More than a year and a half after the deadly PG&E pipleline explosion in San Bruno that killed eight people, the first families to rebuild finally returned to new homes Monday night.

In addition to the loss of life, 38 homes were destroyed and dozens more were damaged when a PG&E natural gas pipeline exploded on September 9, 2010.

But where there was once despair and destruction, now there is hope as residents celebrated the three new homes that have risen from the scorched lots.

Inside one, the Pellegrini family is spending their second night in their rebuilt house.  Even though the couple is sleeping on an air-bed, they said it felt good to be home.  

"I just started screaming...'I'm home!' And then I had another neighbor up there and I went 'I'm home!'" said Tina Pellegrini. 

Pellegrini said she hasn't stopped smiling since moving into her new five-bedroom house Sunday. She and her husband Bob are weary after months of dealing with insurance companies and contractors and trying to make a rental property feel like their own. 

"Eating with a rented spoon at a rented table. Sleeping on a rented bed with rented sheets.  Now, it's going to be mine," she said.

Just around the corner, Bob Hensel has moved back into his home with his wife Nancy. 

"It's still strange.  Still trying to place things. And you miss things that you don't have anymore," said Hensel. "This is a day that we have looked forward to for a very long time."

In addition to the three completely rebuilt homes, 16 others that were damaged have also been repaired and are being lived in again.

"It's a good feeling to see things coming back, people slowly coming back. But it's never going to be the same," said George Karkazis.

There was another symbol of a neighborhood rebuilding: a tree was planted.

City officials on Monday marked the occasion with a 6:30 p.m. ceremony and greeted the returning families.

Teddy Bernardo's family was the first to move back, and he said seeing the others return has helped bring the silent neighborhood back to life.

Still, his 8-year-old daughter is afraid to sleep alone in her new bedroom because it overlooks the spot where the pipe exploded.