Saying goodbye to Amy, Tom, Joni, and Jackson. Good thing we'll be seeing them again in six weeks for a month before they head to Texas for a 5-year PhD program.
It meant a lot to Mom to get a good photo of an Orthodox Jew with the long side hair ringlets and the religious outfit and hat. On our bus ride (sheroot) to the airport the driver took us through quite an Orthodox neighborhood, but I only felt okay about getting a photo if the man didn't know I was taking it. This is the best I could do. Mom RELISHED this long drive through these Jewish neighborhoods, seeing so many dressed like this.
At the Tel Aviv, Israel airport waiting for the beginning of lots of security checks on the way home. Because we flew standby, our luggage was required to stay in a certain blocked in area, although if one of us wanted to go get a drink we could if we show passport upon return. The silly thing was there was no bench or chair in the whole area for all the stan-by people. What surprised us was how much more security we went through once we were in the US before we could catch the connecting flight to Utah.
All our wishes came true about our flight home.
1) None of our suitcases were overweight ($90 for one extra pound and we didn't have a scale to know ahead!)
2) Nobody noticed how heavy our carryon luggage was (we figured it was probably overweight as we stored our clay oil lamps inside).
3) We finally got on the flight! After a New York flight got postponed indefinitely, we heard some of those passengers were being put onto our flight, so we got pretty nervous about getting on, and it only flies once daily around midnight.
4) We didn't get in trouble, or get confiscated the crown of thorns I bought as a souvenir and stored in the small black carry on in Mom's cart. I worried they may get me in trouble for bringing something sharp that could be a weapon. At one point I even had a man check it by hand after the x-ray, but he let it go. Whew.
5) We made it just in time from Israel to go through all the security and catch the flight from Atlanta to Utah. We were a sweaty mess by then.
6) Okay, one wish didn't come true. We were hoping to fly first class on at least one of the four flights. That's OKAY. We flew for FREE other than taxes and fees. You can't beat the price!! How blessed we were.
[Trying to locate this photo again]
My sweet friend Lisa Bezzant gave me some money to treat myself to a treat on my trip. The first day at the airport Mom and I were eyeing the Cinnabons. On the way home we each bought ourself one. This is us loaded down with our luggage at the SLC airport. I bought a new carry-on suitcase in the Old City to carry my souvenirs!
On the flight home from Atlanta, I sat next to an adorable missionary on his way home from Argentina, ready to go back to BYU Idaho. We happily chatted almost the entire flight. Young men like him give me hope for my daughters that there are Stripling Warriors out there for them to marry.
Mike showed so much love in his face as he showed me several nice things he had done for me -- cleaned the house, hired the neighbors for an overdue carpet cleaning, bought me beautiful flowers...
...And two tax return purchases, curbing for the front yard and a new computer for me! I also was thrilled to see the three burgundy trees our friend Casey Stanger gave us and helped plant by the sidewalk around the time I left. And surprised by the two new houses going up lickety-split. I felt drenched in Mike's love. He also showed me little piles of Mothers Day cards and gifts the kids had made for me.
Souvenirs! I got each person a small stone from the Sea of Galilee, a Jerusalem church bag, an olive wood spinning top, and a t-shirt. The girls also got some fun jewelry. Grace got the most presents because today is her BIRTHDAY!
The three littles are off track from school as of today, and Malia came home for lunch to welcome me home, which was touching to me.
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