MDW in the ATL

I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!  I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday weekend.  I had a great time down in Atlanta, and I'm happy to report the integrity of the surprise was preserved!  My sister had no idea I was in town until she opened her garage door and there I stood :)

I usually make time to visit my sister and her family a few times a year, but somehow I had not been down there since her third child was born last September.  Needless to say, there was much catching up to be done.

I didn't take a ton of photos or spend much time on social media while I was down there and that suited me just fine.  I enjoy the chance to unplug a bit when I'm away and love being able to spend QT with my nieces, nephew, sister and brother-in-law whom I don't get to see nearly enough.

Here are a few highlights from the trip with a few pics I did manage to snap.  Enjoy!

Visited Zoo Atlanta:

 

 

Spent an evening out (sans kids) in Buckhead where we ate at Seasons 52 and listened to some live music at Park Bench:

 

Branzino (fish) flown in straight from Greece! 

 

Twinning!

 

 

Hung out with the cutest kids south of the Mason Dixon:

 

 

No bias.  They are just legitimately adorable :)

 

 

And spent some time at the pool:

 

 

 

In between hanging out with the kiddos, I did manage to fit in some workouts.  My sister (who looks INCREDIBLE btw!) is also very active so we spent a lot of time working out together.  She goes on long walks every evening (which I joined her on) and has started adding some running into the mix as well!  She also lives very close to the Silver Comet Trail so we went biking there twice while I was visiting.  The trail is a great free, well maintained paved path that's 60+ miles long in North Atlanta.  We were out amongst many other bikers, runners, walkers and families and it was great to catch up, chat and enjoy the scenery on our bikes.

 

And in a surprising turn of events, she invited me to participate in her Friday morning yoga class which I actually enjoyed?!  If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you know I've tried yoga a handful of times and can just never get into it.  However, my sister takes a class which is taught by a mom privately in her home studio.  On Friday morning, the two of us were the only students in class so we got lots of personal attention.  The instructor told us she combines yoga/Pilates into her practice and I really enjoyed the flow of moves.  I'd love to find someone similar in Baltimore who offers small sessions like this because I feel like I'd learn much better than when I'm in large classes at the gym (and have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing).  It was also much more peaceful being the only ones in class. 

 

It is always wonderful to reconnect with my sister and her family.  I don't get to see them nearly as often as I'd like, so every trip becomes a treasured memory for me.

 

This was my first vacation all year and getting back to the real world Tuesday morning was rough!  Hope you all had a better time of it than I did.  And now it's nearly June?!  I dk what is even happening to 2015.

 

Have a great day!

 

 

How did you spend the holiday weekend?

 

Do you have family that lives far away?  How often do you get to visit?

 

On a scale of 1 to 10, how big does my hair look in that restaurant pic?!  Ha