Our house was full with 13 packed hockey bags that contained everything from bathing suits to Christmas decorations to scuba gear and school books. It was a stressful couple of days with Kevin arriving home from China on Monday the 29th with a to-do list that was 3 pages long. We quickly learned to prioritize and realize that what didn’t get done could either be delegated to a family member or friend or simply be left undone, and that is o.k. Thanks goes out to all of those that put up with us those last few weeks, well lets make it the last whole year since we set the date for this adventure. Thanks to the family members who have taken over our property managing, house/pet sitting and my house cleaner/sister that came in at the last minute to help put everything in order, we love and already miss you all.
So on to the trip. Anna and Dustin drove us to the Edmonton International Airport at 10:30 pm on Thursday night where Grandma and Grandpa on the farm were waiting to bit us farewell. We had quite a few eyes on us with our four kids loaded down with their carry on backpacks that were stuffed with leftovers that would not fit into our 13 hockey bags. We checked our bags through to Grenada but were told that we would have to pick all of them up in Toronto to clear through U.S. customs. On a good day I am stressed going through customs, but with 13 bags of things that we need/want with us the stress level multiplied.All of our airplane rides were uneventful and on 
time, with movies to watch and an unlimited amount of Halloween candy to keep everyone happy. Going through U.S. customs was another story. Luke, Tyler and Cole put their funds together to purchase a remote control boat to take with them, we decided to take it on as carry on as it is a bit fragile, U.S. officials decided that the remote control hand piece was the “wrong shape” and told us that we could not take it as carry on. So off goes Kevin 3 steps back out through customs to check the boat as luggage. Unfortunately we had not all gone through customs and they found some magnets (you know the expensive colorful ones that the kids 
make shapes with) in my bag that also could not be taken as carry on, so off I go, leaving our kids in the customs room to chase Kevin to put the magnets in with the remote control.
We finally cleared customs in Toronto only to realize that through all of this chaos we lost our 4 badminton rackets, which thankfully can be purchased at the local hardware store upon arrival.
We arrived at the Grenada airport at 9:30 pm local time only to discover that not one piece of our luggage arrived on the same plane as us, which we later realized was a blessing in disguise as it was a huge feat to load on the boat and put away. We simply took off pants and climbed up onto the beds and instantly fell into a deep sleep. The kid’s first impression of our boat (which everyone who is coming to see us will appreciate) was “Whoa it is huge, way bigger than I thought it would be…”
Our first day here, with no clothes/shorts to change into, we decided to go shopping.
