Entries Tagged as 'aly'

Christmas Dinner at Auntie Gail’s

December 27th, 2009 · No Comments


Derek & Mitch


Tommy was tickling Kate and Kate was giggling like crazy.


Derek playing the pinball machine that’s so old his dad and uncles used to play it at his age.


Ben, Derek, Chris, Mitch – Nintendo DSi was a popular gift this year.


Chris & Kenji setting up for the adult’s gift bag swap.


Mitch in the midst of the swap


Aly was excited to win a Snuggie in the swap. Cool, because we brought it!


Aly modeling her new Snuggie


Kids are all ready to go home and to bed: Derek, Tommy, Ben, Kenji, Kate

On Christmas day we always go to Dallas’ Auntie Gail’s house in Mt. Prospect. This was the first year we had a car to actually drive ourselves out, which doesn’t seem like a big deal, but in the past it’s always been a hassle to try to get a ride.

Auntie Gail made the same dinner she makes every year: beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes, corn, green bean casserole and her mom’s lettuce/mayo/crab/pea/something salad. Not a huge fan of the salad but everything else was fantastic, as always.

All of the adults have a $10 gift bag exchange after dinner. This year didn’t get too crazy, except when someone took away Aly’s gift. She had her eye on one and it turned out to be a Snuggie, which she was really psyched about. And it was awesome for us because that was one of the gifts we brought. Dallas ended up getting a metal water bottle and I got a scrapbook with two $5 bills taped on it. Not sure how that works out. Aly brought it and tried to explain it to me, but I wasn’t following. Ha.

Previous Christmases at Auntie Gail’s:
- 2008
- 2007
- 2006
- 2005

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Cory & Chris’s Wedding Reception

July 2nd, 2009 · 1 Comment

Cory and Chris’s wedding reception was held at Maxim’s de Paris in the Gold Coast. It’s a unique venue, decorated in the stylin’ art deco style. Cory wrote a bit about Maxim’s here if you’re interested.

After busting open the sake and cutting the cake we all had dinner and drank and ate and drank and drank and danced and danced and drank and danced and danced. It was a super fun time. You can tell from everyone’s huge smiles in the photos below.

(Click on photos below to see them bigger.)

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Naoko & Doug’s Wedding Dinner & Reception

October 25th, 2005 · 5 Comments


Joey on the trolley from The Drake to Gibson’s


Wedding Cake


Sake Keg


Seating


Dinner Menu


Pretty flowers on the table.


Doug & Naoko breaking open the sake keg.


Sake Ceremony


Sake Ceremony


Doug, Naoko, Heather


Naoko


Masu – Sake cup


Jeff’s Speech


Dallas


Naoko & Doug


Brad, Josh, Aly, Dallas


Brad & Mandy


Josh & Aly


Rachelle


Josh, Aly, Dallas, Rachelle


Dallas & Rachelle


Josh, Brad, Dallas


Josh, Brad, Dallas


Danny, Josh, Darren, Miko, Scotty, Dallas, Brad


Glenna & Brad


Lori


Lori


Sake!


Doug


Dallas & Rachelle


Uncle, Aly, Josh, Brad, Peggie


Glenna, BB, Dallas, Uncle


Chris, underaged sake server


Chris & Dallas


Dallas + Cute Baby


Dallas + Cute Baby


Dallas + Cute Baby


Dallas + Cute Baby


Filet Mignon and potatoes


Naoko


Doug & Naoko


Doug & Naoko

Naoko & Doug’s wedding continued on as all guests were trollied (our trolley was named Elvis) from The Drake Hotel to Gibson’s Steakhouse. Joey was on our trolley and got on the mic to give us a drunken “Doug is my best friend and I never thought I’d see him get married, I’m so happy” speech combined with a White Sox World Series score update. It was pretty funny. At Gibson’s, after getting drinks and being seated, there was a sake ritual with a KEG of sake and traditional wooden sake cups called masu. Have you ever seen a KEG of sake? It’s A LOT.

The dinner and party were tons of fun, but here’s a tip: eating a grilled cheese at noon.. then later on having a ton of drinks and not eating dinner til like 10pm isn’t a very good idea. Especially when you’re sitting at a table with some underagers who wind up out-drinking you. And also when there’s a lot of banzai and kampai toasts going on. Not so great. Some people might have even drank so much, so fast that they got scolded for helping themselves to liquor behind the bar and couldn’t even remember the steak they ate from the best steakhouse in the city.. the one they’d been looking forward to for weeks… and then that person might have had to be the first to leave the party! But that wasn’t me. My steak was yum yum and so were the cheesy scalloped potatoes with the.. eh.. crunchy stuff. Really good. And the sake was probably the best I’ve ever had.

So this was the last wedding in the Rachelle & Dallas wedding circuit this year. Each one was very different from the others and was really a lot of fun… but honestly, I’m glad this was the last one.. and so glad it was local! To show the diversity of the weddings this year – here are links to them -

2005 Weddings

» Tweeny & Josh’s wedding in an art museum in Washington DC

» Jen & Matt’s causual wedding at a large country house in Illinois

» Tandy & Chris’s tropical outdoor wedding on Kaua’i

» Megan & Scott’s more traditional, slightly Jewish wedding in Peoria

» Naoko & Doug’s classic Chicago wedding that mixed American, Buddhist & Japanese traditions

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Doug & Naoko’s Wedding

October 24th, 2005 · 1 Comment


Doug & Noako’s Wedding Ceremony


Wedding Program


Wedding Program


Wedding Ceremony


Doug & Naoko


Wedding Ceremony Room


Fancy decorations at the Drake


Naoko


Dallas & Joey


Brad, Danny, Dallas, Scott, Marty


Rachelle, Cory, Lori, Aly, Miko


Glenna, Laura, Aunty, Karolyn, Peggy


Naoko & Friends


Rachelle & Dallas


Doug & Naoko


Doug & Naoko

Doug & Naoko’s wedding was on Saturday. The ceremony & cocktails afterwards were at The Drake Hotel, which is like the oldest, most famous, most luxurious hotel in Chicago. It was gorgeous. And Naoko looked beautiful in both her kimono and her white wedding gown. The ceremony itself was a mix of American, Buddhist, and Japanese traditions. After the ceremony and mingling around with drinks we headed over to Gibson’s Steakhouse for dinner and the reception. I have a ton more photos of that. I’ll be posting them soon.

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