Grace upon Grace...

Christmas time with a baby, again, is as magical as it was 10 years ago; and at the rate we're going, will be so again in another 10 years.

Abigail Grace VanDongen was baptized on 12/15/2013. Our parish pastor, Father Rene, performed the baptism. We are thrilled that Abigail is now free of original sin and can live up to her name sake. God's Grace in our family doesn't sleep at night, feeds continually, and is full of love and poop.

The baptism was inspirational. And it happened even with Abigail's God Mother, Alex, not knowing what to say during the ceremony...good thing God understands "UMMM.....DAD HELP ME!"

Family and friends attended the baptism and the celebration at our house afterwards. Dad's brother and Pierce attended; Abigail's play buddy, William Skorut, and his family were there; our favorite aunt, Sharon with Sam and Jo; our good friends Sam and Ally; our friend Meg Morin and Cooper; and grandmas and grandpas of all varieties. Dad's good friends from the police department, Jim Spangenberg and Justin Hudson, and their families also attended...at risk of peril from entering the chapel.

Abigail's baptism was exciting. However, it was not the only exciting event of the weekend. Alex had her formal Army signing at the University of Utah on Friday 12/14/2013. Alex was sworn in. The ceremony was small, heart warming, and patriotic; young, great Americans eager to help shape the future of our great country. During the quietest, most special moment of the ceremony, Abigail decided to utter her first words ever, as loud and clear as a summer day, "UH OH!"...classic moment.

Of course no December is complete without a visit to Santa's workshop. We tried to mail Abigail to the North Pole with the Christmas letters; she wouldn't fit in the mailbox...but it sure was cute trying. Then Santa told Sam that he'd get what he wanted for Christmas...SNOW!

We have so much to be thankful for this Christmas season. Any family and friends that find these words...Merry Christmas and God Bless from our family to yours. We love you all.

Charmed

October and November 2012 have been months filled with Abi charm. Her personality is starting to blossom through continuous smiles. Although, as she ages, the sour fruit of that blossom is her ability to beacon the International Space Station with one singular scream; the 100 per day diaper changes are pretty sour too.

October ended, as it always does, with the traditional Vandongen Halloween celebration; Grandpa Max and Grandma Becky at our house eating one of Cristal's culinary masterpieces while Sam and his friend James break land speed records in the neighborhood collecting loot.

Abigail's Grandma Paulette and Grandpa Dave are Halloween junkies. They turn their house into a nightmare on Elm Street. Prior to the trick or treat event, we did our pilgrimage to their house for loot and frights.

Alex visited and celebrated with us too, sporting a super hero costume. Mom was a witch. Abigail was a pumpkin. I had a particularly good zombie costume. I participated in the Police Department's 'Trick or Treat' celebration at the police station. We commissioned a professional 'spook alley guy' to design a spook alley; and he was gifted with a make-up air brush. I was not a baby kisser that day. Sam is missing from the Halloween photo because the treasure that was awaiting him in the neighborhood was too tempting.

 

November was an exciting month because of the presidential election and others. It was also a great opportunity to teach my kids how not to behave; '...see those two guys, one of which will be president, don't act like that...' Thank you Republicans and Democrats for providing parenting opportunities...and nothing else.

It was Alex's first vote; she didn't write in her father as president. Abigail was absolutely dismayed that her father was not the write-in president elect.

We attended a harvest celebration with Travis, Niki, and baby Pierce at Pierce's school. We saw the fruits of Niki's labors as a board of directors member for her church and school. Pierce loved spending time with his cousins.

It's no secret we're a soccer family. Evidenced by Abigail's first toy, a soccer ball signed by members of the 2012 Gold Medal winning U.S. Women's Soccer Team. Along with that fanship, comes the annual investment in RSL soccer tickets. Unfortunately, that's also accompanied by the annual disappointments during playoff season. Abigail's first professional soccer game was likely the last RSL playoff game for many years to come; the boneheads broke up the core of the team after the loss. Of course, we'll continue the masochistic season ticket madness...we're fans!

