Big day here in Belize — the day Papa arrives! With Erin’s help, the boys made signs that they couldn’t wait to hold up.
At the first sighting of the water taxi, Ezra started signaling.
They stood with their signs for quite some time, while the boat slowly made its way to the dock.
And finally … hugs all around!
We had a good amount of rain and wind overnight — so much that we had to go on a scavenger hunt this morning to find the swim clothes and towels we’d left out to dry that had scattered around the yard. The skies cleared at about 10:00 or so, but we got a huge windy downpour at about 11:30. Poor Erin got caught in it while she was on the dock waiting for the water taxi to take her into town. After that we got clear skies the rest of the day, and Erin got a change of clothes and, finally, her day in town. The boys and I got in some good pool time.
Jamma made us a wonderful lunch and we had a picnic on the dock. Here Finn munches on a quesadilla and shows off his farmer tan.
They like to watch for boats.
After a bit of a rest in the early afternoon, we hit the pool again — this time with Jamma — at about 4:00. Since the battle of the swim shirt continues with Finn, we agreed that after 4:00 he doesn’t have to wear it. Of course, that escalated into not wearing any clothes at all, so he and Ezra got to enjoy “nakey swimming” this afternoon. He is never happier.
Another lovely day! It was touch and go this morning when we got some rain and the clouds lingered for a couple of hours. But it finally burned off and became a beautiful day. Jamma and I took the water taxi into town to do a little shopping and have a grown-ups only lunch at Elvi’s Kitchen. It was supah, as Bruce would say.
Erin had a long day with the boys full of walks on the beach (they picked up a lot of trash), swimming, fighting over swimming and swim clothes, etc. The usual. Here are a few of Erin’s pictures of the great trash pickup.
Heading out.
The haul.
The creepiest find — a baby doll’s leg.
I got in a quick swim with them when Janice and I got back and we had some fun with the new super soakers (a whale and a croc).
I realized later in the evening that I hadn’t taken any pictures all day. So I took some while the boys wolfed down their dinner — BLTs tonight.
Finn prefers his deconstructed and sans bread. He was very grumpy and sleepy at dinner after a no nap day.
Tomorrow Erin gets a well-deserved day off and I plan on hanging out with the boys in the pool as much as possible. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.
Today we said goodbye to the clouds and rain and had the most perfect, breezy, warm Belizean day.
Needless to say, we hit the pool early. Finn was having a tough day — huge meltdown over putting on his swim shirt and then another one when it was nap time. But we survived.
While Finn napped, Ezra and Erin took a walk up to the grocery store to replenish the ice cream supply. Later, Erin led a group drawing project.
Ezra relaxed in the hammock.
Then we couldn’t stand it any longer and we all went to the pool again. This time Finn won the battle of the swim shirt.
More swimming.
And serious digging.
Then we got cleaned up to walk up the beach to Rojo Lounge for dinner and hermit crab migration sightings.
Finn really liked walking in the water.
Ezra wanted to collect trash.
(The trash is a major bummer. Everything from plastic bags to wine bottles to oil cans washes ashore.)
When we got to Rojo, Finn was taken with the little pool.
Both boys loved the little umbrellas in the drinks.
The food and drinks were delicious. I had a frozen mojito and Jamma had a Hawaii 5-0.
We also got a pizza with lobster, shrimp and bacon. Yum.
Finally at about 7:45 we were ready to leave and luckily the hermit crabs had started to arrive. We didn’t see huge amounts (apparently they come much later in the night), but we did have to watch our step on the beach! Here are a few of them congregating on a palm tree.
We also saw this land crab.
Awesome day and night!
Welcome to the tropics! The weather is crazy! We woke up (at 5:40 — that 6:30 bedtime last night came back to haunt me) to pouring rain. It continued to rain until mid-morning, so at Ezra’s request we watched Willy Wonka again. This time Finn stayed awake the whole time and enjoyed it as well. Except for the part where Charlie and Grandpa Joe float up toward the big fan. Very scary. At least they had a good cuddle spot for movie viewing.
Anyhoo, when it finally looked like this outside …
… we hit the pool. We got in a good hour and a half.
Ezra found some lizards in the bushes surrounding the pool. This one seemed to be looking for flowers to eat, but then he just sat there for about 20 minutes. Lazy bum.
This little guy just seemed to be seeking some shade.
At a little after noon the sun disappeared behind the clouds and we realized a storm was a-comin’.
We got in the house just in time!
Here’s a brief video.
The sun broke through a couple more times in the afternoon, but not for long so we didn’t get a second swim in. The boys kept themselves busy in other ways.
I’m enjoying the crazy weather, but do hope we get some clear days too!
Wonderfully mellow day today — we woke up to beautiful Belizean sunshine and had nothing specific to do. The boys saw a few iguanas running around and decided to run outside to have a closer look.
Every time one would run under a bush, Ezra would wave and say, “Bye! Thanks for visiting us!”
