Wedding Season on the Road

We kicked off our summer with a trip North to Marinette, Wisconsin to attend the wedding of Eli's cousin, Laura. Ella stayed with my parents, so it was a fun little get-away for the two of us. Eli's sister, Emily, and her husband, Adam, met us at the airport in Milwaukee and we all drove the rental car up to Marinette. We had a blast celebrating all weekend long with Eli's family.

Emily, Me, Rachel, and Eli's cousin - Alyssa

Eli and his two beautiful sisters

 Lee and Jeanie ... proud parents of the bride

beer taps in the wall ... genius

The Grand March ... theme was "trout season", since it was opening day! 

what great lookin' cousins! 

Uncle Lee with his two girls

A couple of weeks after we returned from Wisconsin, we headed down South to Alabama. A good friend of ours was getting married in Birmingham, and we wanted to be there to witness the event. Eli met Brett while they were working together at the Sprint Fitness Center about seven years ago. They immediately became close friends and ended up as roommates the year before Eli and I got married. Brett then moved to Arizona where he eventually met a cute little southern belle in the pasta section of the grocery store. We were so excited that he found someone to spend his life with.

The morning wedding took place in a beautiful church on top of a hill. The reception immediately followed and included all the components of a traditional southern brunch ... two chefs making custom omelettes and waffles, bacon, biscuits and gravy, cheesy grits, fresh fruit, Bloody Marys, mimosas, and delicious coffee. It was one of the coolest receptions we have ever been to. After brunch, the bride and groom did the traditional toasts and first dances. We had to leave soon after due to a sleepy/cranky toddler, and were sad to go.

crashed as soon as we got in the car

Birmingham was only an hour away from Eli's family in Gadsden, so we spent the rest of our time in Alabama hanging out with them. Uncle Tom, Aunt Debbie, and their boys Graham and Nick have a house right on the river with a great pool. Uncle Mike and Grandpa Gaghen live right down the road, too, so we all got to spend lots of time together. Eli's brother Josh and his family stopped by on their way back from Florida and Eli's sister Emily and her husband Adam decided to come down at the last minute, too!

Debbie and Nick

Melissa and Grace

 Ella and her cousin Grace



Uncle Mike lounging in the pool

Dive Contest! For the full effect, click on the right arrow

We had a great time catching up with these guys, playing in the water on boats and jet skis, and soaking in the sunshine by the pool. Eli and I stayed with Eli's grandpa John and had a really nice time staying up late with him, looking at old pictures, and listening to stories. He is such a wonderful man, and we had a lot of fun with him. Ella really enjoyed his bathtub.

Tom and Debbie recently built a new house on Weiss Lake, not too far from their home. We drove out there one morning to see it ... what a beautiful place.

Before we left town, we all had dinner at a local spot famous for their cornbread and catfish. The food was delicious, but the company was even better.

Ella's grumpy "where's my catfish" face

On the way home from Alabama, we stopped in Memphis to eat some famous BBQ (of course) and took another pit stop near Mammoth Springs for all of us to stretch our legs. 

 but I don't want our vacation to be over!

14 hour drive home, and (thankfully) did this most of the way