he's home!

On Thursday, Steve came home from his mission in Porto Alegre Brazil.  A lot of my family met up at the airport to await his arrival.  My mom showed up with posters and balloons to make sure Steve got a warm welcome.  All week long Aiden kept reminding us that "Ste-zen" was coming home from his mission.  So needless to say, Aiden was just as excited as us to see him (Aiden was only 7 months when he left and obviously Stephen hadn't met Brennan yet).

Brennan espeically loved playing with the balloons.  As you can see from him trying to eat it:

After waiting for what seemed like a VERY long time, Steve finally walked down the escalator!  It was so fun to see him again.  Two years is such a long time.   

And of course, we had a little photo-op at the airport. 

It is awesome to have Steve back.  It's so fun hearing about some of his experiences in Brazil and seeing his souvenirs.  He brought back some Brazillian slippers for me and Nate, a soccer jersey for Aiden, and a stuffed animal for Brennan.  He really hasn't changed too much.  He's the same Steve we've always known, just a little older (and wiser).  We're so excited to help him catch up on some movies and music he missed and to spend more time with him.  I can't wait til all of my siblings and parents will be together again this November for our family trip. 

~And on a side note - Waiting at the airport brought back some interesting memories of when I went with Nate's family to pick him up from the airport after his mission in Paraguay.  I'd be lying if I said it wasn't awkward when I saw him again and he hugged his entire family and just extended his arm to give me a nice firm hand shake.  But I guess the awkwardness wore off pretty quick because we got engaged not even a week later. :)  Standing in the same spot waiting for Steve made me remember all those feelings - excited, nervous, happy, and anxious. I was really anxious and excited to see Steve again this week too.  We're so glad he's back happy and safe  :)  ~