Going Home

Don't they look so cute? It was hard having to wake them up so early to catch our flight! After a lot of thought and prayer, Bruce and I decided to fly southwest to Philadelphia, then take a shuttle to Dover, AFB to get home.

Doesn't he look scary in the morning?

The flight to Philly went well. The hard part was having to track down the USO in the Philadelphia airport. We enjoyed some food, the boys enjoyed some TV and were offered some toys, which we politely declined due to space restrictions with our luggage! The people at the USO were so nice. We took the Dover Express to the AFB and were in the terminal for almost an hour before we found ourselves manifested on a flight home to Germany. If only it were that simple! We had checked our luggage to get on that flight, but before we boarded the plane, we were taken off the flight because it was a NATO plane. We got a hotel for the night and showed up at the terminal again at 1:30 the next afternoon.

The 12 hour wait was hard, but we managed to keep ourselves occupied.

We played lots of cards.

The boys made up their own games.

They got lots of laughs.

And of course, they wrestled.

And wrestled some more.

We loved the volunteers at the USO who were so helpful. We ate a lot of snacks and stored our food from Walmart in their fridge so we could survive! We finally started boarding our plane at 3:00am. The flight was cramped (lots of cargo) and cold (we bundled up!) but the kids slept the entire way! We landed in Spangdahlem (about 9:00 pm) and took a shuttle to Ramstein where the car was parked. We picked up 2 other soldiers and gave them a lift home, so we were packed in like sardines! We arrived at our house at 4:30 am. Bruce was determined not to lose another day of leave, so he slept for a few hours, then got up, took the other soldiers home, and went to work. We were all so happy to be home. The trip was great, but there is no place like home!

Family and Friends

Thanks to all our family and friends that we got to spend time with in Utah. We miss you a lot! Thanks for a great New Years party Joe! Thanks John and Tricia for opening up your home to us, thanks to the Greenbergs for a great dinner, thanks to Christy for some great conversation and great hugs. We are excited to come home soon.

Allen's Baptism

WOW! One moment, you are giving birth to your first child, and the next you are getting ready to have him baptized! Eight years has surely flown by quickly. The baptism would be held at the West Bountiful Stake Center. Bruce's sister Julia graciously let us use her home to hold a gathering for our family and friends after the baptism. Much thanks to Bruce's brother Joe for cleaning it!

Before heading up to Bountiful, we stopped in Rose Park to spend some time with the boys' great-grandparents. They would be unable to come up and join us for the baptism, and we wanted to share it with them. Glad to see you Grandma!

Bruce put together an amazingly great looking program and we enjoyed a lot of family participation. My sister Madeline played the piano, my sister Emilee said a prayer, Bruce' brother Joe said another prayer, all the cousins sang the Baptism song, and Allen's grandparents gave the talks on Baptism (Barnum Grandparents) and the Holy Ghost (Hoggan Grandparents). Unfortunately, Grandma Hoggan got really sick and was unable to join us. I was ready and prepared to cry, watching Allen take upon him Jesus' name, but instead, I just radiated with joy.

Afterward at the Ahlstrom Home we gathered for an ice cream buffet and many wonderful family and friends gave Allen gifts to celebrate with him. Bruce and I had a special present for Allen.

He looks excited to get it, doesn't he?

We bought him a quad and had his name engraved on it (thanks Mad!). "Elder Allen McKay Hoggan" to help him remember the direction he should be heading! Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us. We enjoyed being able to share this moment of our lives with you.

Temple Square

Christmas and Temple Square have become synonymous in my mind. Growing up, every year we would venture downtown and see the lights. One year we travelled down in a tour bus with my parent's home teacher. Another year we rode light rail downtown. Christmas is my favorite time of year because it seems to be much easier to enjoy the peace the Spirit brings to our hearts. I guess the lights on Temple Square help me to achieve this feeling.

Bruce worked hard to get this one!

Girls picture

Now its the boys turn!

Which one do you like better?

Hmm...I think Tom and Dad are deeply contemplating the answer to that question

Merry Christmas Madeline!

Ben rough housing in the visitors center with Allen and Jacob. Oops! Are we supposed to be reverent?

View of the Salt Lake Temple from the visitors center

Holy Family in the reflecting pool

Reflection of the temple in the reflecting pool

Lincoln was a trooper riding in the backpack without complaint

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Day

Waking up Christmas morning in Salt Lake was so exciting! We had been through so much to get there and I had said many prayers that we could be in the company of family instead of an airport on Christmas Day. This was the best Christmas present I could have ever received.

