They were not expecting to see him there.
It was a heartfelt moment as an Army Reserves dad who had just returned from deployment surprised his twin daughters at a University of Missouri basketball game.
Capt. Kody Kemerling hadn’t seen his twin daughters, Maria and Micalea, in 10 months while he was deployed to Kuwait, so he conspired with their cheerleading coach to make the surprise happen.
“We were cheering at the Mizzou basketball game and we were just told that we were going to go and represent our dad out there for the Veterans United Hero of the Day and we had no idea that he was going to be there,” Micaela Kemerling told InsideEdition.com.
In a video captured of the moment, the girls are cheering on the court when their dad comes up behind them with open arms.
The shock is written all over the 19-year-olds’ faces.
“All of a sudden I just felt someone grabbing onto me. My initial reaction was, 'Who is grabbing me, like what is going on?’ and then I turned my head and realized it was him,” Micaela said.
Her twin sister Maria Kemerling said she was overcome with emotion when she realized what was happening.
“I instantly started crying," Maria said. "It was my first reaction."
“It was overwhelming," Micaela added. "We hadn’t seen in such a long time."
The girls said it had been difficult without their dad as he missed out on them starting college, but thankfully he was able to make this game.
“It was super special and it was really special to share it in front of the whole Mizzou family,” Micaela said.
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