The British are Coming!!!

This is from our recent trip to Boston!

We had such a wonderful family vacation, probably one of the best yet. We left on a Tuesday afternoon and arrived at Rich's sister's on Thursday. The kids were great travelers. Played lots of "Punch Bug" and "PT Bruisers"! No matter how many Richie had, Payne had "One" more!

Rich stayed with us until Sunday then had to return home for meetings. The kids and I hijacked my sister-in-laws GPS and hit the road. Those of you who really know me, know that this was a stretch out of my comfort zone but with the help of the GPS we made it safely to each destination.

One day we traveled to the Salem Willows and had pizza, played arcade games, fed the birds and walked the shoreline. Another day, we went to Salisbury Beach. That was wonderful! I am pretty sure that I am supposed to live somewhere just like that one day!

Rich returned to Boston on Friday and the kids and I joined him for some sightseeing. This was the first time the kids remember being in the city. Emma got to see some history lessons come to life and I think she was really excited, although she would never admit it!

On Sunday, Rich got tickets for the Ole Town Trolley and surprised me with tickets for a three hour Whale Watching tour! I was so excited! We learned lots of history that missed the books and witnessed several whales on that Sunday!

The kids returned to Middleton while Rich and I enjoyed a few days to ourselves. Although I did not get to attend a Red Sox game as they were out of town for two of the weeks we were there, Rich and I did get a tour of Fenway Park. That was also amazing, got to see parts of the stadium that I would not have seen if I was just there for a ballgame. Rich and I have decided that when Payne becomes a Red Sox and buys us a house on the Vineyard, Rich will work as a trolley guide and I will be a Fenway Park guide!

After our stay in Bean Town, we returned to Middleton to a huge pig roast hosted at Rich's sisters house and catered by his brother. Lots of friends and family gathered for the feast.

As we left for home, we decided to route our return home through Lexington, SC to watch DAL boys play in the world series. What a fun way to end our time together.

Again, this was an amazing family vacation. We are so blessed to be able to spend this time together and grow as a family. Lots and lots of "Hostage Time" with the kids and even as a married couple.

School started as soon as we returned, so sad. Along with the start of school, school projects also began. Emma had to do a project from the Revolutionary War. She choose to do Paul Revere's home and why the British soldiers did not choose to stay in the Revere home ( a small piece of trivia learned on our trolley tour). Big thanks to our friend, J for crafting Paul Revere!

Wedded Bliss!

This week, Rich and I will celebrate 15 years of marriage. I do love him more now than ever. I know that sounds cheesy but it is so true.

Rich and I have a relationship that is so not textbook! People always talk about how much fun he must be at home, and they just have no idea! I can remember during the early days of our marriage, I would go to bed crying from laughing so hard. We still have nights like that, though not as often.

Rich is a good man who works hard so that I can be home with our children. Rich is a man who loves God and tries his best to teach that love to his children.

Just in case Rich does decide to read this, I want him to know that I love him more now than I ever thought possible. I want him to know that he is the best daddy our children could ever hope to have. I want him to know that I still get butterflies when he holds my hand. I want him to know that I dream about growing old with him. I want him to know that I have dreams of how we will spend our time when we do get older. I want him to know that I also dream of what a fun "Papa" he will be one day. I want him to know that although I am not perfect, I do love him with all my heart and I would do it all over again!

Summer is Finally Here~

Well, I have graduated two "blood" family members this month! Rich and Payne! There is one family member that is not "blood" but I don't think I could love her anymore if I had given birth to her! M has been a part of the St. John clan for a long time. She has one sister and two brothers that we also love too! And a mom and dad that are out of the world! We became close to the M family when Emma was in M and A's Sunday School class, ( 18mths-2 yrs). The Sunday that Emma promoted was also Bro. Jerry Spencer's last Sunday. I sang in the choir at that time and everytime I looked out into the congregation and saw M&A, I cried! M's mom and dad also go to our church and my children call them Nana and Papa just like the rest of their "real" grands!When our families became close, M was the same age as our Meggers. Now she is all grown up!

The M family has been with us through alot. When Daddy was sick and dying, all I had to do was call and they came to the rescue. M (the dad) even kept a carseat in his truck in case he had to pick Emma up from daycare. Emma used to go home from church with them on Sundays and take naps. She still remembers this. We will have M (the daughter) for at least another year before she transfers off to college. When she finishes, maybe I will have hit the lottery and she can totally remodel my house for me!

Well, what does our summer have in store! Emma has church camp, volleyball camp, sometime during the summer she wants to take a Red Cross babysitting course, and helping with VBS. Meggers will be going to GA camp this year, and I am VERY NERVOUS about this adventure. Payne will be showing off at the pool, and Rich and I are going to enjoy everybit of it all with them. With Rich not having school, he has all his days off to spend with us! We will be going to Boston in July and are stoked about that.

Well, gotta go do laundry and get ready for the pool!

Happy Memorial Day and thank you to all who sacrificed for our freedom!

Angie

We love you M!

...after all, tomorrow is a new day

As I sat folding clothes this morning in the quiet of my house, I was thinking about the past week. As many of you know, I was inflicted with a dreaded childhood disease last week. I somehow contracted Hand, Foot & Mouth! It was the most horrific thing that I have ever had! They can give you drugs for childbirth and gallstones (which are the only two hospital worthy events in my adult life), but there are NO drugs for what I had last week~ Only good thing to stem from this were a loss of 10 pounds and minimal talking for a week!

