Rach, Hotlanta & Hiking in the mountains!

Well folks, I must start off with an apology for my recent absence.  I know that most of you check the blog every single day for a new post about what is going on with the Armstrongs, and to leave you with nothing to read is just unkind.  For that, friends, I am truly sorry. 

The reason for my absence was a fantastic trip to North Carolina for a couple of weeks.  We did so many fun things and were able to see so many friends and family and I just didn't have the time to write about it while we were there.  I will most definitely post soon about all the fun times in NC.  But first things first:  I promised you a post on my visit with the one and only Rachel Montgomery, as well as our hike and trip to downtown Atlanta.  So it's probably best if I just get down to business.

Many of you may not know Rachel Montgomery, her husband Ryan, her sweet almost-one-year-old boy Silas, or their dog Grover, and that is a cryin' shame.  Rachel and I lived together for a spell in college, and have been [emotionally and mentally, though sadly not physically] inseparable since.  See, here we are in each other's weddings. Aren't we cute?

 Now for the sad news:  Rachel packed up and moved to Denver, Colorado.  RUDE.  I guess I can't be too angry since we packed up and moved to Georgia, but I wanna pretend to be mad so I am :)  Also, I know all children are beautiful but she has the cutest stinkin' kid I've seen in a long time:

Rach - sorry for randomly posting a picture of your kid, but I can't help it, I NEED to squeeze those little cheeks!!  ANYWAYS, all of this to show you whom I got to hang out with the couple of days before we moved.  Rachel was in town visiting family and friends and I made sure the timing worked out so that I'd still be there :)  We went on fun walks around the neighborhood, got Cook Out since they don't have it in Colorado (also a cryin' shame), and just spent time hanging out with Silas and catching up on life.  Hanging out with Rach is always a blast, and I thoroughly enjoyed her time in NC. 

Now on to life in the ATL.  We've taken a couple of trips to downtown Atlanta - one Saturday to walk around, and one weekday when Brad had a conference there.  It's so convenient living close to the city because we can just hop on MARTA and head down for the day.  On our most recent trip I met Brad downtown for dinner at a cute southern-comfort-food-but-still-fancy restaurant.  We both had the fried chicken and it was to. die. for.  We somehow managed to get a picture of it before we scarfed it all down:

I look forward to posting a lot more fun date nights from our times in hotlanta.  The other fun thing we've been able to do here is go hiking in Cleveland, Georgia.  It's about an hour away from our house, and thankfully Brad has customers close by so we get to go on hikes when he has meetings in the area.  The trail we went on is called Raven Cliffs, and it's about a two hour "round trip" hike.  The best part is the waterfall at the end - absolutely incredible!  Pictures don't do it justice, of course, but if you come visit we will most definitely take you out there to see.  There are campsites all around the trails so we hope to do that as it gets warmer.  I'll leave you with some pictures, because that's what people like on blogs :)

 'Til next time!