We went to Bloomington, IL for my cousin Jason's wedding this weekend. It was a mini-reunion of sorts for the Japanese side of my family, since my Aunt Carolyn, Uncle Terry, Uncle Denny, cousins Mika and Kenneth, and my sister Debi and her boyfriend David came from out of town, as well as Jason's sisters Dana and Kristen and their mom, Aunt Jill. It was certainly the first time that all of those people had been together since the last reunion in 2004.
We stayed at The Chateau which is a nice hotel. It's related to the Jumer's in Urbana where we had our rehearsal dinner in 1993. It was a really nice place with a French theme and decor.
The immediate family was at the rehearsal dinner, so I planned a dinner on Friday night for the rest of our family. Unfortunately, it was just a little too early for Debi and David due to their arrival time. The remaining 9 of us had dinner at Orient Gourmet Japanese and Chinese restaurant. It was a very small place but they were able to reserve a table of 9 for us. We ate great sushi and good Chinese food and had a great time.
Afterwards, we stopped by Terry and Carolyn's room so that Uncle Terry and I could trade some beer. He brought a six-pack of Dominion Oak Barrel Stout, and I brought a mixed six to trade. We tried the Stout and also a Dominion Octoberfest. I liked the stout, which good flavor but a lighter body for this type of beer. The Octoberfest was nice and malty.
Aunt Carolyn and Mika were entertaining Anna and she was roaring with laughter and this pillow-person that Aunt Carolyn made. I can remember how much I looked forward to seeing Aunt Carolyn when I was a little kid.
On Saturday morning, we swam at the hotel with the kids. They had a great time, but the pool was freezing! Then we made the mistake of going in the hot tub, which felt great, but then the pool was like ice. The kids jumped back in and I finally relented and let them push me in. Ben and Anna are really becoming excellent swimmers. Anna has a swim vest and really gets around. Ben doesn't need any aid and can swim the width of the pool. He is really improving his freestyle. The kids take swim lessons every week.
We had lunch, then headed to the wedding which was at 2:00. It was at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Bloomington. The church was amazing, designed in art-deco style with a soaring cathedral and beautiful stained glass. The ceremony was really nice and Jason and Erin looked very happy. Ben and Anna took turns leaning into the aisle to take photos. Anna was just running out of gas when the ceremony ended. Fortunately, Aunt Carolyn, as she always does (and always did when I was a kid too), brought some little notebooks and notepads for the kids, and that helped keep them busy.
We went back to the hotel briefly after the ceremony and had a drink at the bar with our family, then headed back to the reception - about 2 hours early - so that the kids could take a nap in the car.
Debi came up with the idea of a money tree for a wedding gift, so we did that together. Since the tree would fit better in the van, we took it with us. But I had to lean it over 45 degrees, and the decorative rocks in it were sliding out. Every time I stopped, started, or turned a corner, you could hear the rocks pouring out of the pot, and the kids cracked up every time. There were about 4 inches of rocks in the top of the pot and they had all fallen out by the time we arrived.
Ben and Anna were wiped out from staying up so late on Friday. They fell asleep pretty quickly and we ran some errands and drove around Bloomington. It reminded us a lot of Champaign-Urbana.
The reception was at a cool place called Central Station Cafe in downtown Bloomington. We sat with Debi, David, and Uncle Denny. Anna decided she was going to sit with Mika and her family. Mika and Kenneth really kept an eye on her and made sure she had dinner. Ben did a lot of reading to keep occupied.
Later, when the dancing commenced, Ben and Anna were a riot. Ben was dancing like a maniac - I don't know where he learned those moves, which you might call a fusion of disco/swing/karate. Anna enjoys dancing with other people, and she especially liked dancing with the bride, who she thought looked like a princess. Ben doesn't really need other people, just some music with a good beat...and some space...watch out for those spinning kicks! They also played with some other kids and kept busy, and our relatives were helping keep an eye on them, so we really enjoyed the reception.
I (re)met the woman who had been the flower girl at Aunt Jill's wedding where I was the ring bearer (31 years ago). I said I was sorry that I never called. :)
On Sunday morning, Aunt Jill had a brunch and we spent more time with family and had a nice breakfast.
I really enjoyed the time we spent with my aunt, uncles, and cousins over the weekend. We don't get to see the out-of-towners very often, and they are some of the genuinely nicest people I've ever met. We also have a lot of similar views of life. I wish that we could see them more often.
We packed up and headed back around 12:30. It's a pretty easy ride from Bloomington. We enjoyed the rest of our day and have some great memories. And we're looking forward to doing it again at Dana's wedding in May!
- schneid
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