And now we're home. What a long, exhausting trip we've had. And 2/3 of our luggage is still in Flint. We've been assured, however, by Harlan in the baggage office, that our duffels will be delivered to us sometime tomorrow. Here's hoping the shuttle can find our apartment with no help from anyone else on campus... since there is no one else on campus until Tuesday.

And now here we are. In 25 and a half hours, we'll be getting off a plane in Flint. It'll be our first time in Michigan in 5 months. That didn't really seem like so long to me, until an acquaintance called it "half a year". That makes it seem like ages. We're packed and ready, just waiting for 9:00 tomorrow morning to get here so we can hop in the car and go. When I get done fooling around on here, I'll go to the American Airlines website to check us in and print our boarding passes. How truly strange it all seems to me.

We're now only barely two days out from our trip to MI. I did most of my packing earlier and we just spent some time reading the American Airlines website to learn as much as we can to prepare for our flight. Not a whole lot left to do now except get all anxious and lose sleep. Big fun!

Last call

Does anyone want some Mexican Kool-Aid? Seriously. We're bringing some back to Michigan for my sister's family and Kara and Casey's gang. It's actual Kool-Aid brand, but there are 4 flavors you can't get in Michigan (at least you couldn't 5 months ago), and underneath the Kool-Aid logo, it says "Aguas Frescas". The flavors are pineapple, mango, tangerine, and one called Jamaica which, near as I can figure, is based on the juice of a certain flower (it tastes a bit like tea). If anyone in Michigan wants some, please let me know before Saturday so I can get it for you before we head for Tucson.

On the verge

We're now only 4 days away from our trip back to Meeeeeeeeechigan. People keep asking me if we're "going home" for Christmas, and it's really starting to get to me. Since July 13, our home is Douglas, Arizona, so we're not going home for Christmas; we're going to Meeeeeeeechigan for Christmas. And yet, bother me though it may, I find myself occasionally slipping up, too, and saying things like, "I can't wait to eat at Panda Express while we're home." Annoying. I guess I'll really be in a state of confusion when we move to Africa. "Excuse me. Excuse me, sir? Can you tell me where my home is?"

Tis the season

Here are some pics we've taken over the last week or so. The bears are what Jen and I decided to buy Mady and Jack for Christmas. It's a little bit hard to tell, but the bears' shirts say "Cochise" and "Cochise College" on them. The green sleep pants are one of the presents Jen gave to me for Christmas (please ignore the pink shirt I'm wearing, as I have a hard time seeing the value in matching my sleep clothes). Moving on, the cloth thing with a chicken on it is actually the cross-stitch project I'm giving my mom for Christmas. I just finished it maybe half an hour ago (I started it in March). And finally, the pic of Jen being cute is... well, it's just Jen being cute, and I really like it. This being my blog and all, I decided all of you should like it, too. You're welcome. And enjoy!

Mady

Jen and I got a Christmas card from my sister today, and inside was our niece Mady's school picture. Seeing as she's the most beautiful 4-year-old in the world, I decided to share the pic with you. Enjoy!