Bar-BAY-Dos

We stayed in a hotel last night at the airport and got up super early this morning (5:40am) to get our 8:45am flight to Barbados.  We got up, had a shower and when I went to brush my teeth Jay had put our toothpaste away and so I grabbed the girls from my toiletry bag, put it on my toothbrush and then walked out to the living room, told the girls to get changed..and I'm thinking to myself - this toothpaste isn't minty, I don't know what the girls problem is, why they don't like it.  Then I realize it isn't really frothing either and then it felt kind of greasy..so I pulled out the tube and it was Cortizone Cream!!! Yuck!  So then I take a kleenex and start to wipe the grease off of my teeth and pull out the REAL toothpaste and brush again..so disgusting.

We got down to the lobby and had a quick breakfast and hopped on the shuttle, which the front desk person had told me will pick us up and take us directly to the airport (8-13 mins depending on traffic) yeah right!  It stops at another Marriott before going to the airport and THEN it back tracks BACK to the hotel and the people in front of us tell us that there are people who arrived at the airport and ordered the shuttle and then got OFF at the wrong Marriott so we're taking them back to the right Marriott before we go to the airport - oh my god.  Now we're tight for time.   And Jay pokes me on the shoulder, twice, and says "now we're tight for time" - yeah thanks. Our flight leaves at 8:45am and we finally arrive at Terminal 1 at 7:15, we have 90 minutes to check our booster bag (which is 25% full of boosters and 75% full of other crap we use on vacation that will fit in the bag - but its free to check so we have a hockey bag sized car seat bag that weights 20kg).  We check the bag, we sail through security with our Nexus and we have 60 minutes to spare!  We see Dwayne and Leanne immediately and then just wait to board.  They start calling boarding and because Dwayne and Lea have Avery, who is 3, we are going to try to piggy back on them when they say "We are now boarding passengers needing assistance and passengers traveling with small children"..I turn to the girls and say "If anyone asks, you're 5" and they say "but no, we want to say we're 6?!?"...hopefully no one asks...

We arrived in Barbados about 2:30pm this afternoon after a fairly uneventful flight.   Jay and I had been arguing, pretty much since we booked the trip, that we didn't need to upgrade to business class for us and the kids for the 5 hours flight ESPECIALLY since the business class seats were pods.  He's been trying to convince the girls how cool the seats would be and would think he had them sold when I would say "So what this means is you can't see or touch Mommy or Daddy for the flight and you're basically flying alone" and they would shrivel into themselves and say "Uh Uh, Mommy and Daddy"...understandable, I mean they're 6!  We got on the plane though and the girls saw the seats and said "I want to fly in one of those!" Oh my God, they're their fathers daughters after all!  Though I still think it would have been a big mistake.  The girls and I are staying in Barbados for 2 weeks, while Jay is only staying for 1 week, so he's flying home on his own in a pod, so he gets that anyway.  And we had paid the extra $40 per person to be at the bulkhead and had TONNES of room, so no complaints there at all...also the bulkhead seats we had were 2 and 2..so no strangers near enough to feel, hear or smell, so Jay was happy.

We had a bit of a mix up with customs and immigration once we arrived in Barbados, or well Dwayne and Lea did - they finally had all their bags and I said "What about your stroller"..."Thanks Dana!"  they forgot to pick up the stroller as they left the airplane, so Dwayne went BACK out past customs to the tarmac to get it (since down here you get off the aircraft on stairs straight to the tarmac) - so then there was a bit of a debacle with Dwayne and Leanne being separated..so Jay, Trevor and I went to the car rental place to start to get the car settled.  Dwayne and Lea met up with us and got Lea all sorted with her spot as a driver and off we went..kinda.  Then there was a hiccup with the rental cars not having anchors for the boosters, though Leanne took that pretty well - their precious Avery would have to travel in 5 point harness comfort without the added security of anchors while the girls are in their top of the line $19 booster from Walmart and just a seat belt - haha!   No, really, it was fine.

