June 16, 2009

What a weekend! :)

We traveled back to Wisconsin to meet our good friend's new girlfriend (well, and to hang out with him too), and witness the union of two couples in a shared ceremony of marriage. I thought they put it together pretty well. It was two brother's and instead of arranging a dual wedding, they did one ceremony after the other. The older brother and his wife went first in red bridesmaid dresses and after a few moments, the second followed suit in purple dresses. Both couples had already finalized the union in the courts so it was actually a confirmation of vows for the friends and family to witness. A few touches I really enjoyed included: Origami flowers folded by the groom and carried by the bride and bridesmaids; New Orleans traditions including a "Pulling of the Charms" and "Second Round" music and dance; and some Russian traditional dances (the bride of the brother is from Russia). I was really impressed with my friend and his brother's first dance. Both had put in some obvious practice time. I was able to reunite with some friends from High School that I hadn't seen since graduation or shortly there after, so that was a special treat...and my parents and little brother were invited to the wedding so I had a chance to spend some time with them. Mike ended up dancing ALL night long...whether he had a partner or not....and even complained about sore legs as a result. Guess you could say we had some fun :)

The wedding was held on a Sunday so we were forced to take much of Monday off to drive back to St. Louis. Once home, it was catch up time. I had some work to dive into, the house needed some cleaning, and I had promised the office 'Pound Cake' when we got back so I slaved over the oven to make it happen. It turned out pretty good, although I think it's a little sweeter than I usually prefer. (it was the first time I had ever made or had Pound Cake)

Next weekend I'll be heading back up to Wisconsin (flying this time) to fulfill my Mother's Day promise and go golfing with the Dad for Father's Day. It seems my little brother will be walking the Relay for Life with us in memory of my cat Jack...who was diagnosed with cancer in January. :) I was really touched when he told me that. It's sooooo thoughtful. Thank you Mark!