December 23 - 24

Since everyone is loving this going back in time thing (and it's not at all confusing to anyone), I'm now going to skip Dec. 31 and go all the way back to Dec. 23 and then move forward again.

Awesome.

Wed. Dec. 23 at 1:30am, Chris and I walked out the front door of our apartment building to find at least 2 inches of snow on the ground. 

We awed at it, then worried a tiny bit that it might delay our getting out of Turkey.

In hindsight, I think the cab ride to the airport was probably the most treacherous part of our journey.  Turks aren't really known for their fantastic driving.  Especially at 1:30am in the snow.   The above video doesn't do the backseat fear justice, but it does show a pretty bridge.

When we finally arrived at the Ankara airport, we checked in and then found some breakfast.

I don't remember anything about the flight to Brussels, but I do remember getting off the plane and sauntering over to our next gate and finding ourselves with 2 hours to spare.

We found some wifi and watched 2 episodes of The Office.

I don't remember anything about the flight to Chicago (ah, the best way to fly), but I do remember our stop in Chicago.

We left the plane and took off running for the train, kindly cut in front the security line of 100 passengers and ran like the wind to our gate.

To find out our flight was delayed an hour.

Unbeknownst to my younger sister April, her boyfriend Burke had bought a plane ticket to visit Texas on Christmas Eve.

And it just so happened that he, along with us, would be connecting in Chicago.

Chris and I knew we wouldn't have mobile phones to find Burke in the airport, so we all agreed to just keep our eyes peeled.

Sure enough, on my way to find some food, I found Burke!

We high-fived, he ran to his gate, and Chris and I went to ours.

Two hours later, arrival in Dallas! (Next to the Santa video, this is one of my favorites).