May

bikes, bikes, and more bikes

Biking is cooler than sliced bread.

Not only have we established one of the youngest biker gangs (watch out they can be surprisingly vicious) - 

But we have also been able to take our family biking to new levels.

And in terms of awesomely amazing milestones - Oliver participated in his first mountain bike race this past weekend and placed first!

And my good friend Henni Banana - she road her bike for the first time without training wheels!  This is a video of the first attempt - and she's only gotten better over the past couple of days.  She is so excited about this milestone.

Bliss, chapter three

Bliss, chapter two

Getting new appliances in the United States is fairly easy.  When we got a washer and dryer we chose what we wanted, the next day two men showed up and installed them - in about 10 minutes.  And the new fridge - that whole process took maybe 5 minutes.  On an island things are different - very different.

Appliances were ordered (large fridge, dryer, and stacked washer/dryer).  They traveled from their warehouse to the Port of Palm Beach.  They got put on a boat.  And after about a month, the appliances arrived in Marsh Harbour and cleared customs.  A couple days later they were put on a barge and sent to Man O War.  The appliances were hoisted by crane onto the dock and then the barge pulled away.  

What happened next was long, hot, and pretty damn funny (and frustrating at times).  We were left with three huge and heavy boxes, Davis, me, and the two kids, no car, a huge unpaved and very rocky/rough hill, and a long, equally rough and rocky path (road).  What we did have was a dollie, a golf cart, and music.

We started with the fridge.  We tied it to the back of the golf cart.  Davis walked and ran behind the golf cart to help guide things along and to tempt fate.  I drove the golf cart in a way no golf cart should be driven.  There were times there were three wheels on the ground and I was leaning over the opposite edge as if I were on a boat that was heeling, and there were a couple trees that were hit (hard) and taken down.

Since it was clear it was not safe for the kids to be on the golf cart we gave them music.  The sound of Flo.rida echoed over the harbour throughout the process and served as a way for us to be able to determine where the kids were.

Once each of the appliances was moved in this way the installation began.  10 minutes?  Nope.  Try close to 3 hours for one, and an hour for the other two.  This was the frustrating, long, and very hot (and grossly dirty) bit.

The entire time in the Bahamas Oliver and Henni played together so well.  And the really fun part was that they found and made toys out of anything and everything.  Since we pack light we brought no toys.  The kids did not even notice.  Watching their ingenuity was wonderful.  Davis and I were so thankful for this - especially since this meant we could work together to install the appliances.