The Big Apple!

Last weekend, we took a whirlwind trip to Philadelphia and New York City to visit some old friends and our old stomping grounds. We flew into Philadelphia on Thursday morning. We at lunch at one of our favs, The Dandelion, walked around Rittenhouse Square and our old apartment, then had dinner at Farm and Fisherman with our friends from residency, Brad and Jen Schoch. Jen found a babysitter for all of the kids, so we were able to enjoy some adult-only time and really catch up with them. If you remember, I used to babysit for their oldest boy, Jacob (or "Ya Ya" as Kylie called him), before Brooks was born. On Friday morning, we were able to get a quick breakfast at Sabrina's with Joe and Catherine Wildenberg who are our friends from college. After breakfast, we caught the train up to NYC!

We arrived in the city on Friday afternoon, and cabbed it up to the Upper East Side to the Camp's. Chris and Erica are good friends from residency who are now in NYC for a fellowship. They have two kids, Annabelle and Bennett, who are almost exactly the same ages as our kids. It was so fun to hear the girls say, "We're best friends forever," and "Let's be sisters." Both Annabelle and Kylie have similar sweet demeanors and really belive the world is all rainbows and butterflies! On Friday evening, we ate dinner at a really great burger joint, but the name has escaped me. After dinner, we walked over to the Plaza Hotel and had dessert as well as a little stroll around the Eloise shop. The girls were in heaven. We actually got to stay with the Camp's in their apartment. It was a like a big sleepover, especially for the kids, who all shared one room! I was so glad we stayed with them because we had our best chats after the kids were asleep. On Saturday, we spent the morning walking around Central Park and down to Midtown, I think. We had NY style pizza for lunch at Angelo's and delicious cupcakes at Magnolia's Bakery for dessert. On the way back to the apartment for our afternoon rest, we walked through Rockefeller Center where the Christmas tree had just been set up and the ice rink was jam packed. Following our rest, we went to dinner at Cilantro's and then spent the evening together chatting and watching college football! Sunday morning, we were back to the airport to fly back to good, ole Columbus! Like I said, it was a whirlwind, but I'm so glad we went!

Flying to Philly.

These kids are learning to be so good on airplanes.

Kylie, Brooks, and Ya Ya (Jacob).

Visiting an old favorite...the goat statue in Rittenhouse.

Kylie and Annabelle doing their best Eloise poses in the Plaza Hotel.

Eating my first black and white cookie, a New York staple.

It's basically a cross between a cookie and a cake, and it's Ah-mazing!

These two girls had so much fun together!

Me and Erica!

Our family in Central Park.

Jon and Chris with Brooks and Bennett.

We joked that they looked like a cute, little family!

A fountain near the Central Park Boathouse.

Again, Kylie was doing some strange pose that involved keeping her pinky up.

Annabelle and Kylie.

Erica and me!

Look at that view!

I think this is how we all felt after walking around the city all day!

Poor Brooks was so tired the whole weekend.

He napped like this on Thursday and Saturday!

Thank you, Chris and Erica, for taking us in and showing us a great time!