wecantwin1

Daily Thoughts of a New Dad
2010-03-30 16:36:25 (UTC)

Nanny's 80th Birthday Vacation

Well Susie & I just got back last night from our vacation
to Montreal and Miami. What a great time I can't begin to
tell you how much fun we had.

We arrived in Montreal around 9:30 last Saturday night and
after standing in the cold for about 20 minutes finally
found my cousin Vicky and her boyfriend Aaron. He seems
like a nice guy and Vicky looks much happier with him. The
original plan was to meet up with my cousins at a local
bar, but it had been such a long day (12 hours traveling)
that we decided to just meet up with everybody at Manuel's
house and have a few drinks there. After a couple hours
of drinking people started to leave, this of course was ok
for Susie and I as we were more than ready for bed.

The next morning Manuel, Vanessa, Susie, & myself piled
into Manny's car and drove about 30minutes to a restaraunt
that had a great brunch buffet. Susie & I were led around
the room by Aunt Lucy as she introduced us to all of the
family that I didn't remember and Susie had never met.
Susie looked amazing as always & I am always amazed at how
she commands the room with just her presence and positive
energy. Soon Nanny arrived with my mom and the entire
room clapped when she realized what was going on. The
highlight for me was when Nanny scanned the room and
eventually noticed Susie and me standing in the corner.
Nanny's eyes immediatly began to well up with tears and
all she could say to everybody was I can't believe they
made it here from Panama. Nanny told Susie 3 days later
that her legs were still shaking from the joy of having
the two of us there to celebrate with her.

The highlight of the trip came later that morning when
everybody was begining to finish desert. Susie glanced
outside the window and noticed it was begining to snow.
The excitement and pure joy on her face was that of a
8year old girl on the morning of the first snow of the
winter. She could hardly contain herself. Withing
moments the two of us, joined by Marissa & Brian were
dancing in the parking lot of the restaraunt trying to
catch snowflurries before they melted on our hands.

After brunch, and an extended family good-bye, Susie and
I went to John & Sofie's house to hand out with
everybody. The snow continued all day & we spent a good
part of the afternoon outside freezing our butts off
throwing ice/snow balls at each other in the backyard.
When dinner was ready we went inside & defrosted. Aunt
Sofie prepared a classic Montreal dish of green peas &
chicken sandwiches with gravy on top. The meal was
delicious, but Aunt Sofie was embarresed that she hadn't
prepared more of a fancy dish. As is the norm with my
family she opened the door and for the rest of the week we
had fun with her about it.

Later in the trip Susie and I were joined by Vanessa for a
trip to Old Montreal. Vanessa told us in all her years
living in Montreal she had never gone site-seeing, we soon
learned neither had anybody else in my family (including
the now 80 year old Nanny). We first went to the Church
of Notre-Dame. This place was amazing! The craftsmanship
and attention to detail was second to none. Later we
walked around China Town and then back to the main square
where we toured the Bank of Montreal. Established in 1818
the bank is truly a site to be seen. The ceiling are
trimmed with real gold.

Susie and I were lucky enough to see snow 3 of the 4 days
we visited Montreal and all in all we had a great time
with the entire family. This also includes the time we
spent looking for Manuel's lost debit card in his car.

Next on the vacation agenda was Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.
Most of the time was spent running around visiting friends
and family. Although I don't have as much to say about
this part of our vacation I still had a great time. There
was a lot more running around, but it was worth it. We
always have a great time visiting our old homes & Susie
loves the shopping. We spent a great deal of time
shopping for the baby & even settled on her name: Sophia
Victoria Marx. Stay tuned to this one because I have a
feeling Susie might change the name a few more times
before her delivery date. I on the other hand love the
name and hope it sticks.

We are back in Panama now and getting ready to get back
into our work groove. I am just so happy and blessed to
have Susie in my life. Sometimes I think life might be
easier if I was with somebody who didn't challenge me like
she does, but I don't think life would be happier. I love
that my wife challenges me. It makes my life exciting and
keeps me motivated. If it wasn't for Susie I would be an
overweight, lazy ass, alcoholic. Susie keeps me going
and she makes me want to be a better man. I care about
her and our future baby more than I care about my own well
being. For the first time in my life I want to start
taking care of my body by eating better and excercising &
I only have Susie to thank for this positive change in my
life. I love these women with all of my heart & I pray to
God that I am able to enjoy a long healthy life with them
well into my 90's & 100's. There is nobody else I would
want have taken this trip with & hope that I have done a
good job of communicating this with her.

Matt




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