Back In The U.S.A.

Well, it's been a week now since we returned from our 2 week trip back to the states.  We sure had a good time.  After having been in Switzerland for 6 months we were all happy to be back home again.  We began the trip with a flight from Zurich to Chicago, and then over to Midland.  It was funny because our flight path took us right over Midland.  I wish they could have dropped us off and saved us some time.  When we arrived home we were greeted with "Welcome Home" signs from our neighbors and scout families.  And our big treat was finally getting to see all the finished renovations to our house and kitchen.  It was literally like coming home to a new house.  We were very happy with the finished product.  We spent the first week of our trip in Midland.  My parents came up from Texas and stayed with us, with the primary focus being my Grandmother's Memorial Service, which we all attended.  Another focus was getting the kids as many play dates as possible with all their friends.  As for me...my main focus was getting all the Serv Pro boxes unpacked around our house.  Fortunately my parents were there to help me out.  In addition to our activities Ben got to do a week long scout day camp with his friends, and he and I even drove up north and did an overnight scout campout on a Coast Guard ship.  Anyway, we got a lot accomplished that week...like 4 dentist appointments, haircuts, clothes shopping, etc.  It was exhausting.  

After that it was off to Texas for a week.  We flew in to Dallas / Fort Worth to spend a few days with Jenny's Dad and Stepmom.  While there we were also able to see Jenny's Stepbrother and family who live in Macau, China.  We were also able to attend a Ranger game while we were in town (Jenny and I's first Ranger game since 1996 when we last lived there.)  After that we spent a few days out in East Texas at Jenny's Mom's place.  We got to enjoy some sunshine, splash around in the lake, and watch 4th of July fireworks.  All in all it was an exhausting 2 weeks, but well worth it.  We saw lots of friends and family so it was worth it.  In fact, the trip was so tiring that we all managed to sleep some on the plane ride back.