Happy to be HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOORAY!!!

We got up early yesterday to finish packing. We headed to the airport at 11:00 for our 2:05 flight. Phillip dropped me (and all the luggage) off and he drove the car back to the apartment. He then walked down the street to the bus stop and was waiting for a bus when we realized he had to go back to the apartment! I remembered at the last minute and asked him about some AUC paperwork that immigration likes to have when he flies back. We didn't want to chance them not letting him in, so he walked back to get in, then back again to the bus stop. (It was HOT and he was hurrying to get back to check in with me...sooo...miserable for him!) We had to check in together with our luggage though, and it was taking him awhile to get back, so we figured I should go ahead and get in line. We had 2 big rolly suitcases, one small rolly suitcase, and 2 backpacks. I managed to lug them through the airport to the check in lines by myself and was quite proud of that! Haha! Good timing, he got back just as I was getting close to the front of the line. He was worn out, but at least it all worked out. We checked our luggage and got our tickets, then waited in a long line upstairs for immigration. Once past immigration, we only had 45 minutes left to wait till boarding. Not bad...we figured we did good! The flight to Charlotte, NC was 4 hours! It seemed to take forever, but I did get 2 and a half chapters read in my textbook, which was nice. And Phillip enjoyed reading for fun instead of studying! Another couple from AUC was on our flight, so we had dinner with them in Charlotte before going our separate ways. (We had Pizza Hut...yum! AND free refills! Nice!!!)

The flight to Louisville only took an hour and we were soooooooo happy to arrive! Phillip's parents picked us up and it was great to see them when we walked toward the luggage area!!!!! I called to tell my parents we were there, so they would know when to leave TC. (They were meeting us on Highway 64, at the Tell City exit. We figured there was no use for everyone to drive there!) Then I had a wonderful surprise...Tina was sitting there waiting for us by the luggage area!!!! I was sooooo happy to see her! What a great surprise!!!!!!!! And she brought us Dr. Pepper, Skittles, and Starburst!! She knows me well...hehehe! I opened both the Skittles and the Starburst on the way home! hehehe! (Thank you Tina!!!) We stopped at Dairy Queen for Blizzards on the drive home too! YUM! (We never buy ice cream in St. Maarten because it's $22.59 for a gallon bucket of it! Insane!!!) So that tasted really good too!

We finally arrived at the TC exit and my parents were there waiting! I was sooooooo excited to see them! I missed them so much!!! I went home with my parents and Phillip went home with his.

Phillip enjoyed his time today playing XBOX games with his brother and then shopping with his brother and parents. (We had a list a mile long of stuff we'd like to take back to St. Maarten with us, so he started the shopping today!)

Mom, Dad, and I went to church this morning, then went to Ponderosa for brunch. It was delicious! Oh, and possibly the best part was that I had Dr. Pepper!!!! (We don't buy that in St. Maarten either because it's almost double the price of Coke...sure don't understand why!) I say I went shopping today too, but it was shopping for free...I went through all of my clothes that were being stored in my parents garage! It was wonderful to discover that all of my clothes that used to be too small, fit me again! I was super excited about that!!!!! I really needed more clothes to take back and was expecting to have to buy lots. Such a good feeling, trying those on and having them fit again!!!!!!!!

This evening, Mom made taco salad...one of my favorite meals! We also had asparagus from Aunt Betty and Curt's garden! It was delicious! (Thank you!!!!) It was a great dinner! Then we played Shanghai this evening! We absolutely love that card game! One of my favorite things about being home is game nights with my parents! I love this tradition! (I lost big time though...but it was fun!)