The Return of Elder Rose

Yesterday my brother got home from his mission in Fortaleza, Brazil. We went to the airport to pick him up.

Here is Piper. She stood with that sign just like this for a good 20 minutes waiting for the plane to land.

Here is Chloe and my other brother, Taylor. Taylor was really sick, hence the pained look. Or maybe he was annoyed because nobody made any signs when he got back from HIS mission.

Here are the girls at the big moment when we spotted him at the escalator.

Here is a blurry, poorly lit picture of him coming down that escalator.

Here is Barrett, greeting the fam.

Here are Piper and Barrett reunited. They were super tight before he left. And while Piper doesn't remember this, she did admit later in the car that she "really" likes Barrett.

Here is Barrett talking on the phone to our grandparents.

Here I am with the girls that I dragged away from the baggage claim so that weary travelers could retrieve their suitcases without tripping over a toddler.

Here is everybody with that "We Love Barrett" sign again.

Yup, we pretty much got the standard Returning Missionary Photos. I bet anyone who has ever collected a missionary from the Salt Lake Airport has pretty much the same shots.

Missing: shots of us at IHOP (the restaurant Barrett pre-selected for his first American meal in 2 years), shots of Taylor feeling even worse after eating stuffed French toast at IHOP, shots of us receiving our gifts (I got a super cute pair of shoes that are all the rage in Brazil), and shots of us reading the letters some of the families he taught wrote. My camera battery died. Whoops.

Anyway, we're all glad Barrett is back! Yay!