I'm Back!

Oh dearest internet, how I missed thee. A whole week without you nearly did me in, I swear.

So, last Wednesday, we all got up bright and early so that Mary and I could start our journey west. I had everything packed up already, so it was basically just a wake up and go sort of operation. Ian seems to think that he can get anywhere from anywhere in just 20 minutes, so we very nearly missed our plane. Yikes. We did in fact miss the pre-boarding call. We got on the plane just in time, and Mary promptly fell asleep. What a good girl. The plane landed in Calgary, and Mary continued to sleep through the bumpy landing, and the trip to the actual terminal. We didn't need to change planes, so we just sat there, Mary drooling all over me and snoring softly as most people got off the plane, and more got on for the trip to Abbotsford. We were in the window seat, and a smartly dressed businessman got on the plane and sat in our row in the aisle (When traveling with infants, the airline does their damndest to keep the seat directly beside you open). Mary woke up. Mary yelled, and squirmed. We got some applejuice which shut her up, and after we finished the juice she had a nice plastic cup to play with. She threw the (empty)cup at the businessman, and hit the screen of his laptop. He moved to another seat.

We arrived in Abbotsford at around 9ish, and it was a grey and gloomy day. Mary and I got settled and hung out with Mum and Larry for a while, and then Larry had to go to work. Mum and I went for a walk with the baby around her neighbourhood and into town. What a beautiful place! Mum lives in a little neighbourhood, about 5 houses clumped together, about a 10 minute walk from Aldergrove. It's odd, the whole place is very rural, they are mostly surrounded by acerages, but the big city is moving out there, so you'll be walking down a country road, and all of a sudden there will be a street or two of cookie cutter brand new houses, all crammed close together, and all looking exactly the same.

Wednesday night Mary went to sleep at her usual time, woke up around 1:30 in the morning for a bottle, which I expected. What I didnt expect was for her to go back to sleep for about 20 minutes, and then wake up screaming. Screaming screaming screaming for about 2 hours. Nothing I could do would calm her down. This was pretty much how every night went, she would wake up, eat, pretend to go to sleep, and then cry for at least 45 minutes, sometimes all night.

Anyways, here are the highlights of my trip:

Saturday I went over to my uncle's place to visit him, his wife, my cousins and their kids. Uncle lives in a fabulous house right in Vancouver, west of Marine Drive. I'm sure their house would sell for over a million dollars now, and unlike a lot of houses there, I think that it would be worth every penny. It was wonderful to spend time with everyone, the little girls all adored Mary and packed her around the house. The littlest one, Zac is only a month younger than Mary, and very cute. I wish that I could be closer to them, so we could get together more often.

Saturday I went in the truck with Larry. He picks up flowers from various growers in the Fraser valley and takes them to the auction to be sold to the people who sell them to you. It was a blast, and the countryside there is so stunning.

Monday I saw my little brother, and his neat little bachelor pad right in downtown Vancouver. It was foggy and gross in Vancouver, even though the sun was shining in Abbotsford, but we had a lot of fun walking around. We went to Granville Market, and then over to Lonsdale Quay.

Tuesday I saw my miserable old Grandma. You know, the one who told me I was fat about 30 seconds before I walked down the aisle for my wedding. Nice. She is in pretty rough shape though. She has arthritis, and it is really quite awful. They haven't found any treatments that work, so she is in constant pain. She is so stubborn and proud though, she refuses to ask for help, or to even get a handicap pass for her car.

Wednesday was a travel day, and it was a doozie. When we got to the airport we found that the flight had been delayed an hour, and they kept moving it back every time I looked. An hour and a half after we were supposed to leave, the plane finally got off the ground. Mary was miserable and loud the entire way to Calgary, where we changed planes. The flight from Calgary to Edmonton was the worst though, she screamed bloody murder the entire way home. Yikes.

I'll not bitch about my husband (much) but I'm not terribly pleased about what greeted me when I walked into my house. Needless to say, the house is a filthy pigsty. After a long miserable day of travel, it would have been nice to come home to a relatively clean home. Oh well, he does work hard so I don't have to, I guess.