I Always Wanted to Go To Belize

Last Wednesday we made the 6+ hour trek to Guatemala City to fly back to the States for our 2 month furlough. We found out at the last minute that we were going to have to pay $800 to leave our vehicle there while we were gone. There are a lot of micros getting stolen right now, so that was the only safe option we could find. About the same time we found out about that price our friend Luis called and said that he insisted on driving us to Guatemala City and then picking us up when we get back. (For those of you who have been down here it's the coaster driver Luis.) At the last minute we also changed who was going to be watching our dogs. We were going to leave them at our forever house and have Lico feed them, but instead the mini zoo keeper from the hotel in our town said that he could watch them. This lets them stay at our house which is added securing for us. We had just recently gotten to know him. He is very good with animals. Both of these things were a specific need that God met for us that I am very thankful for. No need is too small for God to take care of.

{At Taca check-in Thursday morning}

Thursday morning we flew to Miami. For the boys' sake we were so excited about having a direct flight.

When we got to the gate we were casually informed that we would be landing in Belize to refuel. All the tourists were thrilled, but we go to Belize all the time, so to us it just meant another hour to our flight. They told us some story about a gas tank fire in Miami but honestly I think Taca was too cheap to buy Guatemalan gas (that had just gone up substantially).

So 2 hours into what we thought was going to be a quick direct flight we were sitting on a runway in Belize (about an hour drive from our house lol). The boys had just fallen asleep, but of course this mini layover woke them up.

{Silas with his ring pop}

We had 3 seats, 2 had been purchased with sky miles! That means we get 6 pieces of luggage to come back with!

I was really worried about how the boys would behave on the plane, so I had tons of things planned for them on the flight. We had gotten them headphones and they watched videos of themselves. We colored, snacked, looked at the magazines, sang (very quietly), and had several toys we kept rotating. Someone suggested suckers to us to help the boys with the pressure change. Genius I tell you... genius! I will never fly again without suckers. The boys did so good on the flight, even the lady in front of us commented as we were getting off about how good they had been. I am so thankful (and relieved)!

CRAZY ITEM OF THE DAY: Jimmy was in possession of the ring pops when we got on the plane. We had 4 carry-ons plus 2 boys, so understandably he dropped one (a ring pop, not a boy). Unfortunately it landed in the middle of the aisle full of boarding passengers. He was going to wait to get it, but the ring pop never would have survived. It most definitely would have been trampled. I saw Jimmy's face and knew what he was thinking. All hopes of a peaceful flight were about to be lost. Without hesitating Jimmy threw himself over the ring pop in a full body block. The only casualty was the man across the aisle from us who was innocently placing his bag in the overhead compartment. His personal space had definitely been violated. The man disgustedly looked over his shoulder knowing nothing of the ring pop that had just been saved. I was laughing out loud by this point, but before we could explain the poor man asked for another seat and was moved to the front of the plane. I have never seen Jimmy get that close to another male... proof that there is little a father of twins won't do to preserve a little sanity.