Party in the USA (and Canada)

A couple weeks ago we got back from our very first trip back to the States since moving to New Zealand in August 2013. Because we'd been away for so long, we had a lot of places to go and people to see and food to eat. We landed at LAX (aka worst airport ever) on the 17th of October, and by the time we departed from JFK 12 days later, we'd been to two weddings and six cities in two countries, including:

1. Rochester, Michigan - for Sara and Jeff's wedding. We were a bit tired on arrival, but once we got a good nap in, we had the time of our lives. Our jet lag worked in our favour so we were able to stay up super late!  We had an amazing time and the ceremony was so beautiful. Mazel!
2. Kingsville, Ontario - to visit Rob's grandparents and eat poutine. The place I carefully researched closed for winter a week before we got there, so we had to settle for McDonald's, which serves poutine in Canada.  It wasn't half bad!
3. Cincinnati, Ohio - to visit my family. We had sister dinner and Thanksgiving and spent many hours at Target and Sephora.
4. Indianapolis, Indiana - to visit Rob's parents. We saw them at the wedding in Michigan and they went to Canada with us, but we couldn't resist stopping by to check out the newly-renovated outdoor area, stuff our faces with lobster and hang out with all our stuff that's sitting in their storage room!
5. Chicago, Illinois - to visit our home and celebrate Amanda and Jeff's marriage!  Out of everywhere we visited, nowhere was more highly anticipated than Chicago. We love all the people we were able to see on this trip, but we also really, really missed the city of Chicago itself. We missed the architecture and the food and the beer and the skyline and even the smell. Apparently Chicago missed us too, because it tried to woo us back with temperatures in the mid-70s in late October. Nice try, Chicago, but we know better than to fall for that trick!  Obviously it snowed two days after we left.
6. New York, New York  - to visit my brother my awesome sister-in-law and nephew. My brother failed at taking the day off work and was in Boston during our visit, but we had a great time with Mary and Max and even got to see a friend of Rob's who we hadn't seen in a couple of years - success!

Bottom right: our gift to the lovely couple - a Ministry of Magic marriage certificate! Bottom left: awesome rehearsal dinner centrepieces - made with the amount of beer necessary to get the taste of Aqua Fresh out of your mouth

Pictured above: a glimpse into the madness visits to Cincinnati usually hold - we missed it!

Glad to see Geist hasn't lost any of its magic - and the renovations just add to the allure!

Sweet home Chicago!  Upper left: Meeting baby Dev!!!!!  Lower left:  Meeting Faye Yoko!!

Rob and Max hanging out. I swear I was there too!

This is why I'm fat (or at least why my pants stopped buttoning halfway through our time in Chicago). Not pictured: a full Thanksgiving dinner, two wedding feasts, Jimmy John's, a taco salad, a grilled cheese sandwich with mac and cheese inside of it, and about 20 more 32-ounce iced teas (I had 2-3 a day).

While we were in Chicago we caught an episode of House Hunters International set in Auckland, and it made us miss home more than expected. We got back early Saturday morning and spent the whole weekend enjoying the sunshine and beach and walking around our little town. We had an amazing trip, but we were glad to be back in our own bed!