Salute Florida!

After a long day of traveling, we landed in Florida about a half an hour early on Monday evening, around 6:30 pm. That morning, Mrs. Walti and Hannah brought us to the Genova airport for our 8:20 am flight. When you put all of us in a car, we always have so much fun, and I miss them. (See you soon!) Our first flight from Genova to Roma was under an hour, then from Roma to New York (8 1/2 hours!), then from New York to Orlando (about three). Except for the cost of an extra bag, hours of flying or waiting in airports, my TV on the long flight freezing on a Japanese screen, and rechecking the bags in NYC, the trip back was, for the most part, pleasant. :) It was SO much better than the flight to Italy (an overnight flight). Joanna slept quite a bit during our flight to NYC; I tried not to sleep so I wouldn't throw off my sleep cycle even more, though I'm sure I dozed here and there. The people around us were pleasant, the food was pleasant, and we felt more relaxed this time around -- I guess we're becoming pros at this international flight business?
Anyway, we were very glad to finally land in Orlando and see the fam. Everyone except Mary & Co. and Dad (who was circling the airport) was waiting right outside security. The only reason it felt a little strange seeing them is that I know it had been three months since we had seen them, but it was just like going back to "normal life." They all had adorable welcome signs and cards. When we got home, Alex (Julia's boyfriend) stopped by. We gave out our gifts to the family, and to Mary, Ryan, and Jacob when they came by later. I love picking things out for people I love, so it was fun seeing them open them. I went to bed too late for being up that long (We had been awake since about 11 pm Eastern time the night before), but I guess I was just taking advantage of being home.
In the days since coming home, I've run errands, visited with friends, gone to the Y, and babysat Jacob. We've also been filling out job applications and, in Joanna's case, going to an interview at Disney, which resulted in scoring a photographer position! It's been hard trying to search for jobs from Italy, so I'm still waiting to hear back from multiple companies.
Well, there is church in the morning, and it's also Mother's Day, so it's time to call it a night. But tomorrow (today), more posts about Italy are coming up!
Ciao!
Rachel