I took this picture of Josiah right
before he got his head stuck in the bars!
This past weekend we had to make a fast exit to another country in order to legally stay here. While the thought of making a quick trip with the four boys brought some reservations we were a little excited. The boys were excited about the boat ride and their parents were excited about getting a few food items that we cannot find here. We were headed for a two day island vacation - sounds great. NOW, as you might well imagine our travels included a few bumps!
We left our apartment bright and early Saturday morning in order to board our 8:55 flight. On our way to the airport I realized that we had forgotten our stroller ( a necessity when travelling with four kids). Soon after checking in we realized that that our flight would be delayed 20 minutes - no biggie. We met up with some friends, ate lunch, played at a park, borrowed a stroller, and headed out to the dock in order to catch our 6pm boat. It had already been a long day with no naps and we were all a little worn. Anyway, we boarded the boat and the boys were excited. That excitment lasted for about 15 minutes because soon the boat was being tossed around by the waves. How bad was it - lets just say that I had opportunity to talk to Caleb about the time the disciples feared for their lives while Jesus was asleep! While I'm sure that it wasn't exactly the same we all felt pretty terrible. We were told before we boarded the boat that if the wind got any worse we would not be able to leave the island the next day as planned. We got off the boat and wandered into the small port town, with no lit streets and no idea where we were headed. Honestly, I felt like something out of a movie as we wandered around with our luggage and four boys trying to find a place to stay. By this time we were exhausted and we just wanted a place to sleep so we decided on a hotel, ate dinner, and went to bed. The shutters in our room clattered all night and each time I woke up I was doubtful that the boat would take us back as scheduled. The next morning we decided to explore the island, starting with the restaurant with the 'french toast' promise we saw the night before. Suffice to say they did not have french toast. We got over it (except for Josiah) and the boys were excited to explore the castle ruins and to play at the park. As we roamed around we saw a grocery store - an opportunity to pick up a few special treats, right? Well we soon learned that most businesses on the island were closed on Sunday - no special treats. After calling the boat company we were told the the boat was still leaving and we roamed some more (another day with no naps) before heading to the dock at 3:45. Soon after we arrived we realized that we had forgotten the borrowed stroller at the hotel and Ted walked all the way back to get it once we were told the departure was delayed until 5:30. Well, you guessed it, at 5:45 we were told to come back in the morning because it was too windy. We decided to stay in a different hotel in order to get a good night sleep. After rebooking our airline flights and eating pizza we headed to bed. Well, so much for the good night sleep - Lucas threw up all through the night but seemed mostly fine by morning. We made it back to the dock, had an uneventful trip back, and were greeted by a friend who would give us a ride to the airport. We stopped for lunch, laughed about all the mishaps and headed to the airport. We were about five minutes from the airport when Lucas' lunch came back all over himself, Ted, and the car. We made a pit stop at a gas station, promised to pay for the car cleaning, checked our luggage (minus the goodies) and headed home. Half way through our trip Ted and I lost it when I accidentally dumped water into my chair. We both had a good laugh about it - I mean, really, how could all of this happened on the same trip?! Oh, but it is not over! About an hour before we landed I noticed that Caleb had a fever (and his voice had sounded funny since we left) and the lymph glands in his throat were swollen. SO, as soon as we arrived home Ted called the doctor and took Caleb in. Caleb had a really bad throat and tonsil infection. I'll stop my story there. I know that it has already been really long. I will say that one good thing that came from this trip was that we all just wanted to go home. More than once Caleb told me that he wanted to go home - not to a home that we had in the states but to our home here. We have come to a place where this apartment, this city is what we think of when we think of home - that is a good thing.
