Paradise, with 2 kids

Lloyd wakes me up at around 5.30am and thats it I cant sleep.  I watch the sunrise, and the excitement of being in Fiji kicks in, so I head to the gym to wear off some energy.  10 minutes of running (well jogging slowly) tires me enough to return back to the hotel room.  I wake up Steve, tell him breakfast looks fantastic, and to get up!!! I must be hard to live with sometimes.....

About 2 hours later Steve and the kids are ready for breakfast (well it felt like 2 hours).  I think Steve took longer than me getting myself and the other 2 kids ready. Matthew doesnt seem bothered or really interested in the fact we are now in a warmer country, in a hotel room, and the motorhome has gone. He does say "hot" a few times though, so maybe there is hope. 

Breakfast is out of this world.  In fact the hotel is out of this world.  It is by far the best hotel I have ever stayed in.  Everything is 100% new and 100% perfect.  I could not possibly fault it.  The food is so nice you just want to keep returning, but the selection is so large you could not possibly try everything.  Steve is in his element.

We then goto the kids club, and we manage to get rid off (I know Im cruel) Matthew for a couple of hours.  It is bliss I have to say.  Looking after a 2 year old 24*7 in an enclosed space has definitely taken its toll on me and Steve, there seemed to be no escape.  For a brief couple of hours peace reigns in the Baker household and we contemplate lazing around the pool (something we would never have done before kids) and taking a swim with Lloyd.  No such luck as we return to the kids club to put suncream on Matthew and find he is definitely ready to come back to us......

We still head for the pool, after spending a considerable amount of time with suncream, insect repellent, waterproof nappies, rubber rings and the like, Steve goes off down the water slide with Matthew and I take Lloyd for a brief dip - his first swimming experience.  Lloyd isnt over keen I have to say, inquisitive though.  Doesnt cry, just doesnt laugh either.  After about 5 minutes me and Lloyd are out, his first swiming trip completed.  Some people may question my sanity taking him swimming in Fiji, but this hotel had immaculate facilities, and I think is as good and clean as any hotel in Europe or America, if not cleaner.

Eventually we depart for our room, getting Matthew and Lloyd to sleep with relative ease.  I then dash off and have a go on a jet-ski, something I have wanted to do for years now, but never got around to.  It was absolutely excellent, much better than the shotover jet in Queenstown I would say, as I had total control.  I loved it, and want to have another go as soon as possible (maybe tomorrow).  The people at the hire place were asking whether I was sure I wanted to do it, and even the guy that put me on the jet ski questioned me, I suppose they expect a different kind of person to be doing it, Im not sure.  Maybe I look like a frumpy middle-aged mother - little do they know I have an inner passion for high speed excitement!!!

The rest of the afternoon is spent lazing, with a nice load of rain to help things along.  Its warm out here (about 85F, but still just in the raining season.  It does get much cooler with the rain also. 

Our routine has been truly trashed, we have to find a new one now we are in a hotel room.  The first thing is to order Matthew a cot - as Steve is complaining at having to sleep with him.  Lloyd also goes into his moses basket, as I want to ensure the mosquitoes keep off him during the night (it has a net cover).

One big problem is that in New Zealand we got up with the sun, and went to bed with the sun.  Cant do that here as dinner isnt served until after 6pm.  Dinner with me and Steve alone would have been one of the nicest dinners of my life.  It was a seafood buffet, and again the food was divine.  The best sushi I have ever had by far, beating my previous best in Chicago.  There were some big fish on the side, looked plastic, but were real, was amazing.  It probably wouldnt have appealed to my vegetarian friends, and I did feel a bit sorry for them, but they tasted great!

The downside of dinner was that Matthew was very very cranky, and Lloyd was awake.  Breastfeeding in public probably isnt done much in Fiji, so not sure how that went down at the dinner table (well what was I meant to do!).  Matthew kept shouting "Bula" to every member of staff, probably every member of staff could hear him as he shouted it.  Got a bit embarrassing.  Then he was playing with one girl and managed to side swip his lemonade (yes I know I shouldnt have given it to him but wanted to get some peace for 5 seconds) and his food on the floor.  The girl rushed off, me thinking to fetch a cloth, but it seemed in embarrassment at the mess he had made!

Yes, its fair to say dinner wasnt as expected, and not a total success.  But you live and learn, we know that we have to adjust to make dinner better tomorrow.  Preferably by not taking the kids to dinner!  Its hard for us to get a babysitter for Lloyd due to the feeding, but we could possibly for Matthew I suppose.  Will need to feed him during the day. I shall think about how to resolve.

Its now 9.30pm, both kids and Steve have been asleep for around an hour now.  I can barely keep my eyes open also, its been a full couple of days.  Its so great to be out of the motorhome, I didnt realise until we got here how hard it has been travelling in such a confined space for so long.  Just to have a normal shower feels really special, and having a proper bed, well what could beat it? Tomorrow promises to be another fun day Im sure, we are really loving Fiji, should have came here for longer!