Day 18: Surprise Trip Home

When I first arrived in Kansas, I was told that we would get a 4 day weekend every month. Over these long weekends we were allowed to go home if we wanted to. I decided to go home for both! However, I only told Sue about the trip home this weekend--the kids, parents, etc., had no idea I was coming. Here is the kids reaction at the airport (they thought they were picking up a missing piece of luggage). Although the footage is shaky, notice during the first few seconds Abbie's shocked face and Ellie's expressionless slow movement towards me. Ammon cries the whole time. However, once I picked him up he was all smiles and glued to me the rest of the day.



I can't tell you how nice it is to escape the Army for awhile and go home. The trip home started at 1:30 AM with a 2 hour shuttle ride from Fort Riley to Kansas City. I actually thought I was going to die on the way home--horrible thunder storm combined with a crazy, one handed driving, cell phone addicted, shuttle driver is never a good combination. My flight was slightly delayed due to the weather, but luckily it was non-stop and I was still home by 9:00 AM. We went to visit Sue's mom, went to the park, and then Sue and I went on a date in the evening. It was a great day.