Dawn's Diary Entries Diary Navigation: Choose A Diary Entry -------------------- Latest Entry: 7/31/04 -------------------- 6/20/04 5/5/04 4/25/04 3/28/04 3/13/04 2/20/04 2/3/04 1/15/04 12/7/03 10/31/03 10/26/03 10/17/03 10/11/03 9/22/03 9/15/03 9/1/03 8/19/03 7/30/03 7/14/03 7/11/03 7/3/03 6/27/03 6/23/03 6/12/03 6/3/03 6/2/03 5/26/03 5/1/03 4/26/03 4/14/03 3/31/03 3/21/03 3/12/03 2/28/03 2/19/03 2/15/03 2/9/03 1/28/03 -------------------- Dawn's Introduction

March 28, 2004

I have arrived back on Newfoundland soil after many many hours of driving, flying and waiting. Back to the land of snow. It is much warmer here than when I left and we can see more of the driveway, but there are still banks and banks of snow waiting to be touched by the spring sun ans rain.

My vacation

On Friday Will, William and I went to Corner Brook for the night. He had a free night at the Holiday Inn that we won a while back, so we figured it was a good time to use it, since my flight was leaving from Deer Lake at 6am. SInce my parents only live an hour away from there, they got themsleves a room as well so they could spend some time with William. I had told my mother about the pregnancy before this, and she of course told my dad. Now they were just waiting to be able to tell everyone else. My father was actually itching to tell people. I guess they have been getting questions such as these alot lately! We had a nice evening with them, and the next day my dad took me to the airport so that William and Will could sleep in and spend time with my parents before they drove back home.

I started off the week by flying to Montreal on Saturday. I spent the night at my MIL's house, and the day...shopping of course. Will had wanted to wait until he saw his mother to tell her our news, but I really wanted to look for some Maternity clothes, and well really I just couldn't keep it to myself. SO I said to his mother and sister (who was there to pick me up to drive me to Burlington), "IF I had news would you rather hear it from me or Will". And they said, "OOhhhh, tell us... you're pregnant!" I guess at this stage of the game this kind of news isn't hard to guess! They were very excited and started calling people immediately. Will's sister Amy who was in Waterloo was called first... she was excited as well, but teased us as she is always the last to know. Will's father was en route at the time and didn't know, but she still felt like she was always last. Besides that I was talking to her the night before and she asked when I'd be working on #2 and I didn't say anything then.... oops!

On the way home from dropping me off at the airport (a 2 hour drive), he stopped into his Grandparents house and uncles. By this time his father was contacted, who called everyone in Springdale, and Will had realized that he no longer had any news to tell. Oh well!

I did get to go shopping for Maternity clothes after all. There was only one store that we found in downtown Montreal, Thyme Maternity, and I bought two pairs of pants and two tops, all from the sale rack. There were other shirts that I liked as well, a little more pricey, so I decided to put them back for the time as I knew I'd bee shopping in Arizona, but when I turned around, Will's mother was buying one of them for me! I thought that was really sweet of her.

The next day we drove down to Burlington, as Will's mother flew to our house, and I got to see where Beth has been living. The next morning we flew out on the frost (and I mean frost) to Sunny Phoenix Arizona. I finally had some time to think about leaving William for the first time ever. And honestly, I was shocked that it really didn't phase me too too much. I mean I knew I would miss him, but I wasn't besdie myself. I guess I just knew what good care he was in, and that he loved his nan, and would have a great time with her. If I had to leave him with someone other than a trusted family member, the trip just wouldn't be happening. SO this confidence meant that I could really relax and enjoy myself.

