Back to Benin

We got to the airport early, and then later found out the flight was late so somehow we managed to entertain the boys for endless hours in the airport by introducing them to McDonalds pancake breakfasts (thanks Uncle Sam!), read magazines (thanks Helen!), colour pictures and sit on some arcade driving games and pretend to drive for a good hour or so!

Flying to Libya was pretty smooth, Tom was an angel watching movies, reading and playing with 'the King' (thanks Nanny - I wish you had seen their faces when we got them out!!) -The king being the matchbox sized car that was 'the only thing he wanted for Christmas' - I'm sure he will think of something else before then! Joshua was a very sleep deprived, high maintenance two year old, prepared to have a strop at the slightest thing so the journey did seem eternally long. But it wasn't all bad, Joshua took a liking to the chicken curry - obviously not knowing the reputation aeroplane food has- and ate better than he does at home, he had a lovely time playing with fireman Sam and a little fire engine with an extendable ladder, even though fireman Sam was bigger than the fire engine. He made me smile while he watched a bit of Madagasgar 2 with some headphones - all was lovely and quiet for a few minutes until the whole plane heard him singing '...I like to move it, move it, I like to move it, move it...' - oh well it beat the whinging.

Flying from Libya to Benin was notably different, the stroppy toddler fell asleep and looked like an angel, although took up more than his fair share of seat space. The earlier angel became a tired little boy who found it incredibly difficult to get to sleep given the lights and lack of space, but who did fall asleep on the floor a good couple of hours into the flight. We might have joined him except that Joshua kept threatening to fall off the seats onto his sleeping brother.

Anyway, it is good to be back, to see Tommy, to have had some sleep, to know we are here with all our luggage and the pushchair returned to us.