Ireei!

Oh no…. this is turning into one of those hundreds of half filled diaries that I have in the drawer beside my bed. I will be doing so well, adding a short little insert every day or so and then suddenly two weeks go by. I keep putting it off and the next thing is it has been two months. By then I have left it too long to simply pick up where I left off and so eventually I’ll start a new one. Well I don’t want to start a new blog, I like this one, so I need to be more focused.

In my defense, since I last wrote I have moved our little family back to Antigua and then had Mum and Peter to stay for a couple of weeks. So I haven’t simply been lying idly on the beach not doing anything. In fact we have done so much I don’t know where to begin!

* A dream come true… cantering along a white sand of Rendezvous Beach with the ocean spray hitting my cheeks. It didn’t end there; we whipped off the saddles and rode the horses out into the Caribbean Sea for a cooling swim. It was one of the most fabulous experiences of my life, especially as I was able to share it with Mums. 

* Time with Gabe, I’m so glad he was able to get holiday so we could all be together for a while.

* A night out! Only the third time I have been out since having Coco. I have lost my stamina though, I was home by midnight and I’d moved onto soft drinks half way through the evening. I didn’t even manage to last until the dancing!

* Jet skis! I am not a jet ski fan, in fact I have always been one of those people who tuts and shakes their head at the ‘idiots’ hooning around disturbing the peace. Well, I have now been an ‘idiot’ and hooned! I wouldn’t do it again in a hurry but I did bloody love it. I realize I am a bit of a speed freak.

* St John’s, what a pleasant surprise. I have avoided it in the past but we decided to have a tourist day and see the cathedral, Redliffe Quay and the fruit and veg market. I am so glad we did, it was so interesting and well worth the visit. I will definitely be taking our other visitors there and hope to get involved with helping raise some funds to restore the cathedral.

* Betty’s Hope sugar mill was a humbling experience and certainly didn’t make me proud to be British. The accounts of the mill during the time of slavery were shocking and sickening. Who on earth did we think we were?

* Coco’s daily changes, especially the new food throwing phase. It is annoyingly messy but very funny. Why use a spoon when you can shove everything into your mouth using your hands?!

*My first Mother’s Day was perfect. The only thing that would have made it complete would have been if Angus had been there but other than that it was just perfect. A morning walk and coffee (juice for me, I don’t drink coffee) followed by a delicious lunch at Harmony Hall. The day finished at Half Moon Bay with a swim in the ocean and a final gossip with Mum before her holiday came to an end.

These are just a few of the highlights, there have been so many! Along with a multitude of beaches, walks, swims, cocktails, meals… the list goes on. However, we have still managed to save some things for next time! Hopefully this was the first of many trips Mum and Peter will make to Antigua.

It has now been over two weeks since we left Angus in America and we are very ready to have him home. The last I heard, the boat was just north of Haiti so it won’t be long before it docks in St Maarten and Angus can hot foot it straight to Antigua to spend a few days with us before going back to work. Coco and I are counting down the hours until his arrival.