Bruce and I cuddled on the arm chair upstairs and surveyed the scene before us. Our boys were delighted that Santa Claus had found them. They enjoyed playing with the toys from Santa as well as the toys they had purchased to give to each other. This Christmas seemed more magical than all other Christmas's I have had. It wasn't because of presents that I received or the boys received, it was the gift of self we gave to Grandma and Grandpa. I felt such a peace and contentment inside as I counted all the blessings with which God has given to me and my family.

Sarah McEntire, Ben Merrell

We always had 2 Christmas trees growing up. The real one was upstairs and the fake one in the living room. After the upstairs Christmas, we have a larger family Christmas with everyone. All the grand kids come over to Grandma and Grandpa's house and we enjoy breakfast casserole and open presents. Fun memories!

My nephew Caleb enjoying the wonders of a camera

Grandpa and Isabeau Merrell

Grandma and Grandpa gave all the grand kids pajamas and a box of their favorite cereal. We headed on up to the Hoggan Grandparents and enjoyed the rest of the Christmas Day with the Hoggan/Campbell clan. Unfortunately, we forgot our camera, so we can't prove it! The older I get the more I appreciate moments in life like Christmas Day when we gather together to celebrate Christ and celebrate that families can be together forever. My heart still remains full.

Adventures of Space A Travel

Call us nuts, but we wanted to head to the states for Christmas time. Bruce needed to make some business plans for life after the army and we also thought it would be a good time to have Allen baptized so that family could celebrate with us. So, guess what I did for my birthday? I packed and cleaned and got the family ready to leave for our trip. I had the guts to fix my favorite meal for dinner: stir fry. All I got were frowns and complaints from the kids. I gave them an earful about how I deserved it since it was my birthday and I hadn't done anything for myself all day. Dinner didn't go over very well. Bruce and I put the kids to bed and loaded the car with the determination to wake up at 3am to start our 4 hour drive to Ramstein. The drive took longer because of poor weather, but we made it safely. The flight that we were trying to get on got cancelled, so we waited around the terminal while the kids played on the indoor playground. We anxiously kept tabs on what stateside flights were going out and what number we were on the list of passengers to see if there was even a remote chance of leaving anytime soon. Then our focus became waiting around to see how many people would leave so we could be higher on the list. There didn't seem to be much hope, until a flight popped up to Wright-Patterson Airforce Base in Ohio. In a matter of 5 minutes I did some quick research, we checked our luggage in, parked the car, and were the last passengers manifested on the flight to Ohio. We landed on the 23rd of December at 11:00pm. We had the hope of making it to Utah by Christmas Eve! At lodging I found the cheapest tickets I could to get us to Salt Lake. We found a taxi ride to the Indianapolis International Airport (2 hours away).

We crashed for the night in base lodging. We put Allen on the twin pull out bed, used the cushions of the couch to put Gideon on the floor under the table, and squeezed a portable crib in for Lincoln. Luckily for Bruce and I, we had our own separate room to sleep in.

The next morning we took our 2 hour car ride with a nice man that worked at the hotel front desk that agreed to take us to the airport. He gave each of the boys $1 after we got out of the car. We checked our luggage and went to scout out the food options at the airport. As soon as the boys saw the golden arches, they knew what they wanted! Bruce and I relented on the condition that this was the only McDonald's trip while we were in the states. Bruce and I passed on the McDonald's and enjoyed Chipotle instead.

We had some time to kill, so Allen took up playing cards with this fine gentleman above, while Lincoln and Gideon zoomed cars around on the floor. The flight went well considering that everyone was so exhausted! Flying into DIA was like coming home for me. I was excited to be on familiar territory.

As luck would have it, Lincoln fell asleep during the last part of the flight, so I carried him through the airport until we found our next gate.

Gideon sat down in his exhaustion and didn't move a muscle for a very long time afterward.

Our layover in Denver ended up longer than planned because our plane was delayed due to snow in Texas. At long last we were on our way to Salt Lake. Emilee arranged our covert operation of getting from the airport to my parents' home. We slipped passed the windows and crept inside. Emilee ordered mom and dad to turn around and close their eyes, then Allen and Gideon tackled them from behind. We got them good! They had no idea that we would be in the states for Christmas. This was the best Christmas surprise ever!