Catch Up

One of the main reasons we write a blog is to share what is going on here in Salt Lake City with my in-laws in Maryland. There hasn't been as great a need to blog this fall because they have been in Utah visiting every month. However, that really isn't much of an excuse for having the worst blog around. So, here is a quick update and a promise to do better:

In August, we went to Maryland to visit my in-laws. Everyone was there. We had a great time once we were there, but getting there was difficult. The morning we were to leave The Prince woke up with a high fever. I wasn't sure if we should even travel with him, but the pediatrician said it would be fine. We raced out to the airport only to find, after standing in line for a very long time, that my driver's license had expired in May. I had no other ID. Even if I had my passport it wouldn't do me any good because I haven't switched it to my married name yet. The DMV isn't far from the airport so I decided to take a cab and try to get my license renewed. I only had 40 minutes before the flight closed. While in the cab, Captain Fabuloso called and said they would accept my bar ID. Amazingly, I had my bar ID with the new expiration date on it. This may be the best thing passing the bar has done for me. The cab, who hadn't left the airport area yet, turned around and dropped me off free of charge. We made the flight no problem, but our non-stop flight to BWI was plagued with problems. We took off on time, but had to circle over Kansas for an hour and a half before being forced to land in Ohio to refuel because of bad weather in the East. We almost didn't get to leave Ohio. We were about to deplane when the flight attendant came on and told us to get back in our seats we were leaving. Many other planes did get stuck at the airport. We were grateful when we finally arrived at BWI. But the travels weren't over. We then had a 3 hour drive to Ocean City, NJ. Through all this The Prince held up very well. He was fussy and would cry a bit, but considering how sick he was, he did very well. Captain Fabuloso was fantastic at taking care of him, especially when I started to get motion sick on the decent. We don't have many pictures from our trip to Maryland because Ootsie was the main photographer, but I wanted to share a couple of pictures on the beach in Ocean City. The Prince did not like the cold water. He was sick most of the trip to Ocean City and Maryland. It also rained during our stay in Ocean City, so we didn't spend much time on the beach.

While in Maryland, Cicada got engaged to Murray. We were all thrilled. They set the wedding date for November 3rd. In order to get ready for the wedding to be held in Utah, Ootsie and Grandpa visited in September at different times. We always love having them visit. Here is a picture of Grandpa and The Prince. It is a perfect example of the kind of interaction between the two . . . lots of teasing and horsing around.



Ootsie came out two weeks before the wedding to get ready. Originally, she didn't think she would have much to do, but days before she left she and Cicada decided to fire the caterers and put on the wedding themselves. There was plenty of work to keep everyone busy. The wedding turned out absolutely beautiful. It was fantastic, and for complete information on the wedding you will have to go to Cicada's blog. She has great pictures and details to share.

Grandpa came out a week before the wedding, and then Grandpa McGinn and Dougie followed. Ootsie and Grandpa were here to celebrate Halloween with The Prince. It was so much fun. We dressed The Prince up as a puppy. He looked adorable and even kept his puppy hat on. The Prince even said, "Oof, oof." when asked, "What does the dogie say?" He never was able to pronounce the "w" in "woof."

In addition to trick-or-treating we had two great Halloween parties this year: one with the neighborhood at our house and West's, and one at my sister's house. They both were a great success. My sister does a fantastic job putting on the Halloween party every year. We are all so grateful to her for doing it. It really is a fun event. All my Freed cousins come with their kids. Everyone dresses up and the food is great. We only have pictures of The Prince crying in his costume. Tommy Tom was the Grim Reaper. The Prince took one look at his face and started to cry.