Grandpa Johnson helped us start our trip early in the morning. We woke up about 5:30 and headed to March AFB to try and get the flight out to Travis AFB. Space A can be a little rocky so I geared up the good attitude and we were set to go. Thanks for helping me load all the bags through security Dad. I sure love you!!!
We were thrilled that we made the first flight. We took a C-17 and the boys LOVED it.
There was a lot of room and really cool chairs that pulled down from the sides of the plane. All the kids were tired and slept most of the flight. This made it my easiest flight of the trip. lol.
I was thankful for the pillow pets. It made it so much more comfortable for the little guys to sleep. I enjoyed the sleeping kids and should have got some rest, but was way too keyed up to sleep. I enjoyed reading though and a break from the talking. :)
We arrived at Travis AFB about 10:00 a.m. and headed straight to the family room while Mommy retrieved all the baggage. We packed 4 large suitcases, 2 carry on bags, 2 backpacks, 4 pillow pets, 1 purse, and a sleeping bag. It was a lot of baggage to handle by myself and next time I will be packing a LOT lighter.
We met friends that had been here for over a week and had just been living in the terminal. Yikes. Not a good feeling to know you are heading to the same place!
I liked this picture above. It shows you how far we actually had to travel. We live on one of those tiny dots right below Mainland Japan. Talk about heading clear across the globe.
This little girl was so adorable with the twins. She really fell in love with them and they played really well together! I felt bad. She was from another family that had been at Travis for 6 days trying to head home to Hawaii.
We called to book the hotel on base, but it was completely booked so we nestled in for a long day at the terminal. We were hoping to catch one of two flights going out later that day. One was headed to Alaska and the other headed to Hawaii. The Alaska flight was suppose to have a roll call of 4:00 p.m., but the plane was having issues and the roll call kept getting pushed back. It went from 4:00 to 8:00 and then 10:00. At 10:00 we were informed that the plane was now fixed and that the final roll call would be at 2:00 a.m.
We built lots of towers, watched cartoons off the hard drive Jeremy loaded for me, and ran around outside. For lunch, we ate at the little cafe they had in the terminal and it was decent. For dinner, the kids wanted pizza which was great because they delivered. They also had a great ice cream vending machine and we all enjoyed a nice frozen treat after a long day in the airport. I put the kids bed at about 9:00 p.m. and they went out right away. They truly are great kids!
I read and waited up for the roll call and was THRILLED when my name got called. There were 7 seats left when they called my name which left only two after I collected my stuff. I left the sleeping kids with a great guy I had met earlier in the day and waited in line to check all the baggage. We got on the plane at 5:00 a.m. and I was so ready for some sleep. The kids did a great job and slept most of the night until I woke them up to head to the plane.
Carter had a small black eye from a block fight gone bad. Those are really not the greatest toys for a kids room.
Here is Hunter showing off his earplugs.
I had mixed feelings. We were on the flight to Alaska and I was hoping to have a small layover to see my brother and sister, but a little nervous to be headed home on a C-5 again. We got stuck on the way over because C-5's suck!
When we arrived at Elmendorf AFB we were informed that we would be having a 17 hour layover due to some maintenance issues with the plane. Surprise surprise, BUT I was so excited and quickly called my brother and sister to see if they were able to come and pick us up sometime for a visit. Justin called me right back and said he was on his way. YAY!!
I talked to the airman at the terminal to make sure that Justin would be able to drive on the base to pick us up which he assured me over and over it wouldn't be a problem. Fast forward to about an hour later- Justin calls me and says that he is at the front gate, but they won't let him in without me signing him in. Grr... I called the shuttle and they told me they were 30 minutes out so then I called 4 taxi's and none of them were available to pick us up. Hmm, what to do? What to do? I fluffed up my messy hair and walked over to the tall airman leaving for the day and asked if he was on his way home. He said he was and I smiled and asked if he could give me a ride. He smiled a little too big and said YES! I then went over to the family room and told the boys we had a ride. lol. I think he may have been a little disappointed! :) It was a pretty large base so we had about 15 mintes to get to know each other and he seemed like a great guy who enjoyed Alaskan fishing and bars. :) When he dropped us off I gave him a hug and $20 which he didn't want to take, but I insisted!
Seeing Justin almost brought tears to my eyes. It has been way too long since I have seen him and was stoked to be able to see where they live and spend the day with the three of them.
On the way to Girdwood we made a small pit stop at the Temple. It was so beautiful!
