Arrival Day

That day we've all been waiting for ...

Both girls arrived Saturday August 3rd from Language and Culture camp.  Lynn drove me to the airport to ensure their luggage would fit and to offer moral support.  We waited outside of security and were able to greet them and walk with them to baggage claim.  Around 2:15 we became a family!

There were a handful of EF students on the same flight.  It was a fun experience watching everyone meet their families.  Unfortunately two girls did not enjoy the same experience as their host parents backed out on them that same morning.  That was sad!  Hopefully in the next few days they will be placed and can start their American dream.

When we pulled up to the house we could see balloons on the front step.  Along with the balloons were a flag and two bouquets of yellow roses from their "Texas Grandparents".  How incredibly sweet Sara and Shawn!  I didn't decorate anything inside - just had my banner at the airport and a few red, white and blue gifts.

On the way home I asked the girls if they were hungry.  Aline, not so much ... but Emi asked for Subway :)  We came home and Lynn helped us flip a coin to decide on bedrooms because online they both picked the same room.  The funny thing is ... Emi won the coin toss but ended up in the opposite room she had originally picked online.

After unpacking for a bit we went to Subway.  I always go through the line and ramble off what I want.  It was interesting to see how many choices and the vocabulary that is involved in making a Subway sandwich.

On the way home we stopped at a Redbox and rented "Identity Thief".  This was their first experience renting a movie out of a machine.  They thought it was pretty awesome :)

Cotton has been nosing around their half of the house trying to figure out what's what.  He's stuck pretty close to me, but is warming up to the girls.

Later when we put in the movie Emi fell asleep within 2 minutes.  Poor thing!  Aline and I watched the movie ... and Cotton snuggled with her for short periods of time!

OH ... how could I forget???  So the moment we walk into the house it is HOT.  82 or 83 degrees hot with all of the ceiling fans running.  WELCOME TO TEXAS ... WELCOME HOME girls, ugh.  Long story short my neglecting the filters caused the outside unit to freeze.  So we had to turn the AC off completely for a few hours to let it thaw.  Then turn it back on and wait for it to eventually cool down.  It got to 85 in here ... so uncomfortable!  Aline says their houses are warm in Germany because they don't have ceiling fans.  I feel so bad their first night was muggy and miserable.  We had a jumbo fan going in the living room.  I fell asleep out here and sometime around 3:00 relocated to my room where the temperature had fallen to 77.  Waking up this morning it was down to 74 ... now just to pick a temperature to program into the thermostat for the rest of the hot months.  What does everyone else set theirs at???

I'm not sure exactly what today's plans are.  I think Aline wanted to go to IHOP or Waffle House.  Both girls have a few errands they want to run which includes getting their cell phones activated.  We will see what the day holds :)

Later,
Jen