Matthew Estes could not stop smiling.

Estes, a fifth grader at Glacier Park Elementary School in Maple Valley, got a surprise on Monday afternoon when his older brother, Army Spc. Garret Curtis arrived in his classroom.

Curtis stood behind his little brother, whom he calls his “mini me,” and waited for the boy to turn around.

Estes did a double take then leapt out of his seat to give Curtis a hug.

“He’s home now,” Estes explained to his classmates, “and I’m very happy to see him.”

Curtis is home for two weeks of leave at roughly the halfway point of a deployment in Afghanistan as a cavalry scout in the Army.

“I like to be spontaneous and I miss him the most,” Curtis said. “I’m really close to him. I’d do anything for him. And I like to embarrass him.”

Based out of For Carson, Colo., Curtis said he has thought about his brother the most while he’s been deployed and has more pictures of Estes than anyone else.

While Curtis is home he plans to spend as much time with Estes as he can playing video games along with a trip to the Puyallup Fair.

“I was just really happy to see my brother again and that I get to spend time with him before he leaves,” Estes said.