We then met up with Jenny and Aaron at Whale lookout. I love those guys. It was fun to get to spend some time with Aaron whom I don't know well, but he is absolutely GREAT and I'm so glad that he is in the family. The twins fell in love with him and wouldn't leave him alone. lol. I am so glad you found such a great guy to add to the family Jenny.
I cannot even tell you how beautiful it was here. Everything so was green with a bright blue sky and the Ocean was gorgeous. I can see why people would want to live there.
We went back to their apartment and it was so fun to see it in person. I have only seen it via skype. ;)
The little boys played a couple video games with Justin and I even got to try out the gaming CHAIR. They are hardcore. It was a chair meant for spending hours playing games. :)
After seeing the apartment we were able to have the best tour guides show us around Girdwood. First stop, Aleska spa. That is where Jenny and Justin work and it was absolutely gorgeous. I wouldn't mind spending a couple days playing there. Although, it is a little out of my price range. They also took us right behind the resort to play in the snow! Crazy!!! Snow in July?
We did what any family would do and quickly started a snowball fight. I hate to say it, but I think I lost. Carter had a great shot right to my face which hit my cheek and promptly dropped right down my bra. Double Whammy! Nice shot buddy! :) My little boys took it very serious and Justin and Aaron were AWESOME sports to play with them. They also taught them how to ski with your shoes. Talented boys!
They have this cool tram that goes all the way up the mountain to a very fun restaurant. Wish we had more time.
After the resort we got to see where they go to church and had some super yummy pizza.
We then headed on a beautiful hike to an even more gorgeous waterfall. I sneakily partnered the twins with Jenny and Justin and the big boys with Aaron and I just enjoyed the hike. :) See how I did that? It was pure genius on my part.
I did get a little nervous with the kids around the waterfall. I was sure I was going to have to jump in this snow runoff to save a child. Thankfully, no one got wet!
Again, the pictures don't even do it justice. It was so pretty. The hike reminded me of Avatar with all the cool plants. I was just waiting for them to turn colors when touched. :)
After the hike it was about 9:00 p.m. and time to head back to the airport. It was truly wild that it was so bright outside. This picture of all the boys asleep was taken about 10:00 p.m. Who says you can't sleep when it's light outside? I think that Jenny, Justin, and Aaron wore my boys out. :) Thanks guys!
Thank you so much Justin for coming to pick us up. I LOVED every minute we got to spend with the three of you and LOVE where you live. I wish we had had a couple days to really enjoy the beauty and wilderness with you guys. I sure love all of you and was so thrilled to be able to see you.
After arriving back at the airport we waited for our 3:00 a.m. roll call. I set up the sleeping bag on the floor and crawled in with my four little guys to sleep for a few hours.
At 3:00 a.m. I woke up the little guys and we packed everything up. We then headed through the security gates and waited for the bus to come and pick us up. After getting on the bus and heading to the flight line. We arrived at the plane only to be informed that the plane was not fixed? GRR!!
The next day we were sort of on call for lack of a better term. We were grounded to the airport waiting to find out the status of the plane. They did keep moving the roll call time back which allowed us time to take the kids to the park. It was much needed after being in the terminal for another day. I felt like the hardest thing about being stuck here was the fact that they had no rental cars and the only food options at the airport was three small vending machines. Yum!! :( I gave in and ordered Chinese the second day. You can only live on chips, candy bars, and soda for so long. My kids begged to differ and loved the vending machines. lol.
One thing I LOVE about Space A is that being stuck with the same people for so many hours you truly learn to love these people. I have a soft spot in my heart for so many of them that helped me watch the boys. They helped me carry pillow pets and sleeping babies from buses to planes and back again! I will never forget the kindness that was show to me and my family and vow to try to make someone's life easier in any possible way I can in the future!
After the park my boys were filthy! Just look at those cute dirty faces in the photo below for proof! :) It's the one with the big bear. They did have one shower in both restrooms. The girls shower was broken and had NO hot water at all. I had washed my hair the night before and literally got a headache because it was so cold on my scalp. I opted to give all my kids a shower in the guys bathroom.
I went from room to room warning the boys that I was headed into their bathroom to give the kids a shower and so to NOT unbutton and drop their drawers before giving me time to step out of the restroom. I got the message across to everyone.... or so I thought! One poor guy comes in and is in the process of unbuttoning when he sees me. He looks from me... to the door... to the urinals all while blushing like crazy! I inform him he is indeed in the right restroom and that I would be happy to give him a few minutes. I went outside to see Tyron laughing his head off. So much for him keeping watch! I blame him completely. lol. He totally set that poor guy up!
