London

Our view from the top of the Double Decker Bus we were riding in.

On the way to Turkey we had a stopover and spent one night at the Lakenheath, England Royal Air Force Base for rest.
While there, Scott Waddell and I had some time to spend with our good friends the Hatch’s. The Hatch’s lived in our Ward in Layton before taking an assignment overseas in England for a few years. It was great to spend time with them.

At Lunch with Kim, Sean, Scott, and the girls.


Wow,
The Hatch’s little girls have grown up.

Military buddies on the subway.

We went to Lunch together at a local “Pub”. Everything is a pub if you want to eat out. They are everywhere in England. When we finished Sean threw us the keys to his car and said go ahead and take it and see London. We knew we would not have the chance again so I jumped in the passenger seat (behind the wheel) and proceeded to head out to the Penning Station driving on the left side of the road through some small towns and then out onto the Autobahn. (1 ½ hour drive). What a rush. I kept thinking I was going the wrong way but we were able to manage.
We caught the Subway and were in London 30 minutes later. We visited great Tourist attractions Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, St. Pauls Cathedral, Parliament, and the Eye of London.

The Eye of London. Too bad we did not have time to go for a ride on it.

Check out the London Phone Booths. I was looking over my shoulder for Harry Potter.

Every time I have these adventures I wish Linda was there with me to enjoy them. I know we will do many of these things in our future together.
We made it back late that night and only got about 4 hours of sleep before needing to jump back on the plane for the second leg of the trip. Being the Troop Commander I was happy that all of the personnel showed up the next morning and we did not have any problems (always a concern)

The New House

I can't believe it is finally happening. They are off and running. They broke ground last week and have already poured the footings. It gets more and more exciting as they continue to build it. The kids are thrilled. Here are some pics.

Hello From Turkey

We went to a local elementary school today.

On the way there we played Soccer at a dirt and gravel yard with some of the older students who get out of school earlier. It was very fun and was the most enjoyable day since I have been here. We didn’t have the most talented group of athletes with us and ended up getting destroyed by kids that must have been between 11-14 years old. The local newspaper came and took pictures of us. We also passed out some toys and I had 15-20 kids trying to rip pens and small plastic planes out of my hand.
After we finished we went to the school.
It is a three story building with 400 students and only 8 classrooms. Our unit has been donating money to have a restroom built because of the terrible conditions of the one in the school. The restroom smells terrible and the walls are deteriorating because of the leaking pipes in the wall and little to no janitorial work. The new restroom is being built and it will improve the conditions immensely. The school runs on only $2,000 dollars for an entire year other than salaries. School teachers make $5,000/year and they typically put back into the school $500 of their own money.
Team teachers but not as nice and friendly as Mrs. Horsley and Mrs. Price.

The day I was there they had team teachers who were at recess with over 50 students.
The school was missing B-ball nets, Volleyball nets, soccer nets, etc.

There are only two Air Conditioners in the entire school for summer cooling and they are located in the Principal’s office and the Teachers Lounge.
They have wood burning stoves in the classrooms and are only allowed 4 pieces a day to burn through the wintertime. Many children receive minor burns if they are not careful as the classroom can be crowded with so many children in a small space.
I thought this was the cutest girl in the whole school.
The Turkish people burn their garbage any place and any time.

Poverty conditions are prevalent and there is corruption in the local government and School Administration. We could not take anything off base in boxes to the school for fear of it being confiscated so we each loaded up our individual backpacks with toys and anything else we wanted to bring ourselves.

I brought some lifesavers and it turned into a small riot when I handed them out. The children were so happy to receive a little treat. Some of them pulled out their workbooks and showed me how they are practicing English.

They were so happy despite their poverty.
Being part of the freedoms and privileges that our country receives is something I am very proud of. I miss all of you and hope all is well in your homes.

With all my best wishes for you and your families,
Grant

Can't Sleep, can't eat!