The first significant 2012 Utah snow storm hit in early November. It deposited almost 18 inches in our yard. But, in true Utah fashion, the weather warmed to 60 degrees the next week and the snow base ended up in the Great Salt Lake. The ski resorts have been struggling since. With that said, as I write this, the snow is flying outside and indicators are we're in for a white Christmas.

To our delight, Abigail loved the snow. She helped Sam and I dig our house out. Then Sam showed her how Catholics make snow angels...arms and legs full of love, sprinkled with a tad of guilt.

As the Christmas season rolls along, our family thanks God for the many blessings of life. In our lives, our children are the manifestations of those blessings.

Current events demonstrate how precious, and at times, how short life is. It reminds me and my family to always show love; and never miss an opportunity to tell someone you love them.

Army ROTC Fall FTX

Abigail's first Halloween was definitely an event to remember. While Sam prepared for halloween with wind sprints and push-ups I found my self preparing for Halloween up at Camp Williams with my fellow University of Utah Army ROTC cadets.

The weekend began with an early morning bus ride from the University of Utah to Camp Williams. The bus ride was full of cadets, gear, and excitement for the weekend ahead. It was not long into the bus ride that we realized just how cold the weekend would be. As we headed off the bus we unloaded gear onto a frosty, frozen ground. Steamy breathe could be seen as orders were given to put on cold weather gear. From there we began with some basic first aid classes. We were taught how to apply bandages and tourniquets and different carries for moving injured soldiers.

Battle Buddy Carries

After our First Aid training we were directed over the M-16 range. We were given a safety brief of what was expected of us while on the range. After that the less experienced shooters were paired up with more experienced ones to help them while they were shooting. We then filed through the ammunition line in our battle buddy teams and were given our ammunition before we walked onto the range. Once on the range we had to walk really fast everywhere we went; in the Army its called  "Range Walking." We shot out of concrete "Fox Holes" while our battle buddy laid on the ground next to us. I was the first on the ground, feeding my partner her ammunition. The firing was delayed after the first round due to the gun getting jammed. Putting the magazine in backwoods will indeed jam the gun. Once we got the gun working again we proceeded to shoot. Once she was done we switched positions and I jumped in the fox hole. Once I got in the fox hole they handed me a helmet. Unfortunately the standard issued helmets don't fit extra small heads. Shooting an M-16 out of a fox hole with a helmet that won't stay on my head is definitely a memory I will never forget.

Once we left the range we took off our wet weather gear and loaded up our ruck sacks. The ruck march was approximately 3 miles. About 2 miles into the ruck march Staff Sgt. Jepsen noticed that the back of my combat boots were slowly turning red. Against my will he pulled me out of the ruck march and drove me to the medic tent. At the medic tent I sat down and took off my boots. Turns out the boots had carved away a good portion of the back of my heel, and yes the red seeping through was indeed blood. 

The medics spent about 20 minutes clearing all the blood and skin away so that they could see how deep the blisters actually were. Then they added some mole skin and a piece of gauze and before they could tell me anything else I was out the door anxious to get back to training! luckily I was back in formation just in time to begin the day land navigation course. 

The course consisted of 8 points the were spread across camp Williams. We were given a distance and a degrees and from the start point we pointed our compasses in the right direction and began to walk. The distance between the points on mine and my partners course ranged from 250 meters to 1300 meters. I learned a lot form my partner about land navigation and we successful found 7 our of the 8 points.

Once we returned from the land navigation course we got back into formation and we given a 10 minute break before the night navigation course was to begin. I had to go back to the medical tent to get new bandages on my heels because the blisters had bled through yet again. Once in the medical tent I took my boots on and yet again the back of my heels were a bloody mess. At this point the medics told me that I was not aloud to wear my boots anymore because it was doing more damage than good. Unfortunately no matter how much I argued I did not go on the night navigation course due to the fact that the medics would not let me put on my boots. Although I was incredibly disappointed that I wasn't going out that night I had fun hanging out with the upperclassmen and the gimp squad!

