We're Home!!!

What a long strange trip its been...

Sorry we haven't updated the blog in a little while. Needless to say, its been an interesting and eventful week since our last post. The best part though is that we are finally home with our little Taylor after seven and a half weeks on the other side of the world.

Here is a little recap of what the last week has looked like for us.

Almaty was a beautiful city. We arrived in Almaty on Sunday night (August 19th). The next morning, we went to the international doctor and got Taylor checked and cleared for the journey home. On Tuesday we were at the Embassy where Taylor got her Visa, and we got the green light to take her home with us to the US. Unfortunately for us, our flight out wasn't until Sunday, and we couldn't get an earlier flight. We decided to make the most of our week in Almaty to do some sight seeing and reunite with Annette and Kate, who arrived in Almaty on Tuesday night. Below you will see some of the local sights that we visited. We also had the chance to meet the Smith family while we where there. They were from Alaska, and had their three children with them, all adopted from Kazakhstan. The kids were great, and we had fun getting to know this new family.

We got to visit the Mega Mall. The one in Astana wasn't open yet while we were there, so it was nice to finally see the one in Almaty. It was nice. The best part though was the coffee place in the food court. We enjoyed a couple of Mochas.

Everywhere in Almaty were painted Camels. It was pretty nice. Taylor seemed to enjoy them too.

The yellow church was beautiful. It was built with no nails we were told, and was the only structure to survive the earthquakes that leveled Almaty 150 years ago.

We got to visit the mountains and see Medeu, the ice rink that they use to train for the Olympics. Here you can see Taylor and Katie reunited for a fun day out.

This was the World War II memorial. It was very cool to see.

Old friends reunited!

On the last day, we took the gondola up the mountain. The views were breathtaking. At the top, there was a sort of mini-resort with shops, restaurants, a playground, and a lot of caged birds. It was well worth visiting!

The trip home was quite an interesting event. Imagine leaving Kazakhstan at 2:30am on Sunday, traveling for 36 hours straight, and then arriving home in Detroit at 11:00pm on the same day. The first flight from Almaty to Istanbul took about 6 hours, and I will tell you that Taylor was not happy at all about the flight. She would not sleep, and was pretty cranky for the journey. We then arrived in Istanbul where we had our first 6 hour layover. Taylor settled down a bit once we were on the ground, and was much better from that point on. The twelve hour flight from Istanbul to Chicago was long, but we managed to catch a little sleep, and Taylor seemed far more content than she was for the first flight. We were very thankful. Another 6 hour layover in Chicago, and we were off for the short hour long flight home, which Taylor slept through (and so did we).

And since she has been home, she has slept like a baby (no pun intended). We have both been amazed how well Taylor has adjusted to her new home. She is doing great! She loves her new pets, and has already met many family members and friends. A tip for those who will be traveling in the future: We brought pictures with us of the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, etc., our cats, and pictures of our house. Taylor seemed right at home in her new environment, and took to everyone right away. We think that seeing the pictures for two months prior to bringing her home really helped a lot with this!

Taylor and her kitties.

Taylor's cousin Kayla couldn't wait to hold her.

Here is Taylor with cousins Josh (left) and Nick (right). Notice the cool Kazakh hat that Nick is wearing. He was very happy to receive his souvenier.

To our friends in Astana, we miss you guys. To Peter and Maren, Jennifer, and Denise and Rolando, congratulations on getting your children out of the baby house today! We have been following your journey and can't wait for all of you to get back home as well.

We will update again with more pics and news on Taylor and her new life in Michigan.