.... we had the neatest Family excursion last weekend, that I totally forgot to tell you about.

On Sunday, our usual Family excursion day, we went over to Zon and Writa's house (they moved out of our casa a couple of months ago. Don't think I ever mentioned it though) and ran into Captain Nature Boy and our friend Lis. Cap'n Nature Boy and his family members have been living on that little patch of Island Harbor for generations and he's definely an institution on the island.  He does some fishing as well as nature excursions (AHA, now we're getting to the point of the story) around the island.

So before you know it Explora is working out a deal and he and Nature go to get gas, while the kids and I  are  getting stuff out of the van for our unexpected trip.  Within minutes we're on the boat and being lowered into the water at Island Harbor.

 After a few bumpy moments while we had to move slow, and after a couple of "I don't know about this" looks from the kids as they were being thumped around by the waves, everyone got a smile on their face as we turned around Scilly Key (a tiny island about the size of a soccer field that has the World Famous Scilly Key) and towards the Eastern point of Anguilla.

Watching the goats scatter as we drove by was hilarious and watching the kids with the explorer wind in their hair was even better.  I hope I will never forget the picture of the boys standing in the boat, holding onto it's side, with a huge grin on their face, like they were kings for a day. 

Those grins turned to shouts and frantic pointing as a large animal swims past our boat.... a 7 ft black-tip shark (GULP as I hold tighter onto both girls) and just a few seconds later, there are Dolphins. 
Two of them.
Amazing!
The kids go nuts and they're shouting as if they just won the lottery.
And then terribly sweet Island Boy walks from the front of the boat, all the way to the back, slowly, step by step, and says "Mom, I hope I will never forget this day.  I just saw real live dolphins in the ocean!"

After about a 35 minute ride we get to Scrub Island, a small and uninhabited island that is home to only about a million sand fleas, several Arawak built wells and walls and a crashed plane.
Even though the sea was calm that day (hot diggety, it feels good to say that) the beach at Scrub is very steep, so getting off the boat proved to be quite difficult, especially with the mini munch kins.
But even Lola's wipe out in a 5ft wave and our near boat flip upon re-embarkation couldn't keep her, or any of us from feeling like royalty, being the only human beings on this stunning island. 

A few hours and several peanut butter and jelly sandwiches later we were on our way back home.
I don't think anyone spoke a word the entire trip back though. 
The kids just sat on the hull of the boat while the adults sat in the back. 
We all felt like Captains and we all had a smile on our face.  We all had conquered several fears and obstacles (think about being 2.5ft tall and having a 5ft wave wipe you out) and got to see things that made us feel like an elite group of super heros.

That kind of silence is priceless!