What a week!

Before I start, I just want to share my extreme excitement with you at my having being nominated for a MAD Blog Award! It is a complete surprise, I am gobsmacked, flabbergasted and utterly over excited about it. For those of you who don't know about the Mummy's and Daddy's Bloggers Oscar's, click on the button on this page and take a look. Who'd have thought that Baby, Buggy, Boat would even be considered for a nomination alongside some of the extraordinary talent there is amongst the parent bloggers out there. Apparently this is an inspirational blog! What-da-ya-know! Whoever it was that has enjoyed reading about our adventures enough to nominate us, a heartfelt 'thank you'. You made my weekend!

There is so much to fill you in on I am struggling to know where to start. After a nasty tumble in the pool last week, we signed Coco up for some more lessons to rebuild her confidence. It has worked a treat and she is loving being back in the water. Both Angus and I are also loving learning the exercises to really help get her swimming. She is just starting to kick at last and so we are able to let go of her now and she makes way underwater. She will hang onto the wall on her own, spider-crawl along it to the steps and climb out. Big progress so I am going to have to be sure I keep it up when we get back to the UK next week. I can not tell you what a relief it will be to actually have her swimming and it feels like we are getting close now.

We had a truly glorious Easter weekend. I did a fun-run to raise money for a local guy who needs a back operation to get him walking again. We ran at sunrise up to an old fort at Shirley Heights, enjoyed the stunning views from the top and then ran back down again. It was hot and hard but such good fun. I ran with a friend and colleague of Angus's and it felt good to start the weekend doing something virtuous.

We were invited to spend Easter Sunday morning with some friends who were hosting a brunch party. After collecting the eggs the Easter Bunny had left in our little garden (we had to get out there very early so they didn't melt!) and enjoying an early breakfast of Cheerios and chocolate (!) we headed down the hill to our friends house. Brunch was more muffins and bucks fizz, followed by more bucks fizz, followed by lots of fizz but by this stage we abandoned the fruit juice. It wasn't even lunchtime when we wobbled home giggling all the way.

It is Antigua's famous Sailing Week at the moment so we have spent a few evening at Nelsons Dockyard absorbing the party atmosphere. Coco and Uncle Gaby had a dance-off to the islands top band - Itchy Feet - on Monday. When I say 'dance-off' they both span around like loons and jumped about like a pair of over excited frogs. Extremely funny to watch, I wish I had got it on video.

Our bit of drama for the week was on Monday evening when the boats crew up to the house for a BBQ. We had a lovely evening with everyone; good food, wine and beer, swimming and chatting and had just settled down to tell embarrassing stories when the boats watch-keeper called Angus to tell him that the sailing yacht right alongside them was on fire! Now, if you imagine a marina, all the boats are very close to each other, and I'm not sure how much you know about boats but they burn well - and quickly. I have never seen Angus move so fast! Grabbing half the crew, they jumped in the car and hotfooted it down to the harbour. (Angus hadn't been drinking by the way, he's very responsible like that)

All was well, but not before Angus and his crew had fought the fire along with ABSAR - the Antiguan rescue team, the fire-brigade and other surrounding boat crews. Sadly, S/Y Titan, the boat that was on fire, was pretty much destroyed but nobody was hurt and no other boats were affected. To read more check out this report in Dockwalk.

So an eventful week! We should be back in the UK by now but Angus's plans changed, the boat is staying a little longer and who wants to rush back from the Caribbean? So we've changed our flight and have a few extra days in paradise... lucky, lucky us.