Anyway, I reflected on how wonderful my children were during this time. I give them a hard time about obiedience and such, but when the chips were down, boy did they pull through! Emma stepped up and fixed breakfast, packed lunches and when it was supper time, she made sure they got fed (granted, they ate cereal and bagel bites for 3 days, but they ate!). It was a rough week, but we got through it and guess what, my kids were not scarred in the process!

Those of you who TRULY know me, know that I am a "what you see is what you get" kind of gal. My house may not ( ok, DOES NOT) look spic and span all the time (OK, any time!), but my friends are welcome, ANYTIME! I love my crazy, mixed up family!

Rich is getting ready to graduate from College! May 16th! We are all so excited to have him back full time! It has been a long 3 years on all of us, but the end is very near!

Payne is about to graduate from Kindergarden. No more babies! YEA!

All these events are leading up to a full summer for us St. John's and I can't wait for school to get out so we can get started!

So, today is my new day: Gonna work on this blog so that our distant family can enjoy the simpleness of our lives!

Oh and Boy, I sure do hope those Red Sox can pull out of this hole that they are in! Gotta love BASEBALL

Love to all!

Angie

Class Reunion

As some of you may know, I am about to have my 20 year Class Reunion. I had posted the address to this blog on the school website not thinking that anyone would visit, but several have responded that they want to view the blog, but it was private. So I have made it public for any of you fellow classmates. I have not updated in quite sometime but I promise to try to make time Sunday to update the blog so those of you who do read it will know what is going on the our lives!

Long Time, No Blog

It has been a really long time since my last entry. I am not sure if anyone even follows this blog. I know that Richie does while he is at work. I think all of "his people" get a kick out of the happenings at the St John house!

As I reflect on the last several months, I can think of a lot that has happened since my last post. The family took their vacation in late July and drove to Boston! It was great. The kids travel really well, we are blessed there. Rich and I left the kids in the care of Auntie Deb and Dawn and the BatVan in the care of Uncle Bobby, and he and I went to Milwaukee for his FBI retrainer. We had lots of fun, just the two of us. That is the first time we have been off together without kids since we were expecting Payne. It was some much needed time away. When we returned to Boston, Rich took me to see the EAGLES at Boston Garden's! That was too cool. To be as old as they are, they can still rock! They went onstage at 8p.m. and when Rich and I left at 11:50 p.m. ( we only left because the last train out of Boston was at midnight!), they were still onstage!

There were no accidents while we were gone, until the day we were to leave to head back home and Payne was watching Uncle Bobby work on the motor for the waterfall for the pond in the backyard, and Payne put his little hand on the pump motor to brace himself so he could see the polywogs in the pond and burnt his hand. Rich, Auntie Deb and Payne made a quick trip to the ER and got it all wrapped up then we left for Alabama. He was no worse for the wear and was swimming again in just a few days.

While Rich and I were in Milwaukee, we both read a wonderful book. The Shack. My Sunday School teacher, Ms. Tommie encouraged us to read it. I loved it. Rich loved it. That is the first book I have read in years. If you get a chance to read it please do.

When we returned from Boston, school began. Emma is in the 5th grade, Meggers is in 1st and Payne is in 4P. It is hard to believe that in August, Emma will be in middle school and Payne will be in Kindergarten!

I promise to keep up with my blog this year because I don't keep up with family like I should and this is my way of saying that I love you all. I have good intentions but you know what they say about that!

I love you all and please let me know that you are reading this or else!!!

Angie

This pic was from Christmas Eve. Santa drove through our neighborhood on an old firetruck. We caught up with him and the kids jumped out and got pictures with him!

Summer Fun

Let's see, what have we been doing since school got out? Well, we started out at Water World and are now spending our days at another pool. We are having lots of fun and making lots of memories. We went to the beach for the day not too long ago. This was really the first time that Payne remembers the ocean. He told me that he liked the water, just not the sand and seaweed. The seaweed was only bad right at the shoreline, then the water was beautiful! Meg loved playing in the sand and Emma and Rich had fun using the face masks and checking out under the sea!! Here are a few Pics:

We are also getting ready for vacation. We leave the end of this month for Boston and Milwaukee. We are driving the kids to Rich's sister and he and I are flying to Milwaukee for an FBI Conference. This will be the first time since right before Payne was born that Rich and I have been away just the two of us! We are looking forward to getting to know each other again! We will return to Boston on the 30th and Rich bought me tickets to see The Eagles at Boston Gardens!! I am PUMPED. I love the Eagles and cannot wait to see them. This is my anniversary present. Rich and I have been married for 13 years and I love him more today than I did then. Really, I do. I just love him different than I did 13 years ago. If that makes any sense!!

Today, we worked in the yards, and after we finished and were cleaning up and watering flower beds, Meg and Payne decided they wanted to learn to ride bikes with no training wheels. Those who know Meg, know this was possible disaster!! She surprised me! Just a few more lessons and I think she will have it. Payne did great also, he is just a natural at everything. He reminds me more of his daddy everyday. There is not a whole lot that Rich does not do well. He masters everything, excepting Mac and Cheese! Payne is going to follow in his fathers footsteps. Here are a couple of Pics from the Bike Lessons:

Love you all,

Angie