That night we all camped out under beautiful skies and woke up early to cold brisk morning air. As everyone was gathering their gear I went to Sgt. Jepsen (who was also medic) and asked him to re-wrap my heels so that I could put my boots back on so that I would not miss out on my training that day. He looked at me and laughed and said there is no way that we can wrap those that will stop the bleeding if you put your boots back on. In the dark I pondered what would be worse, bleeding heels or missing a black hawk helicopter ride. YES! of course I chose the helicopter ride. Sgt. Jepsen re-wraped my blisters and warned me that it would not stop the bleeding for very long and that I was going to be in a lot of pain because there was only one layer of gauze on there, which doesn't do much when your wearing combat boots. I told him that I could handle the pain and wanted to go to the helicopter. He laughed and off we went to meet up with the rest of the battalion. I got there just in time to meet up with my squad, get my paintball gun and get in formation. Right then huge gusts of wind and loud sounds of helicopter blades filled the air. Two helicopters landed. One over by Utah platoon and the other in front of Westminster Platoon. Once we were given the signal both Utah's and Westminster's 1st squad raced to the helicopter and started to load gear and people. Once the helicopter took flight everyone in the squad had a huge grin, we flew open doors and it was an experience that was unforgettable.

After about 10 minutes the helicopter landed and we quickly unloaded gear and proceeded with our mission. At this point our mission was to reach the top of hill to get a defensive positioning before the enemy squad (in this case the enemy squad was Utah 1st squad). The hill was rocky and was a long run to the top. Once we  got close to the top we split into Alpha and Bravo team. Alpha team was to be the front line while bravo team went around to flank the enemy. I was part of Alpha team and we moved to a small trench surrounded by trees. The plan was to slowly move two of us into the trench leaving two still hidden right behind us in the trees. I was the first to move into the trench. I got low took my rucksack off, waited quietly and listened.  After about a minute the cadet above me in the tree gave the signal that he was going to move into the trench, however before he was able to drop in we were under fire. Paintballs were flying right above my head. Gale (above me to my left) was hit, leaving just the three of us. I looked up and fired two shots and returned back into the trench. Still under fire castellanos (above me to my right) fired and announced that his gun was malfunctioning. He got hit and now there was only two of us. I hear Cadet Fangupo ask if anyone was still alive and I told him that both Gale and castellanos were down and it was just me. He then gave the order to leave my gear and move my positioning into the trees. I waited for a cease in the oncoming fire then as fast as I could jumped out of the trench and slid down the hill into the trees. Once in the trees I met with Fangupo. We planned to cross the trail and start moving in on the other squad, hoping that Bravo team was close. We crossed and found cover. Realizing that so far 2 of the four guns had malfunctioned we decided that before moving closer we needed to make sure we had functioning weapons. Unfortunately, we also had weapons that were malfunctioning. At this point our squad was dead because only one gun worked. Fangupo and I stayed in cover until time was called and then laughing everyone came out of cover. We put on our ruck sacks and began an eight mile ruck march. After the first 3 miles we stopped at the hand grenade assault course. 

We went through the course in battle buddies and then lined up for mandatory blister checks. We all took off our boots and sgt. Jepson was right. The padding had not done much to protect my bloody heels. There was still a lot of training left in the day so I hurried and covered the bloody area with duct tape and put my boots back on. Then the ruck march continued. we marched another 3 miles and stopped to run first aid drills. After the first aid drill we started the last two miles of the ruck march. And yet again AGAINST MY WILL Sgt. Jepsen pulled me out of the ruck march due to the condition of my heels. He laughed at my stubbornness and told me that he was doing this for my own good. Later we drove to the barracks and unloaded all of our gear.

