Travels: Joyeux retour

After spending 11 months in Belgium, the day for Gloria's return had arrived!

Before leaving the house for the airport, we reminded Alfie that Gloria was coming home. He didn't seem to understand and went on eating his nut.

In the car, Joe listened to his ipod. After a few minutes, he realized the rest of us (Mom, Dad, and me) were having such great conversation that he joined in.

Arriving in airport parking, we took this picture partly so we could refer back to the number sign we were near in case we got lost. Luckily, we didn't need it! What a beautiful day for Gloria's return to America!

Dad decided to race me up the stairs to the train. I'll leave it to your imagination who won!

In the airport, Dad was doing a bit of pacing. Gloria's flight was delayed by several hours. We knew before we left that was the case, so we spent more time at home than originally planned, but we still got there quite early -- we didn't want to miss her if the plane wasn't as late as they anticipated!

Less than an hour until we see Gloria again!

After we saw on the screen that her plane had safely landed, we went over to the gate where she would arrive. While waiting, we struck up a conversation with another family waiting for their daughter -- she had spent a year in Germany with the same program.

After what seemed like forever, a passenger appeared in view -- it was Gloria! First one out!

A closer picture:

And then, like when we sent her off, hugs for everyone!

Here we are, waiting for the train that will take us to the parking lot:

And on the train:

I couldn't believe how heavy her suitcases were! It was tricky for me to pull one behind me -- and I've been lifting weights! I have no idea how Gloria managed her suitcases!