Visiting Mommy's Homeland

So much to write about… I’ll do my best to keep it brief but if you have been reading my past entries you know it will probably be quite long.
The first thing we can finally talk about is mommy and my surprise trip to Canada. Grandma Schlenker helped organize a flight up for mommy and me to surprise Papa Schlenker for his 50th birthday. We were planning to leave Friday, Feb 26th. Thinking she was on the ball, mommy was reading over travel info for the both of us the Monday before we left and realized I needed a passport to travel to fly across the border. Yikes… this sure gave mommy and grandma a real scare because they had 4 days to somehow get me a passport. As usual, it was daddy to the rescue. We are so lucky to be living where we are living right now because there was a passport office right in San Francisco. Daddy found out that we could go to SF early, stand in line and get a passport by Wednesday. So that is exactly what we did. We left the house at 6:30am, road the BART with all the commuters, walked a couple blocks to the passport office, stood in line for an hour and a half (well mommy sat on the sidewalk while I slept on her), walked into the office at 9am, walked out 10 minutes later and were back at the house by my next feeding time. I was very impressed with the whole process and grateful I could get a passport. One nice memory mommy will always have was when a nice lady gave us an extra blanket and some mitts for mommy while she held me in the cold. We love kind, thoughtful strangers!
Mom and I were excited all week to go to Canada. Unfortunately I woke up like 6 times Thursday night so mommy was super tired all day Friday. The only good thing about waking up a lot was that daddy brought me into bed with him. Daddy was going to miss me so much and snuggling was a good way to say good bye. Everything at the airport went smooth except the flight was delayed twice. While we were waiting, mommy found a nursery that I could eat and nap in. Mommy was sure grateful for that. I slept most of the flight and mommy watched New Moon. When we landed at 10pm, a cute Philippino lady came and sat down beside us. She could barley speak English but she offered to help mommy carry all her stuff if we helped her get through the airport. She was coming to visit her daughter. She was very sweet and mommy told her all about Uncle Matthew who served his mission in the Philippines. After we stood in the long customs line together and waited for our luggage, the lady met up with her daughter and her family. Her daughter was also very sweet and offered us a ride home (which is no small task in Calgary) but we gratefully declined, said goodbye and met up with Auntie Laurel. My cuteness gets mommy so many perks.
The next morning, we drove to Medicine Hat with Uncle Mark, Auntie Laure and the boys. It was fun listening to Ashton, Nick and Uncle Mark’s loud music. It was a miracle I snuck a nap in. When we arrived, everyone went in but mommy and I (remember, Papa Schlenker did know we were coming). A few minutes later, mommy sat me in a bumble seat in front of the door, rang the doorbell and ran. Papa opened the door and there I was, cute as ever! Papa would have been more surprised if Cousin Ashton didn’t say “its Cherish” as soon as the doorbell rang hehe.
Before the big party, mommy took me to Jessica’s to show me off to her high school friends. Dayna, Kristin and Jessica just loved me and were in awe that Mommy was in fact a mommy. Jessica’s puppy, Frankie also loved me.
The surprise party that Grandma put on for Papa’s birthday was pretty cool. Mom laughed almost the whole time because it was a “roast” for Papa. Many of his friends wrote poems and prepared little speeches to make fun of Papa because Papa is always giving others a hard time. No one could blame me for being tired, so I struggled for some of the party and was happy to go to bed when it was over. The next day was also fun because mommy could show me off at church. Everyone thought I was so cute, big and such a good boy. Grandma and Papa wanted me to wear my team Canada jersey because the big gold medal Olympic hockey game was later that day.
I definitely saw a new side to Papa and Uncle Derek during the hockey game. This particular side was not my favorite however because it made me cry. Without fail, every time either a really good thing or a really bad thing happened, Papa and Uncle Derek yelled and it startled me to tears. Mommy was sure glad to be amongst fellow Canadians when Team Canada won!
The rest of the week up until Friday was spent mostly at Grandma and Papa’s house relaxing. On Wednesday however, I went to Mommy’s friend Dayna’s new house for supper. I was such a good boy and loved their puppy, Bella. I giggled when he licked my hands and screamed (with happiness) when he ran around me.
Mommy and my flight was scheduled to take off Saturday evening from Calgary so we drove up with Grandma and papa on Friday to spend time with family. We had a nice day at Uncle Mark and Auntie Laurel’s. I played a bunch with Ashton and Nick and they showed me a lot of cool things. I even got to sleep in Ashton’s room on his mini couch and mom got to sleep in his bed with the plastic sheets. Saturday morning, after a delicious Mc Donald’s breakfast, we went to Auntie Janine and Uncle Clayton’s (they are mommy’s cousins) house. They have 2 daughters who are very sweet. Since it was such a beautiful day, we went to a park with a beautiful frozen lake beside it. Like everyone, they all thought I was super cute. After a nice lunch and a last visit with Uncle Mark, Auntie Laurel and the cousins, it was time to head to the airport. On the way we quickly stopped by the Lacusta’s so they could meet me. They said cousin Ben should be coming home from his mission in Las Vegas in August!
The trip home went very smooth. The flight attendants loved me so much, mom could have given me to them and slept the whole time. Since we sat near the back of the plane, everyone that waited to use the toilet could stop and admire me. I was sure glad to see daddy come to pick us up and he was even more excited to see me. He told me I can never leave for that long again, but we will see about that.