Heading Home...

After a wonderful week of adventure and fun, it was time to head home. Home to the AV! We couldn't be in So Cal and not head back to our home in the desert! We had been away for 3 years, and we were so excited to see our family in Lancaster. 

It was a Sunday, so we got up early and checked out of the resort in our Sunday clothes and made the two and a half hour drive in time for church. It was so fun to walk in and see everyone! They were so excited to see us, and save for a few people, we hadn't seen anyone since we left. Of course, everyone in our ward family knew about Luke as they had been following his story closely. Partly because of that, but mostly because they love us, it was like they rolled out the red carpet...just for us! Never in my life have I felt more loved at church. :)

After the block, Jerry and Jeanie Dunn offered to hold a potluck get-together at their home so everyone could come to one place to see us. And so many people came! We spent all night visiting with everyone, and the kids played with their friends. It was the most perfect part of the whole trip! So much so that I didn't take my camera out once. :( It was rather late when we finally left the Dunn's home and went back to the hotel we were staying at. Morning would come early, and with it a 12 hour trip home.

We slept well, in the same hotel we stayed at the night before we moved. It was a totally different experience this time...with far less tears! In the morning, we stopped for breakfast at IHOP (the kids' favorite) to officially put an end to our awesome trip.

And it was awesome! Once in a lifetime, really. On our way out of Lancaster, we stopped by our old house (which all the locals still call "The Call House") to show the kids. Danny and I stood there looking at the expanse of desert that we used to call home and marveled at where our life had taken us. Never in a million years could we have imagined what awaited us when we pulled away from that little home in the desert. 

It was a long 12 hours home, with mixed feelings. There's always an emotional let-down after vacation. But we had been gone for a long time, and we were ready to be home! But we weren't excited to go to a home that didn't have Luke in it. It's all so complicated. Our saving grace was that in just a few short days we would be picking up our puppy! That was definitely something everyone was looking forward to!!