Ah the trip home. Not as exciting as the trip to Mexico but still it was fun. Stu booked his tickets to go home the way we came. Mazatlan to Mexico City to Montreal to Toronto. I on the other hand am still able to fly through the United States so I planned to use the tickets that were originally booked for us and fly to Pheonix then Toronto and get home in one day. How can you tell that Stuart and Frieda are first time international flyers? Neither of us thought to tell the airline that even though we hadn't used the tickets to go down to Mexico we still wanted to use one set of them to get home.
When you think about it, its pretty obvious that that's what has to happen but we didn't think of it. Stupid us. So we arrive at the United Airlines desk and are informed of this and are told that we have to pay $500 if I still want to use those tickets. Well forget that I can go home with Stu for the same amount of money.
However, we also found out that the little pieces of paper that we were given when we first entered Mexico were supposed to come with us to the airport. (They are tourist visas) I didn't know that we were supposed to keep them but I held onto them just to be safe. However, when Stu was cleaning out the safe the night before he decided to throw mine out. Not his, he kept his and through out mine. I needed it to leave the country.
So we ran over to Mexicana and booked me on the same flight as Stu to Mexico City and we were able to sit together and then we had to run over to customs to get a new toursit visa for me. The agent there informed me that I needed my ticket stub that showed I had flown into Mexico City. If I couldn't find it then I had to go to the downtown office and who knows how long that would take. Luckily I found it after emptying out both backpacks and yelling at Stu for a while.
It seemed like everything was under control finally all we had to do was get me on a flight to Montreal and then home to Toronto. Air Canada told me they would charge me $700 to fly me home on the same flights as Stu. After begging an airport employee to let us use their laptop I was able to get on the same flight as Stu to Montreal but have to take a later flight to Toronto. It was half as expensive and we were both beyond caring.
We made it to Mexico City with nothing exciting happening. Stu insisted that we stay somewhere in the city and not in the Hilton. We paid for a round-trip taxi ride and drove 45 minutes into Mexico City to stay at a Best Western with rediculously thin walls, employees who spoke almost no English (the only Spanish I know comes from Dora the Explorer) and cop cars that drove past about every 30 seconds.
I flat out refused to leave the hotel. There was no way I was going to walk around Mexico City when I spoke no spanish and no cash. Stu braved the outside though and bought us food from across the street. It took quit the cherades game to explain to them what he wanted.
The rest of the trip home was uneventful. Other than the taxi we paid for not showing up and having to take a hotel taxi to the airport. However, we did get a refund back at the airport.
I was so happy to see my girls after a week away. Laura was huge and had learned to smile. Grace was not happy to see me. She was resentful of us being gone so long but she did eventually get over it. It was a wonderful holiday and we definately learned a lot about air travel.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Stuart and Frieda's Mexican Adventure Part 2
So this part of the trip was so much more fun to do but isn't as good of a story as the rest of the trip. Needless to say it was phenominal. I have never seen the Pacific ocean or stayed anywhere that had five stars to its name. The water was so warm and there were big waves crashing onto the shore everyday. Stu tried to surf with very little success but he did get to go body boarding and he loved that. I tried to go out swimming with him but found that I was too light to not get pushed around by the waves.
The resort was amazing, the non-alcoholic drinks were great and thats all we drank. The food was so-so but we weren't there for the food. It was so nice to just relax, walk on the beach, swim, sleep and eat whenever we wanted to. By Tuesday we were missing the kids though. The resort phones wouldn't except the phone card that we had bought to call Stu's parents so we had to wait for the off chance when we were in our room when they called and then we could talk to the girls. OK only Grace but we would have talked to Laura had she been able to.
Stu at the Montreal airport waiting for our flight home. He got to fly first class.
Water volleyball in one of the many pools at the resort. Stu's there somewhere.
Looking for seashells on the Pacific Ocean.
Me.
Be cuddly in the hotel room.
The resort.
The shore is considered public property. Vendors such as this hat guy would stand on the shore and try to sell you stuff whenever you went to the beach.
