Homecoming...

July 5, 2012

We woke up early on the fourth and met the taxi (beautiful large transport van) at 5:50 a.m.  Everything was ready, so we basically woke up, got dressed, brushed our teeth and hair, and put the luggage in the van.  It was a really easy drive without traffic at that hour, so we made it in an hour and fifteen minutes from Castleford to Manchester airport.  Our driver was the owner of the business and it was really interesting to hear how he started his business and how he is building it.  He was a really nice guy and we had a very enjoyable ride.  The kids slept too…

Once at the airport, we had our only major hiccup on the entire trip.  It was at the KLM counter in Manchester.  We checked in all of our luggage and they weighed each piece, and they were all under the required 23 kilo.  When we thought we were finished, they then asked us to put our carry-on luggage on the scales.  We were like, WHAT???  None of the ticketing information online says anything about weighing our carry-on.  Naturally we had put all of our heavy, breakable things in the carry-on so we could protect them.  Oh no… they tried to tell us that we could shuffle stuff around and put it in other bags.  The problem was that three of our carry-on bags were overweight, and the one that wasn’t was a keyboard in it’s case with nowhere to put extra weight. 

To make a very long story short, we ended up paying 180 pounds sterling, which is about $265 dollars to get out three carry-on bags checked through.  AND they were packed as carry-on, so not so sure that everything will make it home in tact when it is being thrown around by baggage handlers.  Big time bummer. 

However, we decided that we were NOT going to let this ruin the end of our pretty darned amazing trip.  So, we looked at the positive side of this situation.  We didn’t have to lift those heavy bags up and put them in the overhead on each of the three legs of the flight back to Missoula J  And I have to say, it was really nice not having to do that.

The flights were really easy.  We flew to Amsterdam, then from Amsterdam to Minneapolis where we had a two hour layover.  This was a good thing as it took us quite a long time to clear passport control.  Then we had to get claim our bags, go through customs.  Luckily, that was a snap as the kids found our bags rather quickly and it was really easy to check them back in.

Then it was on to Missoula. Our original flights booked back in August 2011 had us getting in near midnight.  However, the flights were changed many times over the last six months.  The new flights were fantastic as we were arriving at 7:30 p.m. instead.  As we flew into Montana my heart lightened.

We were all really tired as we had been away so long.  I was so tired that I couldn’t even get out of my seat to get the camera out of my bag in the overhead.  It is a shame, because it was utterly spectacular flying in and looking down at the Bob Marshall wilderness, then Flathead lake, and finally the familiar surroundings of Missoula.  It was a crystal clear evening and everything looked so beautiful.  It made me realize just how lucky we are to live in such a wonderful place.

Paul Gladen was waiting at the airport for us and it was an easy drive home in the sunshine.  I was shocked when we pulled up outside our house.  It was beautiful J  Patricia (who had been staying there) had mowed the grass.  I am a bit anal about my grass as I mow it diagonally different directions each time.  I was expecting the worst possible scenario.  I just couldn’t believe it when I saw that the lawn was cut diagonally…  Not only that, but my flower box out in the front window was blooming with three different types of flowers and it looked gorgeous.  (I had left it with plastic flowers in the winter) I really could not have asked for a nicer homecoming.

Unfortunately we couldn’t find the key to the house, so we were locked out..  Leaving me with the kids and the suitcases on the front steps, David went with Paul to his house to pick up a spare key.  It was really nice relaxing outside the house in perfect weather.  The only downside is that the kids had to go to the bathroom L

They were very happy when Paul and David returned.  We had planned on going out to dinner at Five Guys Burgers and Fries.  However, the nice homecoming only got better.  First of all, the house was spotless.  It seems that whenever I clean the house, there are dust bunnies everywhere within minutes.  How Patricia accomplished this pristine house I will never know.  Seriously, I even searched for dust bunnies and couldn’t find them.  Maybe we should just have her move back in…

The wonders continued.  We walk in and there is a fresh plate of brownies on the table…

Fresh flowers in the kitchen...

Then I opened the refrigerator and there is milk, juice, eggs, and much more. 

 I had to take pictures.  Everything was labeled.  She left pancake mix with instructions.  She left us a breakfast of potatoes, spinach, and a bunch of other things with steak on top.  There was turkey breast for lunch along with bread, sliced cheeses, condiments, and celery and carrot sticks.  Lunch for tomorrow all set!  Finally, there was a plate of Chicken wraps with cucumber sauce for our dinner along with a salad topped with strawberries.  She even had a rhubarb strawberry pie for dessert...

I can’t tell you how nice it was, after finally getting home, to be able to STAY there.  No, we didn’t go out to eat, we had those chicken wraps and they were delicious.

We were all so tired that we decided to go to bed.  It was just getting dark, and the fireworks were just starting, but it didn’t matter.  We all fell fast asleep and didn’t hear anything after that.  So incredibly good to be home…

The next morning we exploded into the house as unpacking began.  It wasn't a pretty sight...  

It was a shame to mess up the perfectly organized space.  Talk about organization, we had a big box with all of our mail sorted and filed alphabetically.  Even the magazines were stacked up alphabetically.  It was amazing.   It took us two hours to go through all of the mail and she had already gotten rid of the junk mail for us.  I can't imagine how long it would have taken without her organizing it all.

How blessed we have been throughout this journey.  We couldn't have asked for a better ending.  Until the next saga begins... (which shouldn't be that long as I might start blogging about our upcoming kitchen remodel)

~Mary