Monday, September 21, 2009

Ryan & Michelle's Wedding Weekend

This weekend was, simply put, wonderful. It began with Ryan's bachelor party on Thursday night. Yes, I was invited and I was the only girl there. :)

Chris & I drove up to Ryan & Michelle's apartment to drop of their wedding gifts, and to get Ryan ready for the night. Michelle and I had him dress up in pimp garb for the evening. Alex was already there at Ryan's. We met up with Scott (Michelle's brother), Dad, and Nick Sakura, a a sushi restaurant in Indianapolis for dinner. After dinner, we went to Nicky Blaine's, a bar in downtown Indy. We had a great time together! Chris & I cut out early so we could drive back to Bloomington, and the guys went out for the rest of the evening.



Friday was the rehearsal and dinner. We had to do the rehearsal in one hour because there was to be a wedding right at 5pm. We ran through the routines as quickly as possible. I never imagined there would be so much to do for a Catholic service!



For the rehearsal dinner, we went to Sahm's restuarant just around the corner in downtown Indy. They had a room set up just for us. The food was very good and we enjoyed the time together. Weston, my 2 1/2 year old nephew, had so much fun running around and getting attention from everyone.



After dinner, we went back to the Garrison (where we were staying) and went over to Uncle Steve & Aunt Sue's room for games and drinks. It was so nice seeing the family from CA and WI. The last time I had seen everyone together was years ago at Grandpa George's funeral. We had a great time playing B.S. and poker. Some of us, Mom and I included, had to learn how to play Texas holdem. It was kind of crazy playing poker with 10 people!



Saturday, September 19th was the big day for Ryan & Michelle. Ryan had stayed with us at the room, and Michelle had stayed the night with her parents. We got up early and Ryan, Mom, Chris & I went over to Steve & Sue's for pancakes, courtesy of Uncle Steve. Then it was time to get ready for the wedding.



Alex came over to the room and helped Ryan and Chris get their tuxes on. We all got ready and drove to the church early. The wedding planner at the church filled us in with last minute details, and then it was time for photographs. Guests started arriving, and my job was to pass out the programs.

The ceremony itself was about an hour long. I did a reading along with one of the bridesmaids and one of Michelle's aunts. The sermon was kind of a blur to me, because I kept looking over at Ryan & Michelle and smiling at them. They looked so happy, and in love. Both were just picture perfect in their wedding attire. Michelle looked like the perfect wedding Barbie doll, and Ryan was very handsome in his tux.



After the wedding, there was more pictures, and chatting, then the bridal party took off in a party van to go take pictures around downtown, while the rest of us went back to the Garrison for cocktail hour.



The reception was perfect. The bridal party's entrance was hilarious. Michelle, Ryan, Chris & I had thought about different ways for them to enter the room. Here is a video of the entrance.





While we ate the delicious dinner, we watched a slide show that Michelle had created of pictures of the two of them growing up.


Ryan & Michelle did their first dance, which they had prepared at dance lessons with her parents. Then there was the father-daughter dance, mother-son dance, and the speeches. The speeches that Alex (best man) and Meredith (Maid of Honor) gave were so nice. Here is a video snipet of the first dance...




The rest of the evening was spent dancing, socializing, and having a blast. The party wasn't over until after 11pm.

The next day, we got up early and met some of our family at IHOP for breakfast. Then it was time to say our goodbyes and promise to reconnect soon. I'm thinking there will be a McCracken reunion in the works very soon!

PICTURES of the weekend can be found below.

Bachelor Party

Rehearsal

Wedding

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

September Updates

Ah, September is here....low 70's...rainy, milder days, the feeling that Fall is just around the corner. We are all moved in to our apartment here in Bloomington, and are feeling more "settled".

Everything is unpacked and put away, and we are now in the decorating phase of the process. Carolyn is making valances for us and pillow covers, Ryan & Mom put up a curtain rod the other day, and I've been getting pictures printed and framed for the walls and shelves. We are feeling more at home now.

We have become good friends with our maintenance guy. He fixed our leaky sink, helped us hammer down carpet tacks, and checked on our drippy A/C today. We also had a major disaster with our washing machine overflowing the other day and causing damage to the apt below. Luckily, the damage was a minor bill on our part, and we ended up having to get a new washer. We shopped, and shopped, and eventually purchased a Whirlpool Cabrio 5 cu. ft. top loader. So far, VERY happy with it.

We are enjoying being back in B-town. About once a week, we hang out with my good friend, Jeremiah, who I have known since High School. We have frequented some of our favorite restaurants, and tried a few new one's as well. Last night, we went to Japanae with Jeremiah, and had sushi that was quite good, for IN sushi. Chris has been working on his research and I have been running errands, grocery shopping, going to the recylcing center once a week, and taking care of the house. Today has been the first day I have had time to sit down and knit!

Lately, we have been getting two questions from others, that I feel like I should address here on the blog...get the info out to everyone right here...right now.

The first question is "Kat, are you going to get a job?" or put another way "What are you going to do this year?" Since I'm unable to do hypnosis here in IN, that eliminates my career, basically. I've been too busy with the move and getting settled that I haven't really put too much thought into this. I did email someone today at the Bloomington Birth Services group and will be meeting with the owner next week to see if she has anything I could do for her. I may explore some other options, maybe teach a Reiki class or something as well. I'm not too concerned about it as we are focused on other things this month. Ryan (my younger brother) is getting married next week. Our main focus, though, brings me to the second question we get asked often....

"Are you two trying for a baby right now?"

Hmmm....Chris and I have talked about this and have come to the conclusion that when people ask us, what they are really saying is...

"So, are you guys having unprotected sex right now in order to procreate?"

Isn't it odd, how talking to someone about their sex life is usually taboo, but when it comes to talking about baby-making, everyone wants to know if you are having lots of sex? Chris & I find this to be so strange!

Chris was joking today that he is going to start giving very detailed answers to that question when someone brings it up....just to forewarn those of you who have yet to ask us and may do so after reading this post. :)