Ar Ais Abhaile

So the morning after I typed the last post we packed up our backpacks (and 2 newly acquired suitcases to accomodate all the shopping we did in the States) for the very last time. We got a taxi to the airport and got on a plane to Heathrow. We had a bit of luck and managed to get our seats upgraded. Our flight was delayed but we arrived into Heathrow close enough to the scheduled time. We barely made our next flight though. We had 5 security checks to go through before we could board and eneded up skipping past the last queue and running all the way to the boarding gate. We just about made it and the flight took off just as it started snowing. We were really lucky because just after that the weather caused major delays everywhere.
I had hoped Dad might be working in the airport but since he wasn't we got another taxi instead. We met him just as we were letting ourselves in the door at home and he was coming down the stairs. Paul came home next and then Mum arrived in the door a little bit later. She definitely got a bigger shock than Paul and Dad. Lots of screaming and hugging.
We called up to the Foster's house in the middle of Caroline's birthday party. Lots more screaming and hugging there and Fossie finally got to hold his niece Lizzie for the first time.
It was a great surprise for everyone, and we were both delighted to be home and to see everybody after such a long time.

We had one more surprise in store though...

We got engaged when we were in the Grand Canyon. After we did the boat ride on the bottom and while we were waiting for the helicopter to come back and pick us up Fossie got down on one knee. Of course I was thrilled and said yes! We kept it to ourselves until we got home though.

So 335 days and 26 flights later, our little adventure is over. We had an absolutely amazing year, saw some spectacular sights, and had some amazing experiences. It really was a once in a lifetime opportunity and we're so glad we did it. Hopefully we'll have the chance to see a little bit more of the world in the not too distant future!

Jan and Paul