Stateside

Well, we returned to America safe and sound after a long and sleepless flight over the Pacific. Neither of us did more than briefly nod off, so upon landing in Seattle we looked stunning. Justin quickly shuttle us to his apartment where I was viciously attacked my mother. She lunged from the darkness of the bathroom attempting to scare the crap out of me. It was actaully really sweet. We hugged and cried, and I did that annoying screaming thing that girls often do that I usually make fun of.

With all the excitement of having not just my mother surprise us but my dad and little brother also, we were no longer tired. I hadn't hugged my family, with the exception of Justin, in over 2 years.  I was blown away they conspired to surprise us.  We spent the next few days enjoying the company (including Andrea who is in Lynnwood), and ignoring our jet lag to the point of sheer exhaustion.

After Seattle, we hopped down to visit some of Alex's extended family in Arizona. Alex's brother, Chris, picked us up at the airport in Pheonix. We made our way to Scottsdale where we stayed with Uncle Mike & Aunt Bernice. Bernice cooked an excellent meatball dinner the first night, and I was not too shy about eating, let me tell you. We were also able to see Uncle Tom and Aunt Janey, and just settled into the comfortable family atmosphere. After an all too short but very lively visit in AZ, we boarded the plane for Chicago.

And Chicago is where we've been for a week now. Settling in, meeting up with friends and family, trying to work our re-immersion culture shock, and trying to figure out what exactly is next. 

Photos of our Vietnam adventure coming soon.