Return to the Homeland!

We are in the US seeing mostly everyone who follows this blog, so I haven't had much to type about!  But, just for getting a blog on the log here goes...


We left Frankfurt on July 13th, just the kids and me.   The flight was one minor problem after another: no kids meals for the kids (which I ordered months ago), broken reading lights (only in our row of seats), no children's movies that in my mind are actually appropriate for children under 12 to watch.  But, even so, the kids were fantastic on the flight.  Thankfully, I had a laptop to play a movie on and I brought lots of snacks and other activities.

We arrived mid-day into Detroit Metro.  Customs took forever, and me with no cell phone.  We had to use a pay phone to call my mom to pick us up!  Who has used a pay phone in the last 10 years??  Luckily, she lives near the airport, so she came to get us quickly.  First stop: TACO BELL!  We drove thru as soon as my mom and aunt picked us up from the airport, before going to their house.  YUM.  Nothing tastes as good as something you haven't had in 1 1/2 years!

After catching up and oodles of cuddles from kids to Grandma and Aunt Toni and back, we all crashed into bed around 9pm (3am Germany time!).  We all woke up, bright eyed and bushy tailed, at 4:30am Michigan time.  There was no going to sleep again.  So we woke my mom and aunt up and we all went out to breakfast as soon as the restaurants opened.  I then realized why I miss America: $2.99 for a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns, toast and unlimited coffee!  Last time we had breakfast out, I paid 26chf for less food and coffee at Bohemia!

Since the first day, we have been going, going, going!  We've hit waterparks, the Detroit Zoo, the Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, and every shopping mall within an hours radius!  I've gotten to see lots of friends, which is SO nice.  You know friends are real friends when you haven't seen them in 18 months, but it feels like you never left.  I got to see the 2 newest Twilight movies too!!!  Plus, 2 others.  No reserving seats or anything.  Just walked up when I felt like it and bought tickets.  $5 tickets at that.  Refreshing.

Today, Jason finally arrives.  He should have been here by now, but my dear husband truly needs me.  Getting to the airport on time is a challenge, and he lost the game.  Luckily, he was able to get re-ticketed and will arrive in the D 10 hours later than planned.  Only instead of going direct Frankfurt to Detroit, he had to go Frankfurt to Warsaw (Poland) to Chicago to Detroit.  What a difference 5 minutes of tardiness makes.

The kids have adjusted to being back, although they definitely have some accents.  German, English, Swiss, we don't exactly know but people are commenting on how they talk!  They are also noticing things that are different here.  For example, it took Delainey 2 days to figure out how to flush toilets here!  She kept asking "where are the big and little buttons?". 

Next week we are off to Florida, so hopefully the oil hasn't spoiled Panama City!  We are loving our time with our family and friends here.  As Dorothy once said "there's no place like home!"