Friday, February 22, 2019

Our final days in Belize.

 
I love these kids with all my heart!!!!  They did great on this entire vacation!!!!
 
 

















 


 This was the last morning in Belize!!!  The kids were back into wearing pants and the long sleeves were easy to grab for our flights back home!


I thought the way home would easier because then the kids would know what to expect but it was tough.

Flight number 1.
 
 
 

Each of the children bought a small souvenir from Belize except Austin.  And so when I saw this turtle necklace, I grabbed it and bought it for him at the airport in Belize City!!!!  He smiles from ear to ear and loves it!!!!!


And we are off!  Flight number 2.
 

We had a lay over in Chicago and didn't board our last flight until 9:30 PM.  This is why the trip home was much tougher.  By then Ashlyn and Austin were both sleeping and it hard to carry two 'not so small' children all through the airport, claim luggage, get our Yukon and keep it all together at midnight when we finally landed in Philadelphia!!!!  We were freezing cold and so tired!!!!




But we made it back home safe and sound and tired and before the snow arrived!!!!  We all flopped into our beds exhausted and we were happy to hear the "no school today" when we woke up Wednesday morning!!!  The kids were super excited to sleep in and be at home!

I needed to restock the pantry and fridge and pick up Ginger at Sadie's and so I was out of the house before the snow came!!!  But when I walked out of Costco with a cart full of groceries, this is how it was!!!!!  Thanks for welcoming us back home snow!!!  :)



The day was spent doing tons and tons of laundry, unpacking suitcases, restocking the pantry, getting the kids hot chocolate and watching it snow!
 
Thank you Lord for the safe trip to Belize and for the wonderful family time we got to spend together!!!!  You are the provider of all things good!!!!  Thank you!!!!!!!!
 
 

Belize ~ part 3.

 
Belize ~ part 3:
 
This girl was like a little fish in Belize!!!  Her and Austin both would say that the pool was their favorite thing about the tropics!
 
 
 
When we drove into town, we passed the police and fire station.  Austin would every time be amazed!
 


Rum & Bean got some of our money while we were there!  We stopped here a few times for some good drinks!






 And more stops at Maria's!  We didn't think about it the first time but Ashlyn's middle name is Marie and she wanted to tell that to Maria!  Maria was so happy and excited about that fact!  She always wanted a picture with everyone and when I asked her to take a picture of our family in front of her produce stand, she tried but never took the photo.  I handed her my phone and I think she thought she took a photo and really didn't even know how to take a photo and I just laughed when I saw she never even pressed the camera button.  Oh well!!!!!


I was on the other side of the road asking her to come take a picture!  I traded places with her but never actually got a photo!  :))))

One thing I wanted to show the kids was church in Belize.  We should have been more clear with the older kids because this put them out of their comfort zone immediately!!!  Mike and I loved the music and didn't mind shaking hands with the church people!  Hadassah and Matthew didn't want to stay for the service and we said that we would only listen to a few songs.  But Mike and I got all sucked into the good worship!  I wish now that we would have just said "yes we are staying" because Ashlyn was intrigued when she was invited to attend Sunday school and that they would dance and color and worship Jesus.  But again, the two oldest were ready to keep moving.  Next time ….

We only stayed for a few of the songs and looked at the cross on their stage and answered all Austins questions about Jesus dying on the cross!!!!!


Pizza was on the menu at the pool restaurant and we ordered it one night!  Yummy!


Pancakes for this girl one morning!  And she loves crossword puzzles!



Blue Water Grill!!!


Here's our ride!!!!  Golf carts everywhere!


Driving through town!




Maria would give us so many tiny bananas when we stopped in!!!  Austin loved it!!!!


Fresh juices!!!!!


When Maria found out Ashlyn's middle name was Marie, she gave her this floral necklace that she wrapped around her head!!!!  This was special to Ashlyn!


Here's a popular Taco shack!


We took the kids to the corn factory!  It was so hot and loud but here is where they make thousands of corn tacos!!!  It seemed so good!


Outside market.



Fruit stands set up everywhere!  Here the man is peeling an orange and then they bag it and sell them!


Had to send this to our 50's group!



Ashlyn and I went grocery shopping one day and only bought a few things like milk, cereal and some peanut butter and jelly with a loaf of sourdough bread.  But I loved to walk around and go into other little shops!  Isn't this so neat how they display their goodies???







Iguanas and lizards are common and we would often see them at the resort!  This was the lobby at Coco Beach and look at this big guy!!!!




Right inside the lobby doors were these two waters!  They had cucumbers in one and pineapples in the other one!  We would often go get a small cup of this water because it was important to stay hydrated on these hot days!!!!!


Pool side vibes!








I will be forever grateful to my husband for allowing this trip to happen!!!!  He would say that I was the push behind the whole thought and I was persistent in getting those passports on time but really he is the one giving us the OK to go and enjoy this family time together on a far away island!!!!  Thanks Babe!!!!!



I'm realizing that so many of my photos are food pictures.  We did eat three meals a day each day and really enjoyed all the ethnic food and loved the bold flavors!!!!  On this day the Truck Stop was closed so I treated the kids to fresh strawberry Popsicles!!!!!