Daniel's First Week Back

I decided to make another post today to fill you all in on Daniel and his homecoming. You can scroll down further for the details on Sarah and Zeb's visit.

Saturday morning May 20th, around 6am Daniel's flight was scheduled to land. They got there a bit late, but I was there on time thankfully. I didn't want to miss it so I came early. So I woke up early enough to get dolled up to meet him. Here is their plane after landing. It was exciting and so emotional. There was a Marine band playing and there were flags up and banners hanging in the hanger. All the wives were waiting for them to pull the plane around and open the door. They finally did and I was so surprised to see the 10th person (or so) was my Daniel. I was not expecting him to come off so early. I ran and met him through my tears.

Unfortunately, we do not have any pictures of us together right when he got off the plane, but there was a professional photographer taking several pictures of us kissing. He gave us his name but we haven't found any pictures online or in any newspaper of us smooching yet. If you do find them, please let us know. Thanks.

My camera battery decided to run out right as he was coming off the plane, so he is not in that picture but he is right behind the last guy coming off.

It took about 2 1/2 hours for him to return his weapon at the armory and retrieve his bags. The plane had to be unloaded and all the bags went to a parking lot on base. It was a long wait while they sorted through seabags and packs all looking the same. I was just so thankful to have him home safely.

I had made a sheet sign with Jo a few weeks before their return and I hung it up over our carport. It stayed up for several days. I was quite proud of him and so thankful for his safe return.

He had slept quite a bit on the plane so he was not super drowsy Daniel. We spent the 96, the 4 day weekend, relaxing and getting Daniel back on Hawaii time. He slept several hours each day. :) He returned to work on Wednesday and their leave block starts on June 6th.

Daniel, on his way out of country, had a great time haggling at an Afghan market. He came back with some beautiful jewelry for his wife and some very cool finds. The blue looking centipede belt is actually a silver belt with lapis insets on it. It fits perfectly and I can't wait to find the outfit to go with it. The two necklaces are some of the coolest finds; both have eccentric designs and the one of the right has chunks of turquoise, quartz and amber on the chain. I was most impressed with Daniel's jewelry taste. My favorite gift he brought me is the adorable lapis hippo in the bottom left. Hippos are my favorite animal, and it has the cutest shape.

He also got a leather chess board, he is a sucker for the smell of leather, and chess pieces carved out of some kind of wood or resin. I didn't get a picture of it yet, but I will post one once it is pulled out and played on.

A favorite souvenir he came home with is his man-jammies. Daniel worked frequently with a local Afghan man. The Marines worked with him to hire local nationals to deliver logistics using pick-up trucks, donkeys, and jingle trucks. I will post a few pictures when Daniel gets them to me. The man apparently had a great respect for Daniel because he took Daniel to a local tailor and had him make an Afghan suit for him. It is custom fit for Daniel. (I was about to post this as the outfit Daniel had on when I picked him up at the hanger, but I decided against it. He was wearing his camis. :) )

So there you have it. Daniel's first week back has been busy with moving plans and his return to work. Memorial Day Weekend we spent with friends at two different cookouts, one in Waikiki and one in Kailua. Everyone keeps saying I am smiling a lot more. I guess that is true...

We are headed out for our island cruise on the 10th so we are excited about that. I think we may hike Maunawili Falls on one of his days off before the cruise. I want to make sure he sees it.

I will try to post more pictures when I get them. Thanks for your love and support through the deployment and the homecoming time. We both appreciate it immensely.

Love Ya'll