When we arrived in Phoenix, we were greeted by the trip organizers (Beth won the trip as a reward for member of being a top selling team, as were about 300 other members of her company). I was thrilled to hear that it was 90+ degrees. We went to check in at the hotel, which was a brand new resort, beautiful beautiful place, and were soon greeted by Jeanette and Isabella. I then did get really sad that William couldn't be there to spend time with his future wife, but it really nice to be able to spend time with them and have no distractions. We all spent the afternoon in the pool, oh so relaxing, and then we parted ways as Beth and I had a welcome dinner to attend that evening. We were brought by horse drawn carriage to a seperate area of the resort where they had an outdoor dining area. It was a western theme and the meet and greet area was a replica Mexican village. Unfortunatley my SIL was allergic to horses and had a terrible asthma attack. We were admitted to the seating hour half an hour early as she badly needed to sit down, and being in the open area made her feel better. We had a huge spread of BBQ and salads, and boy do people down there like their meets! I can hardly remember a veggie dish, and I had my fair share of Atkins fare that night.

THe next day we were supposed to do a desert hike, but Beth's asthma was still present, so we were able to do river rafting instead. It was only a class 1 river, a very relaxing float, basically, with lots of splashing and beautiful scenery. When the guide said we were entering the national forest, I was very suprised to see nothing but towering cactus. I'm not sure really waht I was expecting. But I just never associated the word forest with cactus plants. Fascinating nonetheless.

That afternoon, we were joined by Jeanette and Bella again for a pool side lunch. I then deprated with them to go to the Alligator Mall, as was affectionately called by Bella, for some shopping! Beth adn I were each given $200 cash for meals, but knowing I would not eat this much, I spent half at the mall. I got some great deals as well, 4 new maternity tops, a nice pair of capris, and some shirts, and fleece, and a jacket for William. It was a great afternoon! We even had treats from the chocolate factory. Yummmmy. We then drove the 60 minutes to Jeanette's house (she must really love me to travel so far for me) to drop of Bella, and after all these years I finally got to meet Sam. What a hunk, and such a sweet guy as well. Jeanette has certainly found a great guy. I had envisoned her house for so long, and it was strange to finally see her decorating tastes and style. SHe has a very lovely home, and I love her totally enclosed back yard... we really need a fence. That evening we picked up Beth and drove to I guess the downtown Tempe area, where we had some great Chinese food. Being a party pooper, I suggested we head home early (well it was 11:00) and we chatted in the hotel room for a couple of hours before J left.

The next day was our full body massage. I can't even describe how good that felt. I had a hard time walking back to my hotel room afterward I was so relaxed and sleepy. While waiting for Jeanette to arrive with my weekly dose of McDonalds I had a much needed nap while Beth sat at the pool. That afternoon (after eating cold McD's hee hee)we spent another 2 hours in the pool. Bella and Jeanette had a blast on the waterslide, and I was wishing William could be a part of all the fun. After work, the sweet guy that Sam is, drove out to pick up Bella, and we went out for another nice evening and supper at a Pasta place. I won't tell about the cockroach story, as this would make it seem like we weren't at a nice restaurant when in fact we really were, but I'll keep this here as a reminder to me in the future.

Although we departed Phoenix Thursday, it would be Saturday before I got home. I took the bus to Montreal that same evening, and had all Friday to rest, walk around Westmount, and nap. The next day was met with more travelling, and a much anticipated reunion with my sweet boy. He only really asked for me a couple of times, and took it very well that I was away, but you could tell by the smile on his face (he actually tries to hide his smiles when he is really excited) that he was happy to see me. He had lots to tell me about his week with nanny, and when we finally arrived back in Grand Falls, we were cuddling on the bed and he was saying things like, "I brought you home mommy, I missed you, stay with me forever!" It was nice to be home, and all the kisses and hugs I got were great.

I bought William some paintbrushed in Montreal which I gave him as a returning home gift, which he loved. I also bought him this native flute, handcrafted from terra cota, which got broken within a day. I should have known better on that one, but I imagined it as something to LOOK at. It was great to spend time with such a dear friend, and even greater to realize that no matter how much time we spend apart we still have so much in common, and so much to talk about, and it's always as if we've never been apart. Life is back to normal here, and it will be years before I have another solo vacation that's for sure (if ever), but I will always have very fond memories of my time in Phoenix.