One of the main pools at the resort as well as the swim up bar; lots of fun.
The view of the mountain from the Mexico City airport.
The sunset on the Pacific Ocean. This view is from our hotel room.
The resort was amazing, the non-alcoholic drinks were great and thats all we drank. The food was so-so but we weren't there for the food. It was so nice to just relax, walk on the beach, swim, sleep and eat whenever we wanted to. By Tuesday we were missing the kids though. The resort phones wouldn't except the phone card that we had bought to call Stu's parents so we had to wait for the off chance when we were in our room when they called and then we could talk to the girls. OK only Grace but we would have talked to Laura had she been able to.
Stu at the Montreal airport waiting for our flight home. He got to fly first class.On the Wednesday that we were there it rained and was chilly. Not bad for only having one crumby day out of seven so we decided to leave the resort (something I swore I wouldn't do) and go into the city. There were a bunch of other Liberty Security sales people there from Alberta that we were able to go with. We jumped into the back of a taxi pick up truck (Mexican traffic laws are surprisingly lax) and toured around Mazatlan for the day.
Everything I had ever seen or read about Mexico is true. To be honest I assumed that most of the stuff I saw in movies were just generalizations and unfair stereotypes but I learned that that isn't the case. Mexico is poor, the cities smell different, it's definately not somewhere that you want to walk around in with flip flops on when its raining and you can't drink the water anywhere. Even the resorts.
There were definately places that only tourists were supposed to go and we went to those markets and they were lovely but being with a few return missionaries who had served in Centeral America we saw the regular market (with rediculously cheep fabric), the cliff divers and the real city. It was amazing.
Water volleyball in one of the many pools at the resort. Stu's there somewhere.
Looking for seashells on the Pacific Ocean.
Me.
Be cuddly in the hotel room. 
The resort.
The shore is considered public property. Vendors such as this hat guy would stand on the shore and try to sell you stuff whenever you went to the beach.
One of the main pools at the resort as well as the swim up bar; lots of fun.
The view of the mountain from the Mexico City airport.On our last full day in Mexico a bunch of the Liberty people went zip lining. It was sooo much fun. Basically you drive out into the middle of the country which is heavily involved with the drug wars, go to one little town where they drive you up a mountain and you get to zip line back and forth across these mountains until you get to the bottom.
It was breath taking and so beautiful. The Mexican countryside was amazing too. Did you know that traffic often gets stopped for cows just meandering along the middle of the road? The town that runs the zip linging also feed us lunch. It looked really good and was as authentic as you can get but I really have a thing with cleanliness. After seeing the bathrooms that were in the town I decided to A: hold it and B: eat lunch when I got back.
The sunset on the Pacific Ocean. This view is from our hotel room. It was an amazing trip. Stu and I had so much fun but then we still had to get home.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Two Girls
I don't think there is anything more fun in this life than having two little girls at your house. I absolutely love having Grace and Laura around and interacting with each other. Sometimes it is difficult especially when its just me, out in public with them and Grace also wants to be held while we walk to the car. (That happened a lot today) But mostly I can't imagine what I did for entertainment before they came along.
Watching the Olympics on the computer. Grace would throw her arms up in the air whenever the athletes did and Laura kicked and smiled at the colours. Laura started fussing when she got hungry and Grace called "Mom, baby!" Over and over until I came to help.
Trying to get both Grace, Laura and a basket of laundry upstairs requires some creative thinking. Despite how she looks here, Laura enjoyed the ride until I decided to take a picture and not remove her.
Watching the Olympics on the computer. Grace would throw her arms up in the air whenever the athletes did and Laura kicked and smiled at the colours. Laura started fussing when she got hungry and Grace called "Mom, baby!" Over and over until I came to help.
