HOME SWEET HOME!

What an incredible journey...30+ hours of travel: Hanoi to HongKong, HongKong to LA (13 1/2 hours), LA to Dallas, Dallas to LR. (and LR to Conway---WOW, he didn't like that carseat..the first he'd ever seen of one...) There were countless checkpoints, customs, immigration...it all ran together. Somewhere in there a fairly pleasant man handed Brian some paperwork and congratulated us on Sam now being a US citizen. Woo-hoo!
We shared the trip with the O'Connors, who had all the same fun with Liam and Ben. We couldn't have asked for any better travel buddies! And my parents, well...how could we have done it without them? Well, we couldn't have. They were perpetually stepping up during our struggles--claiming luggage when we were stuck in immigration so we wouldn't miss our connection, entertaining Zoe or Ben or Sam depending on what we needed. And aside from their help, it means so much that they endured the journey to get a better idea of Sam's world. Pictures and words just can't seem to capture the experience fully.

Had a terrific surprise at the Dallas airport...my sister Stacy and her family just moved to the Dallas area (Heath) last week. We had abandoned hopes of her being able to see us during the connection due to time constraints getting us through security, etc. Well, we walk off the plane and there she is! She had bought a one-way ticket to Minneapolis just to be able to get to the gate area and meet her new nephew and visit with us! She brought little goodies for the kids, and thanks to sweet Aunt Stacy who brought Smarties for Sam to try, he had a giant sugar high that kept us (and the rest of the plane) entertained until we landed in LR.
What a warm welcome at the airport from so many friends and family! Luckily, Sam was still up from his Smarties high, and we had our Starbucks buzz from Dallas, so we were all, at least temporarily, UP for the occasion! The crash came later...

Mimi and Poppy, Brian's parents, held down the fort here while we were gone, and had the most scrumptious food stocked in the fridge when we came home. Thanks to them, our dog, the fish, and my lemon trees all looked happy and healthy when we returned!

Trying to recover from jet lag and regain our footing today. Sam is perpetually stuck to my hip--happy about that attachment! And he's eating like a wildman...we got Mexican takeout last night (surprise..we were giddy about real chips and salsa) and I suspect Sam would have chowed on that too, if he hadn't fallen asleep at the table. Lots of adjustments ahead, but we're happy to be making them!