The Main Event

The main reason for the trip to Illinois at this time was to be there for my niece, Erin's, wedding. Remember the bachelorette party only a week before? Like many little girls, she's been dreaming of ... and practicing for ... this day for a long time. I was so glad I got to meet her fiance, Will, and his family the week before. He's a real sweetie and the whole family is very likable. So it was fun to celebrate with them all.

We left Rockford on Friday morning and took the direct route to Chicago. A little frustrating that almost that entire route is under construction! But we checked into the motel in plenty of time and started reuniting with other family. Jodi, Jess and the kids had come up and since we hadn't seen them in a week it was good to lay eyes on them again and know they'd made it safely. (You know how moms worry.) My sister, Karen, and her roommate, Diane, had come from Tucson and their room was just a few doors down. I was given the privilege of reading some scripture at the wedding, so Jerry and I went to the rehearsal. As has become the custom, all the out-of-town guests got to go to the rehearsal dinner and so we all started partying there. It was held at a really cool pub and the food, drinks and fun were great. Savannah found out that the flower girl was just about her age and so they became instant buddies.

The wedding was at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, so that gave us a morning to find something to do. It just so happened that Lego Land is at the Woodfield Mall which is about 5 minutes from the Double Tree in Arlington Heights where we were staying. It also happens that Emery is crazy about Legos! So guess where we went to kill a morning. My favorite display was the city of Chicago all done in Legos...from Navy Pier, Sears Tower and downtown to Buckingham Fountain. I loved it. After you walk through a good-sized area of displays, you can go upstairs to a big room where you can sit and build things with Legos. Jodi entered her cat in an animal contest...and she won (she was the only entry), so she got a paper hat. You can build cars and race them on tracks and ramps. While Emery was busy doing that, Savannah became very fond of a ride they had in that same room and she rode, and rode and rode.

Lots of fun, but then it was time to go to the wedding. We all went back and got dressed in our wedding finest. Emery likes to get dressed up and he loves wearing a tie. I bought him his first sport coat for Easter this year and he gets excited when he has a chance to wear that. He says he looks like a newsman in it. Savannah had gotten a very pretty new dress and she looked like a princess. (The newsman and the princess. What is this...a wedding or Halloween??)

The wedding was beautiful. The bride was beautiful. The weather was warm and little muggy when we went in and just as the bride started coming down the aisle we heard a little thunder. My brother, Chuck, said as they were standing in the back waiting, it did get stormy outside. He said Erin looked a little apprehensive. So he said to her, "You look nervous. Let's take a walk." She grinned and he walked her down the aisle. But after the service the storm had passed and it turned out to be a beautiful evening. The reception was at the Metropolis Ballroom in Arlington Heights. It's a really nice facility and there is a balcony along side the ballroom, so it was very pleasant to take your drink and go out there and visit for a while. Again the food was great, the place was great and it was fun. And I was so glad to be there. I know I've been using the words "great" and "beautiful" a lot, but what else can you say? That's what it was. They had a room for the kids to go into and play and eat "kid friendly" food and watch movies while the adults had a cocktail hour, introduction of the wedding party, toasts, etc. But once the dancing started the kids joined us and they had a ball. Savannah and Emery both love to dance and took full advantage of the festivities. The evening didn't end well for Emery, though. He was cutting a rug on the dance floor and a lady was jumping and jiving near him but lost her balance and fell on him! He was mad, embarrassed, and hurt his leg a little (but he wouldn't talk about it) and by then he was exhausted. It was late by that time, so we all caught the shuttle back to the motel. But that was the least thing we will remember about the wedding. The rest was lots of fun.

In the morning, the grooms parents invited all the out-of-towners who were staying at the Double Tree to breakfast. So we got one more chance to be together before we all headed back home in various directions. This is me with my big sister and my "little" brother. We don't get to be together very often any more, so this was nice. Jodi and Jess were determined to drive back home in one day. That's 13 hours from Chicago. We almost always break that drive up into two days now, but we drove through as well. It didn't feel all that bad, but we got home at 2:00 a.m. to find out we had no air conditioning! The unit had gone out and it was 4 days (in the mid to upper 90s) before we got a new one. Oh, well. Great vacation....now back to reality.