Trying to get both Grace, Laura and a basket of laundry upstairs requires some creative thinking. Despite how she looks here, Laura enjoyed the ride until I decided to take a picture and not remove her. Two Months
Once again I feel like my kids are growing up to fast. Can my little baby already be two months old? She was just born. It was a busy month in the life of Laura Watt. Shortly after I wrote my last blog about us buying a house I took Laura's temperature and she had a fever. Not sure what to do I called TeleHealth and they directed me to the Emergency Room.Once there Laura was diagnosed with RSV, a form of viral bronchitis. She had to stay in the hospital for six days attached to monitors, an IV and she needed help breathing with oxygen and Ventolin masking. It was so hard to see my little baby lying there so sick. I wanted to wave my magic wand and make it better but I couldn't. However, all of those hours I spent with her in the hospital helped me grow closer to her. I was amazed the her breathing and oxygen intake would improve when I held her and that she would calm down when she heard my voice. She is mostly recovered now. She has to go to the doctor's on Friday for a check up but we're now starting to take her out of the house.
On a happier note, here are some of the things she can now do:
- Laura has the most beautiful smile that lights up her face whenever she sees something she likes.
- She now kicks her legs and arms around when she's happy. Very adorable.
- She is starting to hold her head up by herself.
- She makes cooing noises.
- She usually only wakes up twice during the night now. Hallelujah!
- Laura no longer sleeps in her car seat. She likes to sleep in our bed on the flat surface.
I feel so blessed to be her mom and even more blessed that she is on the road to recovery.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Stuart and Frieda's Mexican Adventure Part 1
Please note that the lack of pictures is due to the fact that our camera broke after getting hit with a wave on the second day.
Last summer the company that Stuart was working for had an incentive that if he sold X amount of systems during the months of July and August he would get an all inclusive trip to Mexico. He sold enough that I was able to go as well. It was a blast and we just got back but it was a bit of an adventure to say the least.
On Feb. 11 we dropped the girls off with Stuart's parents and stayed in a hotel in Toronto overnight. It was a very nice hotel right across the street from the airport. So close in fact that we walked over the next morning. So far things were going as planned. We were early, getting our bags checked, boarding passes and had lots of time to get through customs before our flight left for Phoenix. And then we hit the US customs.
I was approved to get into the United States but Stu had to go to the "Secondary Inspection" area. (Not nearly as scary as it sounds.) After waiting for over an hour and missing a flight we were informed that Stuart was missing the appropriate documents that he needed to go through the US. Even just for a one hour layover. Unfortunately we were now stuck in Toronto. Usually if there's a problem with customs you can reschedule your flight and just by pass the States. However, we were flying US Airways who basically told us to get lost, sorry but we can't help you if you can't come into our country, have fun trying to get to Mexico. (Only more politely.) Unfortunately we were now faced with a dilemma. Would Stuart be able to get into Mexico? Or would they turn him away just like the States did. The United States is the only country that requires that specific documentation but we couldn't be sure until we got to customs.
Being the Type A personality that I am, I didn't handle this information so well. Stuart however did. He took control while I followed behind, stressing (freaking out) about what we should do. After two hours of running between Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 at the Pearson Airport, talking to every travel agency in the airport, talking to every airline in the airport (it would have really helped if aeromexicano and mexicana were in the same terminal), realizing that the travel agency that booked the trip didn't have a customer service number, Stuart's brother Andrew found us a series of flights on line.
So instead of flying to Phoenix and then to Mazatlan and arriving that afternoon we were now taking a flight to Montreal then a flight to Mexico City. After spending the night in Mexico City we would take a propeller plane to San Jose and then another plane to Mazatlan and get there the following night. However, it was the best option the didn't involve us taking a weekend vacation somewhere in Canada and freezing our buns off.
Have I mentioned that flying scares me? Mercifully the flight to Montreal was only 42 minutes so I barely had time to start freaking out. However, the flight to Mexico City was six hours. And one does not go through Mexican customs until one actually arrives in Mexico. After much thought and some prayer we decided to fly to Mexico and take our chances with customs. I won't lie I was terrified not only of flying but taking this huge flight and then turning around and flying back home because they wouldn't let us in. I took far more than the legal amount of Gravol right before boarding the plane and spent most of the flight sleeping. However, I did wake up as we were coming over Mexico City. I have never seen anything like it in my life.
