Sorrrrryyyyy.

So I know I promised updates from our California trip months ago. And those never happened.

But then November happened and was full of some fun stuff. So I'll try to recap some of that now!

In early November, Tim and I traveled to Ohio for his cousin Ryan's wedding. We were greeted by some rare, warm weather. We flew in to Columbus because it was cheaper, and we picked up our rental car and headed to Gahanna, where we were married almost a year before. We met up with our friend Aaron (aka "Cookie") at Mezzo, the restaurant where we'd had our rehearsal dinner. We were able to walk around for a bit before lunch and saw the Sanctuary, where we had our ceremony and reception, and look around the park surrounding Mezzo, which we'd really only seen in the dark the year before. It was a great afternoon and we had a blast catching up with Cookie, whom we both knew from our days working at The Lima News.

(Us walking in the park near Mezzo)

After lunch, we drove to Cincinnati and arrived at Tim's cousin Jeff's house just in time to change for the rehearsal dinner. We stayed with Jeff and Allison all weekend and had a blast. The rehearsal dinner was a great chance to gather some of the cousins

(Jeff, Tim, Travis)

and their gorgeous and patient wives together.

(Travis' wife Jessica, me, Jeff's wife Allison)

We headed back to Jeff's and Allison's and the boys played some games before bed. The next morning, Allison had to join the female half of the bridal party early for hairstyles and photos, but the boys took some time to get ready before heading to the church. Tim was an usher, so we basically just went wherever and whenever the other cousins (Jeff and Travis) went, because they were best man and groomsman, respectively.

Before the wedding, Jeff and I ran a quick errand to Walgreen's - Holly had a small stain on her dress and we were sent to get a Tide pen. So off we went, me in my dress and Jeff in his tux, and we headed to the detergent aisle. There, a woman who was probably about 75 or 80 asked us we worked there. We politely told her no, wondering what kind of uniforms she thought Walgreen's employees wore these days. I barely made it out of the aisle before I burst out laughing.

(Tim and I with the newlyweds, Ryan and Holly)

The wedding was beautiful, and it was a great occasion to get the family together. We had a blast at the reception - it was so good to see Tim's parents, brother, one of his nephews (the other nephew and our sister-in-law had to stay home because the nephew was feeling under the weather), and alllll of the aunts, uncles and cousins. They'd all been able to get together for another family wedding the month before, but I hadn't been able to attend, and it was the first time I saw them since OUR wedding.

After the wedding, we all pretty much crashed at Jeff and Allison's again. The next morning, much of the aunt/uncle/cousin contingent got together for one last group meal at IHOP.

(Jeff and Tim map out football plays while waiting for breakfast)

Then, Jeff, Tim and I headed off to downtown Cincinnati for the Bengals/Ravens game. Thanks to Jeff's connections, we had some awesome seats, and although I will always be a Steelers fan, it was nice to watch Tim's team get a win, especially against a division rival.

(Our seats were awesome!)

After the game, Tim and I drove to Columbus to drop off our rental car and meet up with my sister and brother-in-law for dinner. We spent the night at their place, and as Marti and I planned a rendezvouz with our mother for the next day, Tim and Jeff plotted a way to take advantage of a unseasonably warm November day and go golfing.

(It's not a trip to Columbus without a game of poker.)

The next day, Marti and I met up with our mom for lunch halfway between Columbus and Louisville. Tim and Jeff golfed, and then Tim flew back to Florida. After our lunch, Mom took me to Louisville, where I spent a few days hanging out with family and friends.

(I always make Doug take self-portraits with me)

(Meeting up with some of my favorite girls!)

I even got to meet the new baby of my college roommate, Kristine. Baby Joey was adorable and oh-so-well behaved!

(Baby Josephine)

Whew! (And sadly, this is pretty typical of our trips to Ohio. Trying to cover both sides of the family and state, trying to visit with several groups of friends, spending quality "down" time at home, etc.)

It was a great trip, and it was awesome to see so many different people and have some busy times and some down times. And we couldn't have asked for better weather!