Home Again!

Well, Brandon is home again!

I've had his travel itinerary in my email for at least three months; I've had Thursday, November 15 highlighted on my calendar for even longer than that.

from Budapest to Amsterdam (2 hours 20 minutes)...

...and then from Amsterdam to Salt Lake City (11 hours)

So, I got my family out of bed at 6:30 on the morning of November 15, and we piled into the van around 7:30 a.m., and then we were on the road to Salt Lake City.

We arrived at 11:30—which is longer than it takes to drive there if you're going 65 mph, but we were hovering between 50 and 60 because at higher speeds than that the van feels like it's going to vibrate apart. Probably the front tires need to be balanced, or maybe we need a front-end alignment. But we made it safely, and that's what counts. We stopped at Grandpa North's house where he had a nice lunch waiting for us, and I got to take a shower and make myself look decent. And then we headed to the Salt Lake International Airport.

I am not familiar with the airport...quite the opposite, actually. But just as we were arriving, and I was trying to decide what lane to drive in so I could get to the correct parking place, Bruce sent us a text message. He said we wanted to stay left, so Lindsey read this message aloud to me, then looked up and read a sign that said, "Economy Parking." What I heard was, "Stay left; economy parking." Which didn't sound right to me, but I did it. And instantly realized that was not where I wanted to park. But I was on a one-way drive, so I put the window down—but not all the way, because I knew it wouldn't go back up the way it was supposed to—and got a parking ticket, and then went straight to the cashier, who told me how to get to the parking garage. So I circled the airport, and headed back to my three choices of lanes, and took the wrong one. This time I ended up at the terminals, where you just drop off or pick up your flying friend. So we circled the airport again, and this time I made it into the parking terrace.

Too bad I didn't see something like this before I tried to park.

Well, the van does not idle well. Apparently it doesn't go 10 mph very well either; it died just as I spotted a parking space. Fortunately it started right up again, and we got parked OK. Unfortunately the window had shimmied all the way down during our vibrating-vehicle, triple-tour of the airport parking. So Lindsey got out, reached down into the door and gripped the window, trying to pull it up while I pushed the "up" button. And it didn't budge. >sigh<

Well, at least we found the airport, found the parking, and were on time. So we went into the International Terminal to wait.

waiting

After 25 minutes Brandon's plane arrived. We eagerly watched the people coming out from customs, and who should appear but my cousin Debora! She had been visiting her daughter in France, and got the same connecting flight from Amsterdam that Brandon was on. Unfortunately neither of them really knew the other, so they didn't talk. But Debora and I chatted a bit.

And then, at last, Brandon made his appearance!

And I was right there to get the first hug.

And then...

...hugs all around.

Well, hugs all around except for Rachel, who was taking a video
and didn't put the camera down to claim her hug. (Also, I don't know if Adreanna got a hug. Hm.) I told Rachel she'd better
hug her brother today, but she didn't.

This picture just makes me happy. All my boys together,
except for Ryan. Hey, wait! I don't think we have a hug picture of Ryan either. Did he hug his newly-returned brother? Hmmm...

Well, after a happy reunion, we drove back to Grandpa's house. Grandpa got into my door panel and tried to fix the window, but in the end we just covered it with clear vinyl, held up by Duck Tape.

The family had planned a potluck dinner for us at Grandpa's house, but I didn't even think about taking pictures. :-(  Anyway, it was a nice dinner, and we got to visit with some extended family. But we were all tired—especially Brandon, who had been awake for thirty hours. At about 7:45-ish, he crashed on the couch.

Today (Saturday) he has no memory of falling asleep on the couch. But we have proof.

An hour later he woke up just enough to ask me where he should sleep. We got him set up on a cot, and he was out for the night.

Then Friday afternoon we were headed back to Vernal. After a shaky ride home Brandon met with our stake president and was officially released as a missionary. We were greeted at home by a poster and balloons, and Brandon got to explore the house he's never seen (except in pictures). Pizza, a movie, and a good night's sleep.

And now life is back to normal for Brandon, and for all of us. Whatever "normal" might be.
And I am happy to have him back home!