I hate moving. It is very stressful for me. It is especially stressful when Grant is serving in Turkey and I am having to do it myself. It is never fun and I get all whacked out. I don't eat or sleep. I end up worrying about everything. I just can't wait for it to end. Sitting on the floor and eating on paper plates is never fun. And I hate packing every night. I would rather watch American Idol or Dancing with the stars. I really thought I didn't have that much, but boy was I wrong. I took truck loads to the DI (Great write offs for taxes!). I just keep telling myself that it will all be worth it in the end. The kids have been great helping me and actually they have been happy about moving. It sure helps. We had so many people help us. I had lots of willing men show up to help me through this tough time. They were so sweet. The piano was a bear and I couldn't have done it without them. I had family members show up to help clean and move. What a blessing. Here are some pictures of the craziness in process. I will miss this home. We have had many good memories here. Of course I cried when we left after we said our goodbyes to our friends and neighbors. I will miss them all.

.

This is what Breanna thinks about moving.

The kids thought sleeping on the floor wasn't so bad.

Here are the brave men who helped. David was so sweet to pick up the moving van for me and drive it the whole day.

My cleaning crew included Beth, Cherie, Johan, and the twins.

Here we are taking a break after moving for a few hours. Notice Austin trying to be in the picture. Every time I tried to take a picture he was running in front of the camera. Crazy kid!

Last few shots of our empty house.

We put our hand prints in the cement when we first moved in. We thought we should capture that memory. You can see Bre's hand next to her 5 year old hand and the twins 3 year old hands. Wow! How time flies.

Ahhh...cute Peekaboo looking out the window at her post for the last time.

We are moving!

Hopefully if all goes well..... we will close on our home the 27th of March. We will be moving to Bountiful and building a new home. We have been in this home for 10 1/2 years and we have loved every minute of it. We have made life long friends and we have had so many good memories. Thank you .....to all those who have made us better people just by knowing you. You are now a permanent part of our lives. We have memories and friendships that we will never forget. It is a bitter sweet time in our lives, but we are ready to begin a new chapter with exciting new adventures. With Grant active duty in Turkey until May it is a little overwhelming for us to move on our own, but I think we are up to the challenge. Wish us luck!

Squadron Officer School

I have recently gone to Military School with many Captains as it is a qualifier to reach the rank of Major. It was a great leadership course and I now have many new friends. Being away from home is always hard. Here are a few pics of how things went. One of my responsibilities was to oversee the Blood drive for our flight (class). We had 100% attendance for those that qualified to give blood and I needed to lead by example. Here I am pumping it out. Turns out I had the fastest time giving blood by 3 seconds on everyone else donating.

Our Flight won the Championship game of what is called Flickerball (Combination of Basketball and Football on a grass field, with some crazy rules that foster effective teamwork in battle). The team we played the week before the championship is trying as hard as they can to use intimidation against us. The great thing about our team is that we always were able to play relaxed and stay happy despite the pressure. I think that is why we won. BEST FLIGHT OUT OF 30. GO BULLS.

Here we are. GRADUATION DAY. We developed great friendships for the short time we were together. 5 weeks.

FLICK CHAMPS ONCE AND FOR ALL

We had some practical experience in the field with Paintball. This is the first time I had ever played but it was a success as I had 2 kills out of the 5 and we as a flight were succesful on both of our missions. This is a blast and I plan on taking Linda sometime.

Suiting up for "Project X". This was some problem solving (crossing rivers with injured, climbing walls without talking, solving puzzles within a time limit, etc.) This was a great challenge and was very rewarding.

Here we are playing war games. Very Entertaining.

I love being a wedding coordinator!

My new career in wedding coordinating is really taking off. I currently have 25 brides and I love every minute of it. I plan everything that is associated with the wedding including cake, food, flowers, linens, decorations, ice sculptures, invitations, officiators, isle pieces, center pieces, the lay out of the room, limos, rehearsal, etc. It is so fun to help plan one of the biggest days of their lives. I love it because everyone is so happy and excited. I love to see the couple's love dor each other and the excitement they have to start their new life together. It is very contagious. I actually get attached to some of these couples and I always hate to say goodbye. This couple's wedding was one of my favorite ones. It was beautiful from the ice sculpture to the flowers. I love this cake!

Bre works with me as a server. We have a lot of fun watching people.

The crew hanging out in the kitchen.

Bre and Jana trying out the food.

Bre at work! Who wouldn't want punch from her?

We even have fun when we clean up!