St John, the story

Last week Kent and I got to go on a trip that we've been planning for and saving for the last three years.
Kent's parents went to St John four years ago, and ever since we've been dreaming of this place.
With good reason, it turns out.
This is a place of dreams, people.

We drove up a couple of days before to get the kids settled in with my parents.

I had a harder time leaving them than I thought I would. 

They're all just so sweet and little! 

And I just want to stay with them and take care of them!

But we have to take care of our marriage, too. This is important to us.

After a few days just me and Kent? We seem to find ourselves again. Remember who we are. 

Then we come home, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, and ready to start again to be the best parents we can be.

Our flight left at 1:15 am,
which isn't the most ideal time for departure,
but with just the two of us, and heading to the beach, I couldn't complain. We even got a couple of hours of sleep,
which for a mom,
is plenty!

(apparently it's not quite enough for a dad, though....)

And the view out my window as the sun rose over Atlanta? 

Incredible.

We picked up our rental car on St Thomas, bought a few groceries, and got in line for the car barge.

Pretty fun to be on a boat, in a car!

We got our first taste of the crazy roads on St John, dropped off our stuff at our beautiful rental house,
then drove back into Cruz Bay to wait for
our very favorite travel buddies, Mike and Allison.
We ate dinner at a beachside restaurant that nearly lost our credit card and truly lost electricity a few times (all part of the experience!)
and then Alli and I stepped down to the water to put our toes in for the first time.