Day 80: A Long flight Home (Aug. 2):

    It’s hard to believe that this day is actually here! That we really did this 3 month Europe extravaganza, that we all survived, and that it is over. It is sad to say goodbye to Europe

   We wake up at 6:40, get ready and go down to breakfast. We eat fast – the kids love the hot chocolate machines and the chocolate brownies for breakfast!

   We take one last drive in our Peugot 

and drop it off with a record breaking 15,000 miles! 3 dents, a broken window and ashtray, and a slashed tire! Whew! Benson did some amazing driving throughout this trip! And, needless to say, we wouldn’t and couldn’t have done this trip without him. He is a man of big ideas and someone who finds nothing too difficult. I am thankful for him and this trip, and what it has done for our family.

   As we wait for our flight, we give the kids all of our change (1 and 2 Euro coins add up fast!) , and they think it’s Christmas at the vending machines!

   On the flight, Dallin and Ashy completely finish the book of Mormon (Talie finished in Pont du Blanc, France) – so they all accomplished their Book of Mormon challenge and I am proud of them! Ashy started each study period with a prayer for more understanding as she reads – she is a wise little soul.

    Tanner did amazing once again – a sign of a super future world traveler! He fell asleep on Benson first and then on Talie. We watched the move, “Lucky” with Zac Effron.   I think this summarizes the whole trip for our little family, Kennedi was sitting behind a little girl (who happened to be from Ohio), and said, “Mom, that girl speaks really good English!”

    We get off the plane in Chicago, go through customs and security, and boy is it wonderful to understand all of the signs and everyone around you! The room is also full of posters and billboards of lots of famous European landmarks that the kids recognize and say, “We’ve been there!”

   As soon as we sit down to wait for our four hour layover, Peyton crawls under a seat and falls right to sleep with his back pack still on.

   Talie and I go walking and we find her store! It is called “Talie”.

    We play cards and although it is a long layover at 2:00am in (our time) Spain, we know we are going to make it safely home, so we can relax.

   This last flight is a 2 ½ hour flight and Jeff will meet us at 10:30 at the airport. We will probably get home around midnight, which will mean we have been up for 26 consecutive hours – Whew!

Thanks for joining us on our trip! Here is a Trip Summary List:

80 days

2 adults/ 6 kids

15,000 miles driven

many many miles walked = many pounds lost

2 continents

19 countries

64 cities visited

27 different homes (apartments, houses, hotels, van, etc.,)

1 night homeless

12 beaches

countless kind people that helped us find our way

3 dents, 1 slashed tire, 1 broken window

3 times getting robbed

11 teeth lost

8 passports left behind (but returned)

1 camera left behind (later shipped to the states, phew!)

countless ice cream cones eaten

4 fevers, 3 ear aches

2 sets of grandparents come to visit

3 temples

5 churches

12 missionaries met

0 children lost (permanently)

2 journals kept

3 Book of Mormons read

1 house sold

countless pictures taken/memories made