New York City

Look!!! I can take pictures of something other than my girls!

Dave, Hollye & Audrey come to NYC!

We are lucky to have such great friends! When we called a few months back, to say that we were heading to NYC in the fall, and would love if they could come down for a visit {from Maine!} they agreed! How cool is that!! They drove into the city on Friday morning, we parked the car, and walked, and walked, and walked! Mostly on Columbus Ave, but we also strolled through Central Park!

This one isn't in focus... but is still the best "capture" of Audrey!

Eyeing cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery!

9/11 Memorial

We had the honor of getting to see the recently opened 9/11 Memorial. It is extremely hard to do this justice in pictures, but here is my attempt...

Not long after arriving, we found Chaplain Mychal F. Judge's name on the memorial. He was the first certified fatality (death certificate #1) from the 9/11 attacks. The pictures of him being carried out by firemen will forever be ingrained in my memory.

Shortly after, Scott found Dianne Gladstone's name, Janna's aunt. My first visit to NYC was scheduled for October 2001, so I never had the opportunity to meet Dianne.

One of the many amazing features of this memorial, is that the names are not in alphabetical order, but rather grouped by affiliation, Dianne's family requested that her name be adjacent to Diane Urban. Dianne Gladsone's leg was injured during the impact. While other's in her office made it out of the south tower safely, Dianne was slow getting down the stairs due to her injury. Diane Urban stayed with Dianne to help her slowly down the stairs and neither one of them made it to safety.
The intent of the glass walls at the entrance to the museum {opening in 2012} was for it to have the properties of glass as well as be reflective {past & present.} As you can see it might as well be a mirror.
The only surviving tree from the original World Trade center site. Pulled from the wreckage, only to be replanted and then hit by lightening! But it survived, and was replanted back at the memorial.

L'Shanah Tovah (Long Island style!)

That is right, we celebrated Rosh in Long Island, NY with amazing friends!!! We have a wedding in WDC on the 1st, so Scott & I decided to make a East Coast adults only adventure out of it, and spend a few days in NYC before heading to WDC! So after stressing out about leaving the girls for the last several weeks, we boarded the plane and headed for our adventure. First problem...what to do with 3.5 hours with no kids to entertain? No worries, we figured it out quickly!! HA. That is the first time I have been sorry to get off a plane in about 4 years! We dashed off to grab our luggage, quickly found Brian, and were off to Long Island for Rosh Hashanah dinner!

Seeing Janna always brings tears to my eyes... we met years ago on a trip to Israel, and have remained close despite the many miles between us. We can go months without speaking, and start right where we left off! She is definitely one of the reasons I love NY so much!! It was an absolute honor to finally get to meet her kiddos!

Let me introduce you to Mason!

And Lucy Aron

{I tell you her middle name because Michelle & I had a part in picking a name that would honor her Grandma Sharon - and I love it!}

A bad angle and focus, but 3 generations in one shot!

{Grandma, Granddaughter & Great-granddaughter - love it!}

And here is Lucy teaching her Daddy {Brian} how to play the piano!

Aunt Debbie - thank you again for welcoming us into your home for Rosh Hashanah!
Brian - thank you for picking us up from the airport, we never would have made it from our flight to Long Island without you! And remember the Jews call it "brisket!"

harvesting more carrots!

Avery's Soccer Game

Avery sat and watched Annabelle's 2.