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Mexi-stats:
Wedding guests: 95
Mexican wedding guests: 13
Evenings ending in dancing: 4
Minutes Eunice spent rubbing Aimee's tummy: 90
Minutes late to her wedding: 20
Kilometros driven to get the Mexicans to their plane: 3300
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Kevin's thoughts:
Well, it appears my dad learned a little something from his students during his time as a teacher...
if you're not entirely sure what the answer is, just hand in a 20 page essay (or in his case, a 20
minute speech): after all, the right answer has got to be in there somewhere.
I'm talking of course about my brother's wedding reception, an incredibly festive and multicultural
affair of which I was honoured to be the Master of Ceremonies. I won't go into my contributions so much...
I'll just say that the Wheel of Kisses proved unnecessary, the roast was not as roasty as the groom may have
liked (but moreso than the average family member), and the gaps in the music were MY fault, not DJ Dan's,
who, in a commendable effort, was so on the ball that he was playing requests using the Preview feature in
Limewire at 45% download. And, sadly, I never got to finish my story about Chris and the dominatrix.
No, instead I'll focus on the speech made by the father of the groom, which, through all of its incoherence,
discontinuity, and incredibly vast length in the tradition that made the Oscars an all-night affair, the
right answer WAS in there somewhere.
Basically, the message was this: all four of the immediate Beimers family had something to celebrate this week,
and we were lucky enough to have around 100 of our closest friends to celebrate it with.
First, us. The baby. But you already knew about that. My dad didn't announce it explicitly, but did ask Aimee
at the head table to "stand in profile and present her enormous girth to the room." Nuff said.
Second, the wedding. Obviously the event we were celebrating at that very moment. It was quite fun to be
the master of ceremonies, and Aimee and I (for the most part) love planning big events, but there's just something
so enjoyable about watching your brother get married. At least, it was for me, and I've only got the one
brother... maybe when you've got seven siblings like my dad it might get a little tedious, who knows? But
for my one experience, it was a great time. I'd like to say I'd enjoy it if it ever happened again, but
in his case that would obviously be a bad thing.
Third: I'd be surprised if I could think of a better 60th birthday present for my mom than the marriage
of her favourite son, except maybe... A BRAND NEW CAR! The day after the wedding we all gathered at
Jan's place for a 60th birthday celebration, where gift after gift had a certain theme strung throughout,
see if you can spot it: fuzzy dice, travel mug, air fresheners, deer warning whistles, Armor-All, etc.
Aimee and I thought it would have been great for her to receive all these gifts, then wait a full two hours
before giving her the car, but no, she got it right away. Even had a big bow on top!
And finally, my dad got a new heart two days later. Okay, it was just an angioplasty, but he says it's like
having a burst of new found healthiness, so I'd say that's worth celebrating too.
There you go, the highlight of my dad's speech. Somewhere in the midst of teaching people how to pronounce
the bride's name in Canadian, reading from a wedding survival pamphlet, and doing the Mexican Achy-Breaky (oh wait,
that was during the dance), he managed to stay temporarily focused enough put a sweet, solid and succinct
message together.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
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Aimee's thoughts:
It's fun being pregnant at a wedding. Especially a wedding where there is an open bar.
Before you misinterpret that statement and send child services after my unborn child, let me explain. It's fun and fascinating to be the only sober person in a room of close friends, family and Mexicans. Sure, I don't get to party down like the rest of the troops, but I do get to remember everything that happens. As the official photographer of the event, this also mean that I got to document it. As the writer of this website, I not only get to remember it, and document it, I get to tell YOU about it.
Here are the highlights that others may have 'forgotten' about:
Frank's speech
A true highlight of any wedding is usually the speeches. Parents, friends and other family tell everyone how truly fabulous the bride and groom are, how they were meant for each other, etc. Never one to conform to the norm, Frank decided that a better approach would be to talk about... multiple other things. We're not exactly sure what most of these topics were, but we've managed to translate the gist of it in Kev's thoughts.
Dave out-dancing most guests
Kev's dad wasn't the only one having a forgetful time at the wedding. My dad (who was just getting over a bad bout of pnemonia and wasn't even sure if he was going to make it to the party) decided that he felt fine enough to rip up the dance floor for the entire evening. No one could keep up with him. Certainly not me, definitely not Aunt Cath. As for his style of dancing, let's just say it's as unique as Frank's public speaking technique.
Cliff's speech
Not all memorable wedding events are embarassing. Cliff, ever present and reliable neighbour of the Beimers', gave a fabulous speech about meeting Frank and how thrilled he was that he shared such a love of sports with Chris. Not neccesarily a tearjerker, but it made you proud to know both Chris and Cliff.
Karen's brave attempt at the conga-line
Karen, who you might remember as Week 17's Preggy Pal of the Week, was at the wedding showing off her bump just like us. When a mexican conga line erupted, she bravely joined in, but made the mistake of joining near the front, not the slower back as I did. This meant that she was flung around at record speed, causing her to shout out at other people reminding them that she was pregnant. I don't think they listened.
Chris' intepretation of mexican tradition
You may wonder why this photo is so small. It's to protect the not-so-innocent. If you squint really closely at your monitor, you will find yourself staring at the groom in his underpants waving a mexican flag in front of 95 friends and family. I could explain this, but I'm sure that Chris would prefer to offer his own explanation of the events. Email Chris and ask him to explain himself.
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Did you know? |
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Our baby can see! Her eyelids have opened just in time to make out the silhouette of her uncle in his underpants in front of all his family and friends. Perhaps it's not the best week to develop sight.
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Preggy pal of the week |
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Tummies are growing all over Thunder Bay! This week we meet Trevor and Mary who are mere moments away from becoming parents for the first time (and too busy getting prepared to write very long responses!)
Mary and Trevor
October 8
Yes, but undecided.
It's a boy!
No, but ice cream rocks.
When I first felt the baby move on Easter Sunday.
Relax and enjoy it.
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Aimee's cravings |
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Steak. Will someone feed me a steak? Please?
What's that? The Mexicans have cooked up a... bucket of steak? Ummmm... maybe not.
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Baby's Book of the Week |
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 Dora the Explorer: The Little Duck
By Christine Ricci
It's our first interactive book! "Swiper, no swiping!" "Backpack backpack!" "Aaaaaabre?" Full of sounds and picture and stickers and fun - enough to keep a baby (a very annoying baby) occupied for hours. This is the beginning of our baby's Spanish lessons, which she needs if she wants to chat with Tia Eunice on the telephone. Let's go! Vamanos!
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