Mexico City has over 30 million people living in it. That's roughly the same size as Canada. Flying into the city, there was nothing but lights for as far as the eye could see. And there are no building codes in Mexico so the blanket of lights was twice as compact as anything you would see in Canada. Closely packed lights of millions of homes all the way to the horizon except for these huge black spots that were the tops of mountains. They had just built this gigantic city around the mountains!
It was even more amazing once we got into the airport. I have never been anywhere outside of Canada and the United States. For the record I am very much aware that I won the lottery by being born in Canada but had never realized how truly lucky I was until I stepped into Mexico.
It was a very stressful half hour as we waited to get through customs but get through we did. We tried not to look to excited that we got through just in case the authorities got suspicious and we got interrogated. As soon as got into the main airport the smell hit me. Now the entire country of Mexico has a certain smell: sweat, dirt, mud, spices, heat. And the Mexico City airport smells just like the rest of country but with the lovely smell of open sewers. That's not to say that the building isn't clean. It's very clean. They have cleaning staff who's entire job it is is to sweep the floor. (More on that later.)
We were then faced with the problem of finding a hotel at 9:00 at night with absolutely no Spanish skills. There was a Hilton in the airport. I told Stuart that we were staying there that evening. Smart man decided not to argue with me. The Hilton was nice. Smelled funny and the water was undrinkable but it was nice. I tried to brave going to a MacDonald's in the airport but as luck would have it two high school football (soccer) teams arrived right before I did. I gave up waiting after 15 minutes.
The next day we checked out at noon and headed down to the airport for our 2:00 flight. Just as we got to the main level we heard an announcement letting us know that this was the final boarding call for our flight! We started running as fast as we could. I was in flip flops and I kept falling out of my shoes. People were staring and calling in Spanish but we kept going. When we got to the mexicana check-in we explained that we just heard the final boarding call, we had tickets for the flight but we didn't think it left for almost two hours. The agent behind the counter explained to us that the flight was not full but was too heavy. He could not let anymore people onto the plane or else the extra weight could cause the plane to crash. (Who knew) Stuart quickly explained that we were Mazatlan and the agent told us that he had a direct flight going there that would not leave until 6. I was excited. We could check our stuff, put the carry-on in the lockers and then tour Mexico City for a while. The agent quickly excused himself and came back moments later with good news! He had a direct flight leaving for Mazatlan in 15 minutes could we run? Of course. Quickly he got us our boarding passes, informed the flight that there were two more passengers who were going to make a run for it and excitedly gave us directions to the gate. However, I had no idea what he was saying other than I had to run upstairs. We had five minutes.
There was no way I was going to make it in my sandals so I pulled them and took off behind Stu. Running barefoot through the Mexico City International airport isn't something I ever thought I would do. Neither is yelling at airport security to hurry up, stop talking about your weekend and x-ray my bags. I was in the lead not 100% sure where I was going but running down the hallway with my luggage. Even though I was barefoot I kept slipping across the floors. Finally I saw a man in an orange vest yelling "Mazatlan?" Everyone was staring as I yelled, "Yes, yes we're coming." Skidding to a stop, out of breath we gave them our boarding passes, luggage and passports. Then we stumbled into our seats. Only then did we realize that our tickets were for first class! It was a very comfortable ride to Mazatlan. The Mexican country side is gorgeous especially with extra leg room, sandwiches and fancy drinks served in actual glasses.
Once in Mazatlan we took a cab to the resort. It was a very humbling experience driving through the city. The poverty was astounding. Every building no matter how small had bars over its windows and doors. Everything was made of concrete with peeling paint. Garbage was everywhere. Children and adults walked through the traffic selling goods and services trying to make a living. I felt kind of bad when we finally got to the resort. The poverty I had just witnessed was so much sadder when I realized that I was going to be staying in a five start resort.