At 9:00 we ran an errand (walked to the Mata Grande Grocery — a one room grocery store up the road) and then the boys and Erin hit the pool. It was truly lovely here today, a welcome change after the clouds and storms of the first couple of days.
The boys had a two-hour plus morning swim, then a break for lunch and rest, then another hour in the pool this afternoon. I decided on a quick dinner for them of pasta, watermelon and olives (which they inhaled, begging for seconds) and after a couple of books and snuggle songs they were both out like lights. It was 6:40. I love vacation.
Oh, and this is a picture I took last night. When I came downstairs to go to bed, I found these two lovely boys in the most angelic position. So sweet.
This morning we needed to vacate the house because a photographer was coming to shoot the house for International Living, so what better excuse to take a trip into San Pedro Town to finish the rest of our grocery shopping and have lunch. The skies looked like rain …
… but we decided to brave the weather. We rented a golf cart and started making stops — the bakery, a vegetable stand, and then a little grocery store.
The rain, which had been just a few drops, started to come down harder, so we decided to have lunch. We got almost all the way through the meal when the rain started coming down sideways and right into the open air restaurant. And it was cold! It was never cold last year!
We decided to head home on the water taxi and got caught in the torrential downpour on the way to their dock. It was actually pretty awesome. The kids, once under the roof of the dock, had fun peeking out at just how hard the rain was coming down.
Eventually we made it home, soaking wet but laughing. Later it cleared up enough to swim — my first dip in the pool this trip.
After dinner we watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which I’d brought with us because I just finished reading the book to the boys. Finn, who went napless today, didn’t make it and was asleep at 6:15 but Ezra loved it. And so, after all these years, did I.
While everyone back home was celebrating July 4th, we had pretty much forgotten all about the holiday! We were a bit distracted by the extreme weather here. Look out, it’s a tropical storm!
The crazy rain didn’t last very long but it remained quite cloudy. That did not deter the boys who spent a couple of hours in the pool once the rain stopped.
It’s funny how swimming totally wears out kids. Finn passed out cold just after his “I’M NOT SLEEPY” rant.
The rest of the afternoon we stayed indoors because this weather is bringing out the mosquitos. (Very different from last year, where nobody got bitten and we had one day of rain.) Anyway, the boys are pretty content to play with the toys they brought from home.
On Sunday we flew from DFW to Belize City. Finn immediately fell asleep on the plane — we had barely taken off.
It was a good thing for both of us; that boy needed a nap.
We took a different route to the island this time, having a driver pick us up at the international airport, drive us to the grocery store in Belize City, and then take us to the municipal airport. The boys had fun playing in their rocks and jumping in the wind.
And here’s our little plane.
We got the same seat (in the back) as we did last year.
It’s really quite a lovely view from the plane.
This time we made a stop on Caye Caulker. It’s a thriving metropolis; here’s the airport.
Then back up again and on our way to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. Armando picked us up in his boat and we got to the house pretty late in the day. The boys and Erin took a dip in the pool while Janice and I unpacked. Then a quick dinner and everyone collapsed by 8:00.
We left town on Saturday, headed first to Dallas/Fort Worth for an overnight and then on to Belize on Sunday. On Saturday morning, I asked the boys to pack up some toys they’d like to bring with us. Finn packed his backpack and by 7:00 a.m. he was ready to roll.
I did the rest of the packing, since we clearly have different ideas of what one needs on a trip. We also had some stowaways.
Erin gave them new sunglasses for the trip. Now they’re the hippest kids on the block.
Auntie Rhonda and Bruce served as chauffeurs to LAX.
Finn said his sad (and sleepy) goodbye to Papa.
And then we were off!
We made it to Dallas about 9:30 with two exhausted boys who wanted a ride.
Once we got to the hotel at the airport, Ezra hung out with the luggage.
After a quick dinner in the room, Ezra did book time.
It was a very late night, but a good night’s sleep was had. Getting ready for travel day 2.
Because we always need a little more drama right before we’re set to leave on a trip, it so happened that this week (Tuesday evening to be exact) Ezra swallowed a Goobi ball. We both immediately freaked out — he because he swallowed the small iron ball, and I because he was clutching his throat and until I realized that he was also screaming, I thought he was choking. Ensuing madness: I first thought the ball was magnetic and worried about that quite a bit. Finally I looked up what the balls are actually made of and called the doctor. She assured me it should pass in three days, but if it didn’t we needed to come in.
OK, three days. As days one and two passed, I started to worry that if it didn’t pass on day three we might have to delay our trip. (Could we even get an x-ray on a Saturday?) So I called the doctor’s office again this morning and made an appointment. They sent him for an x-ray (a picture of which I will add once I get it), which showed that the ball was in his colon. OK, more waiting.
Turns out he passed it a couple of hours after the x-ray so all is well and we are headed to Belize on schedule!
Oh, and here’s a before and after picture of what a Goobi ball looks like once it’s traveled through a six-year-old boy. Ezra insisted on keeping the product of his digestive system, and luckily Bruce was on hand to handle its cleanup.
