Europe in a Nutshell

Kelly and I just returned from a 2 week vacation in Europe. The purpose of the trip was to celebrate Kelly being home from Afghanistan (yay!), but to also visit the cities Kelly served in during his mission, which was the Frankfurt, Germany mission. Kelly and I plan to post a little exerpt from our trip each day for the next couple of days. We flew into Munich at 9am and went straight to McDonald's to eat lunch. FYI, Germany does not have ice cream cones at McDonald's. Then, we headed for Dachau, the site of a concentration camp during WWII. I know what you are thinking, what a great way to begin the trip! I am a nerd for WWII history books, and Kelly kind of is too, so it was interesting for us to see.

The gate translates in English as "Work Makes Free." It was an ominous sign to read as we entered the camp. Wearing my red jacket, I felt like the little girl on Schindler's list.

This picture shows the enormity of the camp, as well as the drap buildings and grey, cold sky. I can only imaging how many cold days these people endured here.

Behind Kelly on both sides are the two remaining "barracks". Behind those are rows and rows of foundations for barracks that used to be there. Inside the barracks are rows and rows of bunk beds that they were crammed into.

On a lighter note; we travelled from Munich to Salzburg the next day. Salzburg: the home of The Sound of Music and Mozart. Here is one of the homes Mozart lived in. We watched Amadeus after touring his home.

This is me "dancing" in front of the statue where the kids and Maria danced during the "Do, re, mi" song. We looked for this forever, and then we realized we had walked past it twice already.



And this is some random cow advertising The Sound of Music in downtown Salzburg.

Coming Home!

This is Kelly receiving his awards for serving in Afghanistan: Operation Enduring Freedom. He said he gets about seven (?) medals. That is awesome! Good job Kelly! Welcome Home!

He received these medals while at Bagram AFB. He was there for 4 days before he flew to Manas, Kyrgyzstan. From there he flew to Turkey, Germany, and then Baltimore. He stayed the night in Baltimore last night. He flew out this morning to first Cinncinati and then Salt Lake City. He arrives at 16:09 or 4:09pm. I will get a gate pass so I can meet him right when he gets off the plane. We are so excited to be together again! It has been an interesting first year of marriage, but still very wonderful. Don't you just love the holster and the gun? So cool.

This is something I am proud of. I designed and decorated this bulletin board for my internship. I am now done with my internship, well just a few odds and ends to finish.

Thanks to mom who helped me haul all of mine and Kelly's belongings in our new apartment. We moved several boxes for three days, but then had the Elder's quorum move the furniture. Kelly's family helped us move out last July. Here we are returning the U-haul early in the morning and it was cold!


Lastly, this is a farewell sort of night out with my parents and sisters. I love Ruby Tuesday, and the company was great too. :) I loved being able to spend time with my family and Kelly's family while Kelly was away. Thanks everyone for being so supportive and good to us!

Some Catch Up

Kelly and I recently found out we will see each other again on March 17th! Yes, only one (ish) more month. We have now lived apart longer than we have lived together in our marriage (6 and 5 months). It is kind of funny/irritating, mostly the latter. However, we know it could be worse.

This weekend I went to CA with Kelly's mom to visit his brother and sister-in-law and cute nephew. I used to feel weird hanging out with Kelly's family without him there, but luckily I have great in-laws and feel very welcomed! This is one of the nice parts of the deployment, getting to know his family. Sorry, I didn't take any pics, but they did, so maybe I will post some later.

Here is a picture of Kelly, however. This is the little church he goes to in Afghanistan. We are grateful the church is there. Oh, I received a really kind letter from the office of the First Presidency. It surprised me completely. They thanked us for his service. It meant so much to me because I often wish there was more guidance for deployed families. Anyway, thank you to everyone who serves our country, or who has given someone for it.

More from Qatar!

Touring Dohu! It looks very Middle Eastern to me.

The city of Dohu.

Yes, there are even kitties in Qatar!

Qatar!

Kelly went to Qatar for his week long R n' R. He is still there, actually, and he is enjoying no work, McDonald's, free phone and internet, a bigger BX, touring the malls in Dohu, and hopefully going to see the sea.

This is a look inside a C-17 cargo plane. It's pretty no-frills, but was relatively empty, so we actually got to lay down on the floor and take a nap for a couple hours.

Here are some "trinkets" kelly bought at the mall in Dohu. One us a Koran holder, which is very Islamic.

He ran into his co-workers from utah, Michelle Sharpe and Scotty Andreasen. They were heading back to the states from Iraq. That will be Kelly in 2 months!

Thankful for News!

The internet is mine and Kelly's main source of communication during his deployment. We email each other daily, and Kelly can comment and post pictures on our family website. I can also send Kelly pictures via the internet. So, as you can imagine, we are on the computer a lot! Here are some recent happenings for Kelly in Afghanistan, and me in Las Cruces and Mesa.

Kelly said: I went to FOB Blessing in the Konar Province. I went there to have a short meeting with their intel guys, but was only on the ground for like 40 minutes before someone came and got me and told me I had to get on the flight out ASAP or be stuck there for the night due to poor weather. So, I didn't get any pictures there, but here are some from a place we refueled. Blessing was beautiful. It was on the hillside surrounded by huge mountains, terraces, and the viillage, but I didn't have time to take any pictures there. Here's one from the area though: http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/01/afghanistan_slideshow200801?slide=2

This is me at Asadabad, waiting to get back on the Helicopter. In the background is an AH-64 Apache.

I thought this was funny. We had to get off the helicopter to refuel, and I thought I heard a baby crying. It turned out to be goats on the hill nearby. This one somehow managed to get on base and ran right by the helo. Earlier that day in Jalalabad, I saw a dog running along the runway.


This is looking into the city of Asadabad


This is the helicopter we flew around in. When I first got to Jalalabad, I saw these things parked on the side of the runway and thought they were broken and no longer in use, but nope, they are the workhorse of the army.

The guy in back has the coolest job. He sits in the back of the helo, dangles his legs over the edge, and mans the machine gun.

From Cassi...

The Suns v. Heat game on Black Friday. You can see our seats aren't great. Although we were disappointed Nash was out, the game was still lots of fun.

Big Hakes picnic on Black Friday. My old gang, minus Tash and Leland, and Kelly of course.

We took Hailey shopping with us. She is soo cute.


Kalli and I at the Carrie Underwood concert in Las Cruces on Nov. 3rd. Kelly is the one who introduced me to her music.




Halloween in Las Cruces with Sarah Palin and a beautiful witch.