 That night they gave us some down time to shower and get all our gear in order for the last day. Everyone was exhausted, so it was not long before everyone in the barracks were asleep. Early the next morning we were woken up to gather gear and prepare for the day. Again I had to make a trip to the medic tent, but this time Sgt. Jepsen just handed me gauze, tape, and mole skin and told me to start treating people's blisters. There was a huge line in front of the medics. I started going down the line and pulling people out to treat their blisters. And spent the morning with Sgt. Jepsen, treating any injury that came our way before the morning started. The last and final event of the weekend was the repelling tower and team building challenges. We repelled off a 40 foot wall and then free repelled 40 feet ( to simulate repelling out of a helicopter). After repelling we went to the team building obstacles where there were obstacles and a task we needed to complete and we as a team had to figure out how to get gear ad the squad across the obstacle.

The weekend was unforgettable. Shooting, marching, land navigation, camping out, helicopter rides, paintball wars, repelling and team obstacles. The weekend tested each of us. It pushed our limits and forced us to find strength within ourselves to just keep going. Each person discovered strength that they didn't know they had. We bettered our battalion, ourselves, and most of all our friendships. We created battle buddies. People who we know will always have our back. The weekend created stronger people, stronger soldiers, and stronger leaders. Everyone you see in these pictures will soon be leaders in the United States Army. Each soldier in these pictures are training to be the best they can be. To be the best infantry officer, the best armor officer, or the best nurse corps officer. We each have our dream of leading soldiers; this weekend helped us prepare for that. We make each other stronger, we support each other and create friendships that will last over sea deployments and war. Within the next four years we will all go our separate ways. We will be scattered all over the world. But the friendships we made here will last a lifetime. Because as friends and as soldiers we are not just strong. We are Army Strong.

Jack-O-Abi

As Abigail's first Halloween approaches, many preparations must be made. Costumes, decorations, parties, and Jack-O-Lanterns top the VanDongen list. Well, the middle VanDongen, Sam, has been training for Trick-or-Treating with wind sprints and push-ups. The kid doesn't even like candy; he's just turned Trick-or-Treating into a competition.

The Saint Olaf Halloween Carnival has been a tradition for us since Alex was in first grade. It's an evening of good clean Catholic fun; zombies, angels, and guilt. Sam fell into the zombie realm, Abi was the angel disguised as a pumpkin, and the guilt was the served pizza dripping with cholesterol.

After the carnival, Sam had a soccer game in Logan. During the hour and half drive to the game, I questioned the logic of competition soccer for a 10 year old. Parents pay literally thousands of dollars in fees, gas, equipment, training, and trips every year for soccer. The money I spent trying to secure Alex a soccer scholarship would have almost paid for her college education. But then, we have one of those moments, where your son (or daughter as it was with Alex) scores a goal during a game, or saves a goal, or has a great play - and they look to the sideline to find a parents approval, then they smile - that makes it worth every penny.

Sunday was spent at grandpa Dave's and grandma Paulette's house. It was Abigail's first visit to their house. We enjoyed an afternoon of extreme pumpkin carving.

 



Why is it extreme pumpkin carving? Look closely at the pictures. We're outside on Grandpa Dave's deck. What you'll notice is a pile of pumpkins that rivals that at the local grocery store. In the background of one picture, you'll see a high definition flat screen TV on his deck. Yes, Sunday football outside on a deck. The second picture shows the assortment of tools used to carve the pumpkins; knives, saws, and power tools.

So what's the deal with the hard hats? The grandparents have a very large walnut tree that grows above their deck; and, it's harvest time with no harvesters. Therefore, the walnuts become random high speed projectiles accelerating toward earth at 32.2 ft/sec/sec (or 9.8 meters/sec/sec for fuzzy Europeans reading this). After the first few walnuts hit within inches of our heads; in true machismo fashion, rather than move the carving activity and sacrifice our view of the football game, we just put on hard hats. Problem solved and extreme pumpkin carving was born.

The pumpkin results were less than perfect. In fact, it's a miracle I still have all my fingers. I'm not really sure Grandpa Dave escaped unscathed; the power drill slipped several times turning normal looking Jack-O-Lanterns into Cyclopes resembling the old 'Mr. Bill' from Saturday Night Live.

The question begged is: Where was Alex during all this? That is a story for another day.