So the hurricanes have passed beyond the Chesapeake Bay without causing any harm by winds or storm surges.  Unfortunately we can't say the same for those living in the Caribbean.  Many ports have been spared, but a few were not so lucky.  We certainly hope that they have the funds to rebuild so that the islanders can be both comfortable and healthy.  We are really glad to see that Royal Caribbean is making great efforts to help in so many ways.  They've brought a lot of business to the islands over the years, but they've made a lot of money from those same islands.  I like that they're giving back and are matching all donations up to a million dollars!  We donated here.  In the meantime, we received our notification that the day has come to fill out and print our online check in. It says we will board the ship in just 49 days!  We also have been notified that there may be some changes to our ports of call.  I'm hoping that if those 2 ports open back up before our trip begins that we can pack some supplies that they need on the island. 

It's a small wedding, and we already told most everyone some of the details, but now it's official  We designed our own invitations and sent them out so that everyone can save the date! The little stack of envelopes has been sitting on the hall table for 2 weeks now. On 9/17/17 we went to a little roadside stand and picked out a big bunch of fresh sunflowers to celebrate our 2 months of being engaged. On the way home, we stopped by the post office and mailed the invitations!  

Let the planning begin.  Kurt wanted a very small wedding... like, just two of us at the courthouse.  As it's not my first wedding, it seemed like it's not necessary to have a big to-do about it.  However, upon talking with a few family members, it seems like they could see how happy we are together and thought 5 years was long enough to warrant a celebration.  So then we thought about having it on the cruise ship, but that seemed silly when we have a very nice wedding venue right at Bayfields.  So we finally came to an agreement, wedding at our own special church, reception at Bayfields, small and intimate, with just our closest family.