The Pratt Family: California

Warning: This story is really long! I hadn't been back to the U.S. since we moved to Germany 3 years ago, so we decided to take a trip there this summer. Since tickets are so expensive for a family of 5, we decided to have Allen take a month of leave and travel Space-A on military planes. We packed all of our stuff and started calling the numbers for flight information a couple of days before we decided to leave and were amazed how many flights were cancelled and postponed. We went to the base here to get on a flight on July 3rd, but it was loaded full of cargo and took no passengers. We kept calling and basically heard that very few passengers had gotten out since the end of June, and we would be put behind all of those passengers since our leave didn't start until July. I woke up early on Sunday, July 4th to shower and get ready for the drive to a neighboring base and an early flight, only to find out that 2 flights for that morning were cancelled. We were able to go to church on the 4th and then, the evening flight was also cancelled, so we celebrated the 4th with our friends the Roach Family and Trek with games and snacks and fireworks at the base. On Monday we drove to the neighboring base to try to get on 3 different flights, but only 17 people got out that day. We tried again to get out from our base on Tuesday, and we got tickets, went through security and were sitting in a bus on flight line, when we saw them take our luggage off the plane and then heard them say on the radio "terminate passengers." There was a group of army rangers coming back from deployment, and one of the guys was a pretty arrogant red-faced, bald-headed warrant officer that said things like, "It's our bird. It's our gear," and when one lady asked where they were coming from, he said, "I can't tell you." So the rumor that we heard is that the warrant officer told the pilots to tell the terminal there was a "weight issue" so that he wouldn't have to fly with a bunch of families. Of course there really wasn't a weight issue, but we saw the plane fly away without us. Later that night we came back to the terminal to try to get on a flight to Dover, and HOORAY, we got on the flight. We flew on a C5 with some "soldiers" as Brayden called them and their K-9 unit. The C5's are huge, and the passengers sit, on the top deck, facing backward. The seats are like normal passenger seats, except there's no overhead bins, more leg room, the seats are wider and they recline more. We slept all the way to Dover, and just after we touched down, they told us that one of the engines was on fire, leave all personal items, and prepared for an emergency evacuation. They inflated the emergency slides (which are pretty steep on a C5) and we got to slide down. Wa-Hoo! They told Allen to go first to catch the kids, so he went down alone, and then I sent each of the kids individually and then followed them. The kids did great, and Allen and I thought it was awesome that we got to go down the slide. It's too bad I followed directions and left my camera on the plane! We landed at about 5am and had a long wait to get our stuff with the necessary inspection of the plane (they determined there was no engine fire, it was just a light that came on). Dover had a great USO with a room for the kids to play in, video games, pool table, t.v.'s, computer room, snacks, etc. Amazingly, we were able to get on a flight to Travis that night (a C5 also). Although, we were little worried when we sat on the bus next to the plane for 30 minutes while they couldn't get our luggage pallet unstuck and the mobile staircase wouldn't work (and all of the kids fell asleep). We climbed up a ladder through the cargo hold, and I had to do it with a sleeping Spencer, his backpack and mine, and all of our fleece sleeping bags since Allen was ahead of me with Brayden. A guy on the plane said, "Ma'am, can you do that by yourself?" It's wasn't like he was offering to help, so I had to. We landed at around midnight, got a room for 1/2 a nights sleep, and then rented a car and drove to Merced. Hooray for going home!

Kayla playing in the USO kids room in Dover.

We went to the zoo with my dad, his wife Mary, and her granddaughter, Giselle.

It was a crazy hot day (~100), but the animals were surprisingly active. (Probably, hot and bothered.)

When we left the zoo, we saw this possom with babies in the park.

We went over to kiddie rides at the park next door, and Brayden loved the train.

My mom, my sister, Jen, and her twins, Cole and Anja, rode the train with Brayden

This picture is out of order, but I don't know how to move it. We went to the lake near my house (about 3 miles away) and met my uncle there and were able to ride his wave runner.

Spencer slept the first time through the zoo, so after he woke up, he went through with my mom and sister.

Mary, my dad and me.

Thanks for taking us out on the lake Uncle Steve! Our kids didn't like to go very fast, and when we took them on the tube, we told them the signals like thumbs up for faster, etc. and we probably shouldn't have because we had to go faster and slower and faster and stop and faster and slower and slower and faster, etc.

Our kids loved the beach at Lake Yosemite. They had a great time building a "water kingdom."

Spencer's sandy, sticking up hair.

My mom, floating in her fabulous pool.

We had such a great time swimming at my mom's house. We love her pool! There's a slide, diving board (although barely functional), hot tub on the side, lots of steps and benches along one side, and lots of toys for the kids.