Our slice of life: Spontaneous trip to Philadelphia

Recently, we were able to make a childhood dream of Roby's come true! He has always wanted to go to a championship parade in Philly, and this year the Phillies made that possible when they became National League champs, going on to win the World Series! (They haven't won since 1983.) Originally, Roby wanted to cash in miles and fly home with Owie for the occasion, but the day after the Phils won, we thought, "let's drive home!" The very next morning, we packed up the Scion and off we went on a 12-hour-trek to PA with the kidlets. Owen, the awesome traveler that he is, happily watched his DVDs, while Olive slept most of the trip. We arrived at 9:00 p.m, in perfect time to surprise Roby's parents with our impromptu presence. Mummy was so confused when her eyes fell on Owen. In her mind, the little boy standing in front of her couldn't possibly be her grandson who lives in Chattanooga! Needless to say, she and Pappa were beaming-so happy to see the grandkids one more time before their 6-month-stay in India. We were happy to spend quality time with Roby's brother, Rony, and sis-in-law, Rani, and meet the newest member of the family-our nephew Kenneth!

After discovering that more than 1 million people would be roaming the streets of Philly during the parade, I decided to stay behind with the kids. Roby had a killer time living out one of his childhood dreams with his best friends, while I spent time with Brenda, Soby and the kids-a wonderful treat. In the evenings, we stayed with Abbey, Soby and their son Pailyn at their new home. We spent a lot of time chillin' with friends at the house, especially on Halloween night. Roby took Owen, our little pirate, around the neighborhood, while Brenda and I made a quick drive to visit Julie and Charley, who welcomed their newest daughter, Shyla Lily, several weeks earlier. Div arrived early, and Binoy, Ryn & Mat showed up after visiting a Halloween event at the Eastern State Penitentiary (I mention this now defunct prison because it is often labeled as a historical haunted site on ghost hunter-type television shows! creepy!) Lisa and Shoney also drove down from NY to hang out with everyone. (We can't wait for their visit to Chattown, hopefully in February!)

The following day we made the rounds, visiting Roby's aunts and uncles and eventually ended up back at Rony's house-where Owen had a blast playing with his cousins. We love to see this, and wish they were all able to grow up together the same way Roby and his cousins did. We even held the rarest of photo shoots: Mummy and Pappa with all six of their grandchildren at the same time, and believe me when I say it wasn't easy! We shamelessly used bribery with lollypops to get the job done. :) That evening, we met up with my Mom, who drove up from Harrisburg, and stayed with my brother Jason and sis-in-law Melinda at their new place in Chestnut Hill. Exhausted Owen passed out on their couch for most of the night, and Olive happily slept in Nana's arms. We enjoyed talking around their firepit and trying out the Wii they bought us for a combination of gifts! (How awesome of them!) The following morning we all grabbed breakfast at a local diner, and we were on our way. The drive home seemed to take forever, and we were quite happy to see the signs directing us to Chattanooga.

This trip was one of the most spontaneous things we have ever done, and was well worth it! In just two days we somehow managed to spend time with the majority of our friends, as well as both sides of our families! We probably won't be making the drive again anytime soon, but it's nice to know that it's doable and the kids handle it just fine.