My Key Chain is Lighter

To some this post may seem a little trivial or a sign of being materialistic, but it is not about the object but rather what it symbolizes.  We have sold our Green Machine, it is gone - our last permanent feeling or attachment to the island is gone.  All we have left is our "stuff" in our apt. no furniture, just clothes and books and things that can be packed into luggage. If for some reason it did not fit I am sure we could leave it or pass it along to someone who could use it.

So a thank you for keeping my family safe, island adventures, all the fun surf treks (some successful and some not), all the room to pack many kiddos in and thank you for being instrumental in us exploring the island and seeing all there was to see.

Karla - remember the day we piled 5 boys, a 12'3" paddle board, 2 surf boards and 4 boogie boards and the rest of the beach necessities in and showed up at Plum Bay.  The look on the faces was priceless.

Here is to all the noises and sounds - familiar sound of going over the speed bumps (there are many) and oh the window - the passenger window that had its own plan.

I am excited for the next adventure that will be carless, relying on public transportation - a little nervous as well - I have 2 growing boys and a husband - that is a lot of food that we will be hauling.  Never the less very excited to see how it goes - hmmm surfboards and crash pads on trains???????  We shall see

We are now free to go (after a couple more exams I guess)

The Cape

Per family tradition the boys and I made our way to Florida for a couple of weeks to hang with family.  Mike stayed back on the island to finish some classes and take a big exam that would basically allow him to leave the island and prepare for his board exam (or now known as the STEP exam).  The boys were thrilled to spend 2 WHOLE weeks just hanging out with their cousins on the beach.  There was no planned schedule except to fish, take walks on the beach and spend time together.

Simpson Bay from the airplane - full of boats for the Heineken Regatta

a large stretch of the coast - simpson bay, maho beach, mullet bay, cupecoy, long bay - our house is tucked in there somewhere.

oh how these boys have missed caramel apples - they almost peed their pants when they saw Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in the Atlanta airport

finally time with their cousins

as usual we had some funky weather and spent a day under a tornado watch

brothers

catfish

everyone was thrilled when Miguel caught a black tip shark - several people had seen shark fins pretty close to shore and a fishermen reported a 7 foot shark being caught from the shore.  There was some serious determination to catch one.

we all agreed there was no way we could cut it up and eat it - so he went back to the ocean

the whole time I meant to grab my camera for sunset and always seemed to miss it - I found this photo on my camera - Ronan had noticed the beautiful sky and snatched a photo through the window.

Thank you to Oma and Papa for everything.  We had a wonderful time and it was great to see everyone.  The boys absolutely loved it and are still missing the girls and everyone very much.  See all of you soon.

Moments

Just some moments during the last few days with some of the family visiting the island.

mullets waves

enjoying the old dutch fort

the family

bird - plane - boat

ahhh yeah - the mesh tank with the euro shorts - gotta love it

Thank you to everyone for coming to the island to share the holidays with us.  Good times were had by all.........