Fabulous Weekends: Philly, the Girls, and Paradise View

We had three fabulous weekends in a row. First we went to Philly, our old stomping ground, to see friends, explore the city, and, well, eat. We went to all of our favorite restaurants from when we lived there, and we found some new faves. We had dinner with Bridget and John twice, which was great. Bridget is having twin girls and is due just 2 weeks after me. She looked wonderful, and it was so nice spending time with her and John. We also had dinner with Vanessa and Mike, and it was so fun to hang out with them again. We also went with them and their beautiful children, Ellie and Joe, to the zoo. We saw the most amazing gorilla and so many other fun animals. The kids got to experience some of them up close in the petting zoo section. We actually ended up spending a little time with Ellie and Joe each day we were in Philly - which was such a wonderful surprise. Joe even remembered me! He was so sweet, and little Ellie got quite attached to Rob. As you'll see in the picture below, she insisted that Rob carry her!









The next weekend, I was in for a big surprise. I was expecting Caroline and her two children, Gabby and Owen, to spend the weekend with me. They arrived around 5ish Thursday evening, and I was so happy to see them. Owen is so big! And Gabby has grown into such a lovely, beautiful young lady. I miss the little Gabby who used to jump on my dorm bed, but I love this amazing, intelligent teenager Gabby, too. She's so precious.


So, we were all hanging out, enjoying each other's company, when around 9ish that night there was frantic knocking at our front door. I was actually a little alarmed! But when I got to the door I saw Bridget, Julie and Lindsay! They had driven from Atlanta to spend the weekend with us! It was such a great surprise. And I was very impressed that Rob and his mom had kept this secret so well.


It was such a fun reunion for us girls. We hadn't all 5 been together since summer 2006. This reunion was long overdue! Check out our photos from the weekend below. I love my girls!









Bridgie is due two weeks before me, and she's having a little girl. Compare this photo to our original photo last June!

Rob very generously offered to stay home with Owen and Gab while the girls went out to dinner. His mom also came over to help entertain the little one. Rob said Gabby was so helpful with the little guy, too. Looks like they all had fun. In the picture below, Rob and Owen are being vikings.

Me and Gab being silly. (I'm actually trying to make my face look less fat!)

Rob and I.

And finally, Rob and I headed off for a relaxing time at Paradise View Cabin (where we were married in summer 2007). We thoroughly enjoyed our time there. We missed the peak of the fall leaves, but the winter landscape was breathtaking.

Here's a picture of the Buffalo and Steele Creek joining.

Here I am at 25.5 weeks along standing on the same rock that I stood on for my bridal portrait.

And here's a cool picture of the view from the cabin front porch. This was taken as the fog was rolling out of the valley in the early morning.