Last summer the company that Stuart was working for had an incentive that if he sold X amount of systems during the months of July and August he would get an all inclusive trip to Mexico. He sold enough that I was able to go as well. It was a blast and we just got back but it was a bit of an adventure to say the least.
On Feb. 11 we dropped the girls off with Stuart's parents and stayed in a hotel in Toronto overnight. It was a very nice hotel right across the street from the airport. So close in fact that we walked over the next morning. So far things were going as planned. We were early, getting our bags checked, boarding passes and had lots of time to get through customs before our flight left for Phoenix. And then we hit the US customs.
I was approved to get into the United States but Stu had to go to the "Secondary Inspection" area. (Not nearly as scary as it sounds.) After waiting for over an hour and missing a flight we were informed that Stuart was missing the appropriate documents that he needed to go through the US. Even just for a one hour layover. Unfortunately we were now stuck in Toronto. Usually if there's a problem with customs you can reschedule your flight and just by pass the States. However, we were flying US Airways who basically told us to get lost, sorry but we can't help you if you can't come into our country, have fun trying to get to Mexico. (Only more politely.) Unfortunately we were now faced with a dilemma. Would Stuart be able to get into Mexico? Or would they turn him away just like the States did. The United States is the only country that requires that specific documentation but we couldn't be sure until we got to customs.
Being the Type A personality that I am, I didn't handle this information so well. Stuart however did. He took control while I followed behind, stressing (freaking out) about what we should do. After two hours of running between Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 at the Pearson Airport, talking to every travel agency in the airport, talking to every airline in the airport (it would have really helped if aeromexicano and mexicana were in the same terminal), realizing that the travel agency that booked the trip didn't have a customer service number, Stuart's brother Andrew found us a series of flights on line.
So instead of flying to Phoenix and then to Mazatlan and arriving that afternoon we were now taking a flight to Montreal then a flight to Mexico City. After spending the night in Mexico City we would take a propeller plane to San Jose and then another plane to Mazatlan and get there the following night. However, it was the best option the didn't involve us taking a weekend vacation somewhere in Canada and freezing our buns off.
Have I mentioned that flying scares me? Mercifully the flight to Montreal was only 42 minutes so I barely had time to start freaking out. However, the flight to Mexico City was six hours. And one does not go through Mexican customs until one actually arrives in Mexico. After much thought and some prayer we decided to fly to Mexico and take our chances with customs. I won't lie I was terrified not only of flying but taking this huge flight and then turning around and flying back home because they wouldn't let us in. I took far more than the legal amount of Gravol right before boarding the plane and spent most of the flight sleeping. However, I did wake up as we were coming over Mexico City. I have never seen anything like it in my life.
Mexico City has over 30 million people living in it. That's roughly the same size as Canada. Flying into the city, there was nothing but lights for as far as the eye could see. And there are no building codes in Mexico so the blanket of lights was twice as compact as anything you would see in Canada. Closely packed lights of millions of homes all the way to the horizon except for these huge black spots that were the tops of mountains. They had just built this gigantic city around the mountains!
It was even more amazing once we got into the airport. I have never been anywhere outside of Canada and the United States. For the record I am very much aware that I won the lottery by being born in Canada but had never realized how truly lucky I was until I stepped into Mexico.
It was a very stressful half hour as we waited to get through customs but get through we did. We tried not to look to excited that we got through just in case the authorities got suspicious and we got interrogated. As soon as got into the main airport the smell hit me. Now the entire country of Mexico has a certain smell: sweat, dirt, mud, spices, heat. And the Mexico City airport smells just like the rest of country but with the lovely smell of open sewers. That's not to say that the building isn't clean. It's very clean. They have cleaning staff who's entire job it is is to sweep the floor. (More on that later.)
We were then faced with the problem of finding a hotel at 9:00 at night with absolutely no Spanish skills. There was a Hilton in the airport. I told Stuart that we were staying there that evening. Smart man decided not to argue with me. The Hilton was nice. Smelled funny and the water was undrinkable but it was nice. I tried to brave going to a MacDonald's in the airport but as luck would have it two high school football (soccer) teams arrived right before I did. I gave up waiting after 15 minutes.
