Atlanta Weekend

I just got some pictures back from my fabulous weekend in Atlanta a few weeks ago. I went down there to see my friend Bianca, from Wellesley, who is having identical twin boys at just the same time I'm due. Her sisters and mother-in-law threw her a shower which was my excuse for the trip, but really it was just a fun weekend to reconnect with old friends. Ryan was such a sweetheart, when he found out about the shower he urged me to go and even went so far as to book my flights. Then he held down the fort at home while I was out of town: reading and re-reading "goldbug book" (Cars and Trucks and Things That Go), building block towers and knocking them down with a wooden hammer or wiffleball bat, and playing trains with Oliver. What a guy!

Bianca's husband Mark is hilarious and from the moment he met me at the airport (brandishing lottery tickets for all of us, because we're "going to have to put these kids through college somehow") I was laughing my head off. Bianca's good friend from medical school, Elise, also flew in for the event so we spent Saturday hanging out with her, too. She was awesome and by the end of the weekend I felt like I had made a great new friend.

Mark and Bianca at the shower (he didn't stay for the party)

Wellesley friends Alex (Classen) Lonergan and Catherine (Heilman) Strauven. It was so good to see these guys! Alex and I traveled together for a month in SE Asia after college but lost touch with each other since. I hadn't been in touch with Catherine since graduation. We had a lot of catching up to do!
Bianca and her mom. Bianca's mom and sister Carla were actually on the MicroStrategy cruise in 2001 where it all began ("it" being the Ford-Halverson romance and subsequent marriage).
Bianca and I, caught in the act--gobbling down sandwiches after the shower. Don't leave food unattended around pregnant ladies.