We're Home!

Never ever ever been SO GLAD TO BE HOME! Raechelle was there waiting for us when we got out of customs! She brought us home, but not without stopping first to get me a #2 from McDonalds(one of my main vices) None of us got much sleep last night as we got into bed at around 230 and both girls were awake by 3. Maggie throwing up and Olivia thinking it was 6am(lol). Dispite a total lack of sleep we managed to get the girls to Maggies babysitters for the day and us Moms went to the Harvest Craft Fair. Olivia did AMAZING! No tears what-so-ever(this is the first time we have ever left her with anyone besides Rae) After the fair we went back to the house and Rae cooked dinner while we packed up our car. We are now home and I am so thankful to sleep in my own bed tonight! First let me tell you all alittle about our trip. We went to Beaches Boscobel.... Jamaica was amazing. If I had to do it again I would not have stayed in such a large resort, while it was beautiful, very family oriented/kid friendly, good food 24hrs a day and unlimited drinks at various bars...It was very very American. If it weren't for the accents of the staff you'd never know you weren't at a beach resort in southern California, well maybe the warmer ocean water. My fondest memories were of the trips we took out of the resort, those moments made me wish for a more authentic location, such as a house rental....Our shopping trips were limited in time and very very overwhelming(selling crafts and woodwork is primary income for many families and they are desperate to make a sale). Jamaica is an extremely poor country, the average wage for full time work is $40 American dollars per week. Less than 50% of the population own cars. Most family cant afford education and unlike here in the states its not free (well there is free goverment schooling for ages 6-12 the only years its 'required') We saw a lot of children at the gates of the resort begging for food, I found myself passing cheese burgers under the gate more than once. The Island is absolutely gorgeous out side of the resort(resort looked no different than so cali) We visited Fern Gully, wow gorgeous! Aswell as Dunns River Falls (where Shana and I climbed a 900ft waterfall) and Martha Brea to name a few. The native dogs wander around along side the goats searching for food and then return home in the evenings. Whats funny is many if not most own goats, but none of them use the milk, as far as they are concerned the milk is for the kids(baby goats). They do however eat the goats, eventually. The van rides were always an adventure, the one unevenly paved road is a two way road not much wider than a single lane here in the states, some parts of it have a painted line but it doesnt seem to mean much. People pass other cars into on coming traffic regularly, and tailgate so closely you can feel the body heat of the people in the cars in front of you. As far as our time in the resort we enjoyed the spa and water sports, such as the aqua trampoline, kayacks, aqua trike, and sailing. The night entertainment was fun, the bartenders were great. We watched Seasame Street Live, the characters were amazing and the performance impressive, we all loved it. They have scavenger hunts with grover, bake cookies with cookie monster, arts'n'crafts with Zoe, Bert and Ernie did a magic show, Elmo had so much energy in the heat and humidity he made every child feel like the most special he'd ever met. The BBQ park was my favorite place to eat, Grace(our main server there) was the sweetest woman Ive ever met, she even left a meeting on our last day to meet us in the lobby to say goodbye before we left! We have SO many pictures it'll likely take some time to get them all edited and into a folder...until then Ill leave you with these random pictures: With our Bartender: Rafting on the Martha Brea(Renee and Deana, and then Olivia and Renee, Shana tossed her onto my raft to nurse, lol): Climbing waterfall at Dunns River Falls: Fern gully: Tree Roots: Olivia showing off her newly braided hair: