I don’t know why I have been so hesitant to write another blog.
I don’t know why it takes me so long to get my fingers going. Things just start tumbling down onto the page when I do. And I have so much to say. I couldn’t even decide what I wanted to write about today, because I have so many things that I want to say. It’s my blog, and I’m going to say them.
Any how. Today, I’m going to write about our trip to Calgary. I will try to keep it fairly short, because I can tend to be pretty wordy.
To be completely honest, Brock and I were dreading the whole trip more than you could imagine. After the fiasco that was my plane ride home from New York, I was terrified to take Ronan on another flight. I couldn’t get images of the screaming and the hitting and the terror out of my head. I SWORE on that flight that I would never travel with children EVER again, and here I was, less than a month later, about to embark on a 12+ hour journey to Canada.
We did everything we could to prepare. Tons of snacks and drinks. Tylenol and Sudafed for his cold. New toys that he’d never seen before packed in the carry on, and a few familiar stand-bys. Movies in the FULLY CHARGED laptop. And a lot of praying.
Now here is where I have to tell you the truth. Ronan was fantastic on every single flight. He had a few troublesome moments, but each flight was around 3 hours. He slept for about an hour on every flight, watched movies, snacked and played with toys the rest of the time. While we were in airports, we let him walk around whenever and where ever he wanted. The traveling wasn’t the worst part of the trip.
What WAS the worst part of the trip?
Trying to convince my 17 month old son that he could sleep wherever we told him to. Sleep in this pack and play, in this basement, in this house. Sleep in this hotel room. Sleep when there are 26 people upstairs having a good time. Sleep. PLEASE SLEEP.
Ronan didn’t do a whole lot of sleeping on the trip.
What we DID do was a ton of fun.
We went to the Calgary Zoo. I have a ton of great memories from that place when I was little. We used to go several times a year. It was overcast and a little chilly on the day we went, but it ended up being perfect. Lots of walking around, pointing at animals, laughing at each other. I took a bunch of pictures from the zoo… and really none from the rest of the trip. Slacker mom.
Ronan and Dad checking out the elephants.
So very interested in the waterfall.
The oh-so-rare “family portrait”.
The next day, we went to the wave pool. I don’t know the name. Some village community center, but it was the same one we went to ALL THE TIME when we were kids. It was really amazing to take my son somewhere that I loved to go so much when I was small. Ronan had a BLAST. He loved the water, he loved the jungle gym area, he loved the hot tub. Mommy and daddy loved the hot tub too. We didn’t stay long, but we all had fun. Maybe next time he’ll be big enough for the water slides.
The rest of the trip was a bit of a blur. Lots of wedding preparation and spending time with family members. It makes me realize so keenly how much I love my parents, my brothers, and how I wish we lived closer. We had such a good time shopping, hanging out, going for breakfast at Phil’s. Ronan became very clingy – velcro baby – and didn’t want to be held by anyone but me. Mommy got a little tired of it, but there wasn’t much to be done. He was entirely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people, the amount of activity going on, and the desire for everyone to interact with him. It was comforting to see him return to normal within a few hours of getting home.
The wedding was AMAZING. I mean, amazing. It was a 40’s pin-up theme, with the guys in black tuxes and the ladies in black with amazing red shoes. Ronan looked like a stud in his red tie and dress shoes. Sarah, the bride, couldn’t possibly have looked more radiant. Her dress was perfect, hair and make up were incredible. It really should have been photographed for a magazine. I don’t have any great pictures to share… the photographer hasn’t gotten pictures out yet. But I promise to post a few as soon as I get them.
I was lucky enough to have my hair and make-up done by the professionals, and took a sweet “in the car” shot of myself. And one of Ronan in the car seat!
Ow ow!
Gotta love my classy vehicle photography.
Brock looked amazing in his tux. I can’t wait to see family photos of all three of us decked out.
Yum.
Aaaaaaaand…
… then we came home. The trip home was fairly uneventful, and it was wonderful to be back. Ronan ran around the house SQUEALING in delight. He had to touch all of his toys, and constantly came over to us to show us something he had found. I’ve never seen him so happy.
I miss my family terribly already. It was too little, too quick, too wonderful. I hate not knowing when I will see everyone again. But…
I’m glad to be home.
