Recap, Part 1

Wow, getting so far behind is a baaaaad idea. It's daunting to try to catch up all in one post, so let's just start with Loren's wedding. Scott and I flew into Chicago, drove to Springfield, and hit the ground running. We met a slew of people at my parents' house where wedding weekend festivities were underway. I hadn't showered in a day+, but no one seemed to mind the airplane stench, so Scott and I joined the crew out at the bars. There are pics of this on facebook, so I'll spare you pics of my unwashed self. But I cleaned up for the wedding, so here are a few shots. It was F-U-N! That Loren sure knows how to throw a party!

On the Trolley after the ceremony on our way to get pics taken at Illini, and then on to the dancing! Actually, I was really nervous about giving my maid of honor speech at this point.

The band was amazing, and had most people on the dance floor all night. Good times! That's Marco on the right. You'll never see him in a bar in Springfield for more than 5 minutes. He's really good at getting himself kicked out of every bar. Crazy German. You'll notice I'm having a good time - I'd given my speech and the pressure was off. Phew!!

My sister was so kind as to feature VIDEO of my dad and I during the rehearsal dinner in front of a gazillion people I'd only met the day before. My family has a tradition of playing Cranium when we get together, and some of the video featured my dad and I acting out a few clues. Since everyone had already seen our video, why not break out our moves at the reception? Here we are revisiting our Cranium skillz. My dad thinks he's doing a vulture. Uh, right. I'm obviously the Crocodile Hunter. It's so clear. It's also clear that I'm much better at this game than my "vulture" dad. And Mike doesn't even have to act...he's thinking, "What the h*ll have I gotten myself into?!?" My mom kinda looks the same way. At least the bride is amused!

So after we shut down the kick-ass reception, we took the Springfield bars by storm. Loren made an appearance in her wedding dress...along with TWO other brides! Scott and I entered the bar, thought we found the bride and and crew, only to discover, no, that was a different bride and her crew. Oh, and another bride and her crew. Finally we found Loren with a t-shirt over her gown (gravity started taking over the strapless dress by the end of the night). We proceeded to dance the night away, and then we took the party back to the hotel. What's that? Lindsey and Michelle are asleep in the room? Not for long! Just look at the shenanigans. Every single one of these guys made it his mission to pester Lindsey and Michelle, who'd passed out hours before in their bridesmaid dresses. They were sports and partied a little more with the raucous bunch. I think we were all in bed by 4 or 5 am?? Not sure, but what I do know is that we all had a blast!! Thank you Loren and Mike for getting married...can we do it again next year??