirchen NATO base and flew into Scott AFB, which is near St. Louis. My good friend from Boston and her daughter decided to come out and meet us for a couple days so we could play. Mary was Adeline's BFF in Boston and they have been looking forward to seeing each other again!
We had such a fun time with Katy and Mary. Mary and Adeline quickly became best little buddies again and were in heaven. Oh how I miss them! The big bummer was that Katy came down with horrible food poisoning and was out of commission for about a day and a half. Unfortunately, we didn't even get a picture together :(
We were pretty pathetic when it was time to travel home. Luckily, we scheduled our flights out at about the same time so we could venture to the airport together. We took a bus from base to the train station, then almost a 2 hour train and then I had two commercial flights with the kids by myself to Utah. It actually went very smooth and the kids were SO good. I looked funny walking through the airport with 3 kids, 3 carseats, a double stroller, and 4 bags (one which Adeline could tow).
We had such a good time in Utah. I loved seeing all our family and friends. I was there for about 6 weeks and it flew by. I still didn't get to see everyone that I wanted to! After Abe's training was over, he also was able to come play in Utah for two weeks before we took off.
I think the 2nd weekend I was in Utah, my dad flew all of his son in laws in town to do a cattle round up. I only got to see him for a couple hours, but the boys had a blast!
My mom had a robin build a nest right above her deck where we would hang out all day. It was so fun to watch the birds grow up and watch the parents feed them. Sadly, they all died (including the mom) because of the farm cats :(
I hardly took any pictures on this trip. Luckily my family too a lot, so I was able to steal :) Here were all the highlights of our trip!
Playing with the Barkers and seeing all their cousins
Build a Bears with Grandma Barker
Going up to the Ranch
Riding Horses
Seeing the Smart side
Adeline and Jojo are two peas in a pod. I feel like I hardly saw them the entire time because they were off playing and having fun!
Collecting Chicken Eggs and feeding Chickens
4th Of July is always a fun holiday. 5K in the morning (which got rained out this year), local small town parade, kids Rodeo and then we have a family BBQ and then the Rodeo that night. The kids had fun doing the kids rodeo. Jojo just about caught the chicken and a DAD of a small kid picked the chicken up and handed it to his kid. Ridiculous. Norah of course face planted in the mud and was a mess. I thought she would be screaming when she came back up to the stands. Instead, she had a grumpy face and said, "I didn't catch the chicken!". haha. Maybe next year Norah!
Abe's Spartan Race. We were so worried about the boys. It was a 12 or 13 mile race with over 20 obstacles and they started at noon in almost 100 degree weather. Luckily they had fun and all survived. Here is a picture of the boys after, minus Chase.
Bailing the Hay for my dad
Once they were about done bailing the Hay, my dad thought it would be fun to let the horses run free in the field. I mentioned that we should probably shut the gate so the horses wouldn't escape from the pasture and he of course said "It's fine!" and let the horses go. Uh, the horses didn't run into the field, they ran right out the gate and down my parents driveway into the road. Of course all the men and my mom started scrambling to go capture all the horses off the street. The told us to get the kids out of the driveway and into the back. This entire time, I am holding my dads camera waiting for the horses to run back into the field (per my dad's request). I turn and see the horses start running back down the driveway towards the pasture. Instead of running straight into the pasture, the turn right onto the grass and run into my moms backyard where all 9 little kids are playing. I got the sickest feeling to my stomach and just started screaming to the top of my lungs to my sisters and cousin, "Get the kids, the horses are coming!!" I start to run around the back of the house and grabbed Norah and threw her back towards the deck. Apparently she didn't make it there, but Amanda finished grabbing her. Immediately I had gone for Meika that was the last one on the grass sitting on a bike right by the horses feet. Luckily the horses stopped running at that point. It was extremely scaring and I'm glad that no one got hurt. Jojo and Adeline had been on the swing set and watched all the commotion go on and my cousin had thrown a couple kids in the bushes I think. Crazy. here is a picture of the horses running back INTO the field...
The Zoo
Dancing before bedtime to Great Grandma Dofi's piano playing
Swimming Lessons
Seeing Great Grandma Jeanne
And random pictures...
And a belly shot I had taken at 8 weeks. I was very noticeably pregnant 5 weeks later when I lost the baby. Just thought I should document...
We were luckily enough to catch a military plan from Salt Lake straight into Geilenkirchen. And the best part was that Abe was with us! I had so much fun in Utah and was still wishing I had a lot more time there. I felt like I was going to go into a deep depression coming back to Germany. I hate being so far away from family!
And of course this is what my kids looked/acted like the first couple days back to Germany with their sleep deprivation.