I got all the boys cleaned up and set up the bed on the floor again. They all curled up together and fell fast asleep. I looked over to Tyron and Space A DAD and said, "It takes a village to raise these guys so village up I'm heading to the shower." They just smiled and said they would be happy to keep an eye on them and to take my time.... which I did. I even pulled out the blow dryer and curled my hair. It was nice to feel human for a few minutes. I felt as though I had been in robot mode for days at this point. :)
I walked out of the bathroom and headed back into the terminal to which Tyron started whistling. I believe the words that came out of his mouth were, "Holy crap, you're freaking hot! We thought Space A had beaten you down, but dang girl.... welcome back!"lol. I have never laughed so hard in my life. This just goes to show you the lack of time and effort I had put into my appearance earlier in the day! :)
Anyway, we all went outside and I took pictures of everyone at midnight with the sun still setting. It was so wild! Then, went back inside and hit the floor for another couple hours of sleep before roll call at 4:00 a.m.
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| Hunter with "Space A Dad" on the bus. |
Another person I cannot forget to tell you about- I met the NICEST guy at Travis AFB. He was headed back to Kadena and took it upon himself to help me with the kids and the bags wherever he could. He quickly adopted the name Space A DAD... which is what everyone called him. He walked 2 miles to Burger King one of the days in Alaska to pick up happy meals for the kids. I can say I would have melted down without him there by my side. I hope that someday he is re-payed for all the help he gave me and my family.
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| See? Wow those are filthy faces. Ryker was crying because he wanted a picture. |
BELOW was our bed for the second night in a row. They were planning on shutting down the terminal. It is not normally opened 24 hours and I was so stressed. I had planned on renting a car and sleeping with the kids outside in it. I also joked around with the Airman from the first day saying, "Hey can you give us a ride to your dorm for the night." He actually did offer saying we were welcome to stay there. This just goes to show what a stand up guy he truly was. Thanks for the offer Kevin, but I think Rhett would prefer me sleeping in the car than at your dorm room! :)
Roll call 4:00 a.m. got on the plane right around 6:00 a.m. I vaguely remember them handing out our sack lunches and Space A Dad carrying both twins up the steep steps to the seats before crashing to sleep. I was woken up a few minutes later by a pilot. I looked around and everyone was off the plane except the boys and I and Space A Dad who was carrying Taylor down the aisle. The pilot informed me that the plane was broken and wouldn't be going anywhere and that we needed to head back down to the bus. I started to panic and I saw all my kids dead asleep, but three pilots were heading towards me and each one of them picked up a sleeping kid and packed him down to the bus. I truly appreciate this and words cannot even express the gratitude I had towards them and Space A Dad.
Anyway, so the plane breaks and we head back to the terminal again. We waited for about 6 hours while they worked on the plane and they were able to get it all fixed up and ready to head out. You may ask if I was worried to get on a plane that has had so many issues? The answer would be HELL NO. I would have chose to go down with the plane rather than spending another second in the Elmendorf terminal! lol.
It was about a 9 hour flight to Osan, Korea. We had plenty of time for naps, snacking, watching movies, playing on the iphones, and lastly playing with the pilot.
We were on the first row so he got to see our faces a lot. He helped me watch them while I used the restroom and even let them wear his speakers and listen to the other pilots! He was a really nice guy with a couple kids of his own. I'm sure he was thrilled to be flying again. He was missing his little guys.
When we got to Osan Korea we had a 5 hour layover. We weren't able to leave the terminal without filling out all the immigration papers so we opted to stay in the terminal. We bought a few snacks out of the vending machine and played tag. :) I bet the Airman really enjoyed this. lol.
We then all took a nap and got ready for the next leg of the trip. I can't even tell you what time it was at this point or even the day to be honest.
The plane didn't break. YAY!!! So after 5 short hours we headed back onto the plane for the 2 hour flight home. I have never been so excited to see our beautiful island. Welcome Home Olsen Family!
All I can say was WHAT A TRIP! It was super crazy and I would do it all over again tomorrow! :)
Ryker saying goodbye to Space A Dad, whom on the last flight I finally said, "You know what I don't even know what your real name is." He smiled and said, "My name is Jesus." It almost brought tears to my eyes how appropriate it was. lol He truly was my saving grace on this crazy adventure home. Thank you a million times Jesus. Words can't express my gratitude towards you!
