Ruble Reunion

We spent the last weekend in January at the annual Ruble family reunion in Columbus. This year there were 30+ people at the Embassy Suites, spending a weekend catching up, eating, and playing Bohemian hockey. We've only been once since we've had kids, so it was a little different to have to keep an eye on the boys rather than just worrying about ourselves (then again, isn't that life in general these days?!). But, we had plenty of help--no shortage of volunteers to hold Jojo, and girl cousins to run TJ ragged through the hotel. Fun times! Oh, and did I mention that Ed won the family tournament? Yes!

 Aunt Alli gets smiles from Josiah. This kid went from person to person all weekend and didn't bat an eyelash. It was great. 

 I caught Thomas helping himself to some cake. 

And then asked him to do it again so I could take a picture. :)

Ed's cousin Dana is getting married in May. Since so many of the women in the family were there, an impromptu shower was held. It started with a scavenger hunt (complete with rhyming clues!) all through the Embassy Suites. At each clue's destination, we were met by Rich and Patrick, aka the cabana boys, aka a cousin and cousin's husband, with shots for doing after Irish toasts. Your choice of Mudslides or Pina Colada. The scavenger hunt ended at the presents--not a bad treasure! 

 Dana, the bride, and her mom, Aunt Donna. Plus cake.

 Ed playing his cousin Mike in the Bohemian hockey final game. For the uninitiated, Bohemian Hockey is comprised of round rubber floor protectors (like what you put under furniture) being tossed at the wooden boards you see in the picture. Rules similar to cornhole. I always get bounced in the first round. This year, somehow, I got a bye to the second round and promptly got bounced there. 

Ed accepts the trophy from his dad Tom, last year's winner. Now Tom, Jack (brother-in-law) and Ed have all won. That's all the Tom Ruble men except Micah. Micah--the challenge is on!

TJ takes his turn at Bohemian hockey. He preferred to stand about 2 feet away and whip the pucks in. Dangerous but effective! 

 Did I mention there is a lot of food at these reunions? Everyone brings something. It's crock pot heaven. Although in the last couple years, the salad bar (above) has appeared. I didn't even get a photo of the meat table, or the snack table. We may be there for 2 days, but no one goes hungry. 

 Grandma and Jojo

TJ and his ladies. Ed's cousins kids (Keira, Adrianna, and Kylie) are all a bit older than TJ. Happily for us, they loved playing with him and played/watched him all weekend. I think I went several hours at a time without seeing him. They ran laps around the various floors of the Embassy Suites (great set-up!) and investigated all the empty conference rooms. Girls, you were awesome and TJ had a blast!

 How convenient that there was a Skyline Chili on the way out of town. Thomas is inhaling the massive amounts of shredded cheese on his coney dog. A big improvement from our last Skyline visit when he refused to eat. We were about to disown him, but now we'll keep him.