Brookings (White)

DAY 1:

With our early morning start (3.15am!) we arrived at the airport to absolute nothingness. Not a single airport person in sight so we collapsed on the couches and chatted with another passenger who was catching our flight until we were able to check in. It turned out the lad was actually a chef in the airport restaurant so after we checked in we headed to her restaurant for breakfast and much needed coffee (for Kylie!). We flew from San Francisco to Denver and both slept the whole way as our flight was very empty and we spread out across vacant seats to catch up on some much needed sleep! We arrived in Denver and waited approximately 45 minutes before catching our connecting flight to Pierre the Capital of South Dakota and then onto Brookings South Dakota. The plane was incredibly small and we were situated in the 9th row which also happened to the last row of the plane. Definitely an experience!

The Wedding, Present Opening & Catch Up!

After arriving in Brookings we met with the Thomsens (Kylie's American Family) before going to Burger King for some much needed food! We caught up on all the happenings of the family and Katie met the rest of the Thomsen / Rue clan later that night at Supper (dinner). We played cards until late in the night when we headed to bed. DAY 2: This morning after breakfast we went to Sioux Falls for Kylie's bridesmaid dress fitting and some shopping. Linda (The mother) drove us and we also met Dawn one of Sheila’s other bridesmaids. After the dress fitting we went shopping and then we had lunch with Gale (the father), Linda and Dawn at a place called Hu Hot which is a stir-fry place where you make your own stir-fry. It was really interesting! You get a bowl of meat and noodles and then a bowl of vegetables from a buffet so you make all your own choices and then you choose your sauces and then the restaurant cooks in on this huge BBQ like hot plate before giving it back to you to eat! YUM! While we were at lunch it began to snow so Kylie was very excited cause she loves snow! We drove back to White after lunch and spent the evening with the family learning a new card game called Phase 10 which we both loved. DAY 3: This morning we went with Lois (Sheila's aunt) to Watertown to buy Sheila and Paul's wedding present. We actually found what we wanted to buy them quite easily so after finishing up we went to the Sports Bar for lunch before sorting out some photo issues and getting copies put onto CD. We headed home to do more chores (like washing!) and later in the evening we went to Paul and Sheila's house to surprise them with some of the larger wedding presents. Sheila's family had bough the pair some furniture and when we arrived Paul and Sheila were not home so we moved all the furniture into the house before they arrived and got a huge surprise! After the festivities we went to dinner in Pipestone for Pizza and played arcade games until it was time to go home to bed. DAY 4: Katie was rather sick this morning and spent the morning sleeping to try and recover. We think all the late nights are starting to add up as we are both so tired! We spent the remainder of the day organising photos and emailing family and friends before we went to the Rehearsal dinner at the Church followed by the ceremony rehearsal. We decorated the Christmas tree in the church so it would be ready for the wedding and we also met the remaining bridesmaid Mary. All the bridesmaids and the bride returned home with us and we spent the night playing cards. DAY 5: Today was an early morning as the brides and bridesmaids (including Kylie) had to be at the church at 8am to get their hair done. Katie had the role of ‘personal attendant’ to the brides and bridesmaids and ensured that had everything they needed throughout the day. Photos started at 11am and went right through to the beginning of the ceremony which started at 3:30pm. The ceremony was beautiful and even better Kylie managed not to stack in on her way down the aisle. The reception was held at a Casino were a lot of fun was had by all. DAY 6: Today we headed out to Paul and Sheila's house for brunch and the present opening. Brunch was fantastic and then the present opening was heaps of fun as we watched the bride and grooms faces light up with each present. We stayed the remainder of the afternoon and played cards and board games until the early evening before returning home where we played cards again until late evening! DAY 7: After yet another lazy morning in the house we drove into Brookings to finish some of the wedding chores. Linda's boss gave us a tour of her work which was really interesting. We then headed over to the mall where Kylie caught up with Joanne who was her Exchange Co-ordinator during her time in South Dakota. We then headed to Walmart to print off some cd's of the wedding photos which was supposed to be an easy task but turned out to be very long and frustrating as we all left with only 1 cd in total! That night we headed to the Casino for dinner and so Kylie could have a go in the money booth for her birthday. She was able to catch $27 dollars! We both then went and played blackjack since we didn’t get a chance in Las Vegas and we both faired very well with Katie winning $17 dollars and Kylie winning $18 dollars. So a profitable night was had by all! We retired to Paul and Sheila’s house for some ice-cream birthday cake (Oreo' - Kylie's Favourite) before heading back to White for bed. DAY 8: This morning we sent the hugest parcels home to family and to try to get rid of some of the weight in our bags. Kylie's is hugely overweight and she accumulated so much stuff while in South Dakota so it was definitely necessary. After sending the parcels home we headed into Brookings to re-organise the photos and print the cd's from the day before and we also bough candy (lollies) to send yet another parcel home! The photos took most of the afternoon so we headed home to quickly change before going to Pizza Hut for dinner. It was a sad farewell to both Dawn and Mike and Grandmas Rue and Thomsen and Lois as we headed home to spend some time with the family before we fly out tomorrow.