Oops, I just realized that I never told you yet how the principle of Lucas' school reacted to us asking for yet more time off school for Lucas....well, he was totally cool about it. His mantra turns out to be 'travel is a different kind of learning and no less valuable than time in the class room'. So obviously this is my kind of principle.

We've been in Aruba since the 16th of May and the kids have only just started to get settled in. I guess we've under-estimated the effect that all this traveling would have on them (2 weeks in the UK, one over-night in Houston, four days back in Belize, one over-night in Miami and then on to Aruba)

The effects of all this upheaval were mainly visible in sleeping problems, being moody (Lucas acted like he entered early puberty...I've never met such a moody 4-year-old!) & fear of new children, something my kids normally never suffer from. We had hoped to enrol the kids into a playgroup for the 3 weeks that we were here, but after 3 failed attempts and some rather hysterical scenes, we gave up.

So now our days are filled with:

• Watching rented childrens DVD's in the morning, whilst mum drinks coffee and slowly wakes up (we don't really have rental places back home, so to rent a DVD is a luxury for us)
• Dad taking Lucas to the driving range to practice their golf swings
• Shopping (big supermarkets are extremely exciting to those of us who have lived in Belizean jungle for the last few years)
• Spending time on one of the many beautiful beaches in Aruba
• Hanging out with my mum, sister and their partners
• Exercising at the local gym (I'm in heaven! Some real time for myself)

My two boys being nice to each other. I wich they were always like this. Lucas has been fighting a lot with his little brother, even though yesterday he told me how much he loves little Aidan: "Mum, I love him so much! I love him like fire! I love him like the night time when there are really hard winds, that much. I love him like a hundred thousand!"

A few hours later he tried to drown him in the sea....



One of the many fun nights in Aruba. Here Lucas tries his hand at 'spijkers slaan', where you have to try and knock a nail into some wood in as few hits as possible.


My sister Miriam and her husband Laurenz outside 'the Plaza' bar in Aruba during the pole sitting competitions (strange Dutch tradition where people sit on a pole for days on end & start halucinating after many sleepless night)That's all for now. The baby just woke up again...