Homecoming Happiness

Moving to Hawaii 9 months ago had more benefits then just getting to live in paradise.  Kyle's best friend from high school, affectionately called Gumpy since his name is also Kyle, has been stationed here for the last 6 years.  They had been separated by more than 5000 miles and five time zones since high school.  Needless to say it was difficult to get ahold of one another at a reasonable time for both of them.  Our excitement was short lasted though because he got deployed less than a month after we moved here.  The kids spent the next seven months asking when Uncle Gumpy was going to be back.  We were finally able to give them an exact date a couple of weeks ago.  After weather postponed the homecoming twice, Gumpy was finally scheduled to come back on April 30th.  The kids made some welcome home banners and we made a sign to take with us to the homecoming.  Our only experience with homecomings came three years earlier when Kyle came home from Iraq, but Hailey was still a baby and Alec was still a little too young to remember.  We got up early and headed over to the hanger and waited for the plane to land.  The hanger was decorated with tons of signs and there were even bouncy houses for the kids.  They had music playing and coffee, water, and food set up for everyone waiting.  They had a red carpet set up for all of the Marines to walk up and meet their familes.  It was a really nice setup for everyone waiting.

Our attention grabber sign

This was one of my favorite signs

Trying to see over the crowd

We got to see the plane land directly on the runway in front of the hanger door.  It taxied around and stopped in front of the hanger. 

Everyone anxiously awaited the door of the airplane to open.  There was a roar of cheers from the crowd the moment it finally did open.  After a few more minutes the first people started exiting the plane.  I heard that the first guys to exit the plane were new fathers that were going to meet their babies for the first time.  I'm not sure if it is true or not but it sure makes for a touching story.  We stood on chairs searching in the sea of camoflage for our friend.  We had to look hard and try to find him before he slipped away because he didn't know we were coming.  After what seemed like forever we finally caught sight of him trying to make it through the crowd.  Kyle jumped off the chair next to me and made his way over to Gumpy to surprise him.  It was awesome to see his face when he realized we had made it to his homecoming.

Kyle made his way through the crowd to say 'Welcome Home'

After getting welcomed back by the Kyle, the kids ran over to show him the sign and give him a big hug.  The moment I captured with Gumpy and Hailey was really sweet.

It was such a happy day and it was more than just having a friend come home, it was having family come home.  The rest of the day consisted of the kids talking Gumpy to death and getting everything setup for him.  It was a wonderful experience for all of us and I'm so glad we were able to be here to welcome him home.