We got 2 rental cars, an 8 seater for when we all want to travel together and then a 4 seater for when we're splitting up on activities.  So Lea and I took the kids and hopped in the 8 seater with Dwayne, while Jay and Trev packed all of the suitcases in the Kia and said "See ya later suckers, we're going to follow the directions, see you there, its a race"..we opted to have the rental car rep input our final destination in the GPS, which took a few extra minutes of figuring.   We got about 10 minutes (I'm not sure it was even 10 minutes) down the road and all of the sudden Paige says "I think Daddy and Uncle Trevor are behind us!"  I had just joked with Dwayne and Lea that the directions were completely ridiculous since none of the streets have names (except the directions told you which turn to make at each roundabout by name ie - at Haroldson take the 2nd exit, but NONE of the streets have signs indicating their names) and that if we see Jay and Trev at the side of the road we should slow down at least!  Anyway, they followed us safely to the house.  Driving is on the left side of the road, so quite a few times I turned on the windshield wipers instead of my indicators!

We got to the house and its gorgeous, just like the pictures.  We're staying at a place I found online called Capri Manor.  

Our concierge greeted us and she introduced us to the cook and the housekeeper, gave us some pertinent information and then headed off.  Dwayne asked where the nearest hospital or clinic was in case of a medical emergency..I have never thought to ask that when we rent a house!  lol, worrier vs non-worrier? 

The girls got changed and went for a swim with Jay in the pool while Leanne and I talked to the cook about the plan for meals.  They'll cook 2 consecutive meals a day, either breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner.  I said 'we'll probably do lunch and dinner each day and just do breakfast on our own' - HA!  The cook said (in her own words but pretty close).."Lady, I've been doing lunch and dinner for the last 2 weeks straight and I have problems with my feet, I want you to mix it up a bit and do some breakfast and lunch (and you look like a bunch of push overs from Canada and not some hoity toity bit*&es so I'm pretty sure you'll do what I say)"  So we'll do a couple of breakfast/lunch shifts too!  lol.. She's coming early tomorrow morning to do a meal plan and then go grocery shopping with us to buy what we need for the week.  So we said that Lea and I will likely do a grocery shop anyways tonight for breakfast tomorrow and snacks and she thought we were CRAZY since we have to go to the store tomorrow with her and its about 15 mins away.  But, she didn't know that I wanted fresh limes for, that's right if you remember Costa Rica, tequila sours (so good)..and of course some snacks for the kids.  Plus, Lea is pregnant and you DO NOT make a pregnant woman, let ALONE Leanne, wait for breakfast until after the shopping in the morning!  I said to Lea, "She's going to come in in the morning and see all the groceries and be like 'Silly Ladies, I can't believe they went out last night and have to go again this morning!'"..but those tequila sours were worth it..and Leanne may or not say the same about her pre-bed snack of bran cereal!  HAHA.

The cook and housekeeper made us a nice dinner of pasta, salad and bread and then Jay and Trev went out to get gas and beer in the little Kia while Lea and I went in the van to do groceries.  We got back an hour later (20 mins there, 20 mins shopping and 20 mins back) and Dwayne was apparently ready to send out a search party for us!  I'm beginning to see another side to Dwayne!  Too funny.  We were fine..though Lea is a bit of a nervous navigator..I'm a bit of a ditch hugger driving on the wrong side of the road and she keeps saying "ok, slow down.." and "we are definitely touching the bushes over here.." in a very calm voice..but then deep breathing a bit like she's having contractions!  She CAN not drive with Jay or this baby might just be a Barbadian citizen!

We got home and immediately made a simple syrup and squeezed some limes for the tequila sours..then 2 drinks each (for Trev and I) and half a 26er later (how is that even possible) - we're in bed.  Oh, but...Paige wanted me to tell Leanne and Dwayne the story about the Cortizone cream..so I told them what happened this morning, pretty much as I wrote it above and Leanne laughed..and peed her pants.  haha..so then we were all laughing that she peed - and Trev said "Ok, that's Leanne's chair this trip" and this is a beautiful outdoor patio with 4 big chairs and a couch..and then he says "I didn't know we could mark our territory" and stands up and proceeds to pretend he's peeing all over his chair..well, the girls went CRAZY laughing.  It was so funny.

We're sitting outside and laughing and listening to music and Dwayne says "what time is it anyway.." - oh, its 9pm, almost bed time..we'll put the kids to bed, go to bed ourselves and then get up with the sun and play all day -  - "I love it!"...yeah, I think we'll travel well together!