Fireworks Excitemnt

All around us New Year celebrations are in full swing.  Day and night there are firecrackers, fireworks exploding everywhere.  What are 2 boys to do, but join in the fun.  Yesterday, Rob and Hudson went bike riding after we finished school. They came back with the loud, long strand of firecrackers.  One of the things people do is hang these off of their balconies and light them.  This is all fine and good as long as your neighbors below know what you are going to do. 

Let's just say that 30 seconds after this video ends, there was a knock on our door.  We had scared our neighbors to death.  Imagine sitting comfortably in your living room and suddenly smoke, fire, and a lot of noise begins.  It would scare you too.  Rob apologized profusely and told them it wouldn't happen again.  And it won't.

 Rob and Hudson took a big bag of fruit to them a little later and apologized to them again for scaring them.  On the bright side, we made some new friends tonight. :)

Back East

It is so hard to believe six months could go by so quickly, but alas, it has come and gone. 

Our travel back to the east was uneventful.  We stopped in California for an 8 hour layover and were picked up by Krista and Phil for an enjoyable dinner on the Santa Monica pier.  We ate then took a walk down the pier.  It was a cold and windy evening, but an enjoyable break from the airport!

We made it back to our town 4 days ago, and were welcomed by our teammates at the airport. We had a great time visiting with them on the ride home.  We had lunch together at our favorite restaurant in town.  It was a good time of fellowship and laughter. 

Then the work began. Unpacking, cleaning, bleaching, reorganizing, etc.  A house that has been left for 6 months has a little recovery to be done.  Thankfully, our 2 local friends had kept it in good shape for us.  Jet lag helped me get up and get to work by 5am the last few mornings. And by 10 pm sleep was very welcome. 

Because of the New Year celebrations in this country, all of our friends have traveled home to their various towns for the celebration.  We are ready to visit and see them, but are thankful for this time to prepare and get settled.  It is great to be back, jet lag is once again visiting our home, but hopefully we will be back to "normal" very soon!

Last night we watched and listened to hours of fireworks. It is the most beautiful thing you could imagine, and amazing to think that an entire country could be doing this all at once!  If you ever have a chance to see this in person, you should take it!

Last days in America

I am fairly sure that goodbyes are my least favorite thing in the world!!  I am honestly glad they are over, the bandaid has been ripped off and the next thing to say is "HELLO!"

Here are a few fun pics from our last days in OK.

Rob and Tom. Not sure how I feel about this picture.

 Hannah and her friend who was her first friend on the first day of Kindergarten. It was very special to see them reacquaint this year.

 Hannah and her friends on their last night together.  They had fun eating at Chilis and going to a movie.

 Hudson bought this straw at the Cracker Barrel. It made it all the way home!