The next day we checked out at noon and headed down to the airport for our 2:00 flight. Just as we got to the main level we heard an announcement letting us know that this was the final boarding call for our flight! We started running as fast as we could. I was in flip flops and I kept falling out of my shoes. People were staring and calling in Spanish but we kept going. When we got to the mexicana check-in we explained that we just heard the final boarding call, we had tickets for the flight but we didn't think it left for almost two hours. The agent behind the counter explained to us that the flight was not full but was too heavy. He could not let anymore people onto the plane or else the extra weight could cause the plane to crash. (Who knew) Stuart quickly explained that we were Mazatlan and the agent told us that he had a direct flight going there that would not leave until 6. I was excited. We could check our stuff, put the carry-on in the lockers and then tour Mexico City for a while. The agent quickly excused himself and came back moments later with good news! He had a direct flight leaving for Mazatlan in 15 minutes could we run? Of course. Quickly he got us our boarding passes, informed the flight that there were two more passengers who were going to make a run for it and excitedly gave us directions to the gate. However, I had no idea what he was saying other than I had to run upstairs. We had five minutes.
There was no way I was going to make it in my sandals so I pulled them and took off behind Stu. Running barefoot through the Mexico City International airport isn't something I ever thought I would do. Neither is yelling at airport security to hurry up, stop talking about your weekend and x-ray my bags. I was in the lead not 100% sure where I was going but running down the hallway with my luggage. Even though I was barefoot I kept slipping across the floors. Finally I saw a man in an orange vest yelling "Mazatlan?" Everyone was staring as I yelled, "Yes, yes we're coming." Skidding to a stop, out of breath we gave them our boarding passes, luggage and passports. Then we stumbled into our seats. Only then did we realize that our tickets were for first class! It was a very comfortable ride to Mazatlan. The Mexican country side is gorgeous especially with extra leg room, sandwiches and fancy drinks served in actual glasses.
Once in Mazatlan we took a cab to the resort. It was a very humbling experience driving through the city. The poverty was astounding. Every building no matter how small had bars over its windows and doors. Everything was made of concrete with peeling paint. Garbage was everywhere. Children and adults walked through the traffic selling goods and services trying to make a living. I felt kind of bad when we finally got to the resort. The poverty I had just witnessed was so much sadder when I realized that I was going to be staying in a five start resort.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Exciting News
Ok so I just found out about this like 40 minutes ago and I have a crying baby right now with a head cold so I will be brief.
WE JUST BOUGHT A HOUSE!
Last night we went looking at houses and saw the mopst amazing house for our price range! We sent in an offer last night and it was just accepted.
No idea when we're moving yet but Laura just puked so there will be more details to follow.
WE JUST BOUGHT A HOUSE!
Last night we went looking at houses and saw the mopst amazing house for our price range! We sent in an offer last night and it was just accepted.
No idea when we're moving yet but Laura just puked so there will be more details to follow.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Grace is Two
It really seems impossible that my baby is two but February 1st came and went and now I have a big two-year princess at my house. Where did the time go? How am I this old? How come I'm not nearly as mature as I should be for this stage in my life?
Grace welcomed in the new year of her life with a killer ear infection. Yes, it is that time of year again. That wonderful time when we personally keep the anti-biotic manufacturers in business. Being the sharing and caring big sister that she is she passed it on to her sister. (Not the ear infection but the killer cold) So our house is full of sick cuties singing happy birthday and eating cake.
Everyone related to her, called her on her birthday. Both her grandparents were able to come and visit her. When her uncles first started calling she had no idea what happy birthday was but by the end of the day as soon as the song started she would sit up and beam at everyone.
Grace had her friends over for a Dora the Explorer themed birthday. There was lots of fun to be had as they ran around the apartment building following their maps, collecting stuff in their backpacks. Five toddlers running around was quite the experience but it was so much fun for all of them.
So Happy Birthday Grace!! It's been a wonderful two years!
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