Day 115: Home sweet home.

Well, this photo below looks just like any other morning. Mila is awake early to get her shot at playing with her big sister’s toys while Ava slumbers away. There is one big difference between this morning and any other morning for the last 114 other ones. We are home.

We got home really late last night. In fact, we got into town around 2:30 AM. We drove through the night to get home because of the heat wave in the west. We did not want to get stuck in the desert for another day and as we got closer to home, we just kept the foot on the gas and inched our way closer until we finally got here.

It was so late and we were so tired, we thought it might be easier if we just spend one more night in the Mish rather than trying to setup our beds that haven’t been slept in for the last 4 months.

When Ava woke up in the morning, we thought we could surprise her and show her that we are home as we walked out the door. She had not been back in months and we didn’t really know if she understood that we were trying to make our way home straight from Grand Canyon National Park in just one day.

She was not fooled. When we asked her if she knew where we were, she knew she was home. She pointed right at the palm tree through the little crack in the curtains and said that we were home. This one is not easily fooled. We are back.

The house is exactly as we had left it. We were here a couple of months ago when we flew back. We drove up here for the afternoon to make sure everything was ok and didn’t even get to spend a night.

Ava went into her room and could not get enough of all of her toys that she has missed for 4 months. Just before we left, Ava had just had her 3rd birthday and we left most of her presents here for just this moment.

Mila did not really grasp the idea that this is where we live now. She had spent more of her life on the road than in our house.

That’s right, you sleep in there now. Next to Daisy Duck.

I think no one was happier than Yoda to be back. She had spent the last 4 months in a 120 square foot trailer. As an indoor cat, she appreciates now more than ever the size of our little house.

Here is our home, in front of our home. We will need to get use to this again.

After putting just over 10,000 miles behind us on this trip, it is bittersweet to be home. We have lots of great memories that we have documented on this blog what we will cherish forever.

The girls have not left each others sight since the day Mila was born. On the day we returned, she was just a little more than 9 months old. She has a whole new world to get familiar with and a great big sister to help her along the way.

Welcome home Ava. Welcome home, everyone.

over for now,
Dan