I am absolutely sure that I have no desire to be a JC Penney's studio photographer. Too much repetition, too little creativity. . . I believe I snapped over 1,000 frames during the morning to guarantee a good shot of each of the 233 or so students, teachers, and administrators. Although the work was VERY mechanical, at least it was nice to be outside on this beautiful day. . . enjoying the sunshine and the fall leaves. We were constantly shifting our posing stool, however, trying to stay in the non-spotty shade. Here are a few familiar faces:
And, I must say, excepting the above trio, this was my favorite little girl of the day. She sat down and did this for me - what a cutie! She would be an excellent model for a children's clothing catalogue!
I spent the afternoon being available for Jackie as she finished her gathering and packing. Then, we had a special family dinner (that yummy pilmani) and dessert together (Ankara gourmet cake!!). Jackie had a 3:15 am flight (oh, the joys of living in Asia!) so we had a midnight airport run. When we arrived at the airport, we were greeted by her group of friends "surprising" us!!! What a ruckus they caused! 
After we visited and kicked balloons around for a while, one of the security guards came up and asked us to pick up all the "trash". Marina wasn't very happy that their colorful balloons were categorized as garbage, but complied with his wishes. The balloons were gathered and safely "stowed" for the next time they might need them. A hidden security camera captured their covenient hiding place.
Group Hug! 
After visiting for far too long, Jackie needed to go check in for her flight. Her friends said they had one more "surprise gift" for her. Since most of their "surprise gifts" tend to be quite messy, Jackie quickly reminded them that she had to spend the next several days in the clothes she was wearing. Fortunately, their gift did not involve eggs, shaving cream, or sweetened condensed milk. Instead, it was a song - a very repetitive song which has been stuck in all of our heads since camp - and they managed to sing it for the entire terminal of people. I was sorry that I remembered too late that my little pocket camera has a video function. Oh darn. . . It was very cute, though!
One last teary good-bye to her friends before Jackie went through security and her friends went home to bed. It was good that they came to entertain us all, however; it is hard to be too emotional with these crazy kids around! 
Dan and I stayed to make sure Jackie got checked in safely and with enough money to pay any airport fees. It was good that we stayed, too. After some long discussions with the ticket agent, Jackie came out shaking her head and in tears. She had been under the impression that she could bring an extra bag for a minimal charge (~$50) and had packed her hiking backpack full of 12 kg of extra clothing items and gifts. Unfortunately, because she has a 24 hour stop-over in Europe, Jackie's flight was not subject to the "long-haul" baggage guidelines. Instead, she had a 20 kg limit. Every additional kilogram was going to cost her $25. Expensive candy. . . So, she had to -very quickly- unload her bags and jettison 12 kilograms of stuff. A very difficult assignment as she needs just about everything in that bag. But, we managed to pull out exactly 12 kg (her dad is an expert weight estimator) and re-pack her single bag, promising to send her tripod, clothes, and gifts to her at the earliest possible opportunity. We hugged our dear, frazzled girl again and sent her off on her next adventure - navigating her way around Paris for a day before continuing on to the US for her sophomore year of university! I was really wishing I could go with her to help her through this transition and to settle into an off-campus apartment. It is very tough to be a long-distance parent.
After we visited and kicked balloons around for a while, one of the security guards came up and asked us to pick up all the "trash". Marina wasn't very happy that their colorful balloons were categorized as garbage, but complied with his wishes. The balloons were gathered and safely "stowed" for the next time they might need them. A hidden security camera captured their covenient hiding place.
Group Hug! 
After visiting for far too long, Jackie needed to go check in for her flight. Her friends said they had one more "surprise gift" for her. Since most of their "surprise gifts" tend to be quite messy, Jackie quickly reminded them that she had to spend the next several days in the clothes she was wearing. Fortunately, their gift did not involve eggs, shaving cream, or sweetened condensed milk. Instead, it was a song - a very repetitive song which has been stuck in all of our heads since camp - and they managed to sing it for the entire terminal of people. I was sorry that I remembered too late that my little pocket camera has a video function. Oh darn. . . It was very cute, though!
One last teary good-bye to her friends before Jackie went through security and her friends went home to bed. It was good that they came to entertain us all, however; it is hard to be too emotional with these crazy kids around! 
Dan and I stayed to make sure Jackie got checked in safely and with enough money to pay any airport fees. It was good that we stayed, too. After some long discussions with the ticket agent, Jackie came out shaking her head and in tears. She had been under the impression that she could bring an extra bag for a minimal charge (~$50) and had packed her hiking backpack full of 12 kg of extra clothing items and gifts. Unfortunately, because she has a 24 hour stop-over in Europe, Jackie's flight was not subject to the "long-haul" baggage guidelines. Instead, she had a 20 kg limit. Every additional kilogram was going to cost her $25. Expensive candy. . . So, she had to -very quickly- unload her bags and jettison 12 kilograms of stuff. A very difficult assignment as she needs just about everything in that bag. But, we managed to pull out exactly 12 kg (her dad is an expert weight estimator) and re-pack her single bag, promising to send her tripod, clothes, and gifts to her at the earliest possible opportunity. We hugged our dear, frazzled girl again and sent her off on her next adventure - navigating her way around Paris for a day before continuing on to the US for her sophomore year of university! I was really wishing I could go with her to help her through this transition and to settle into an off-campus apartment. It is very tough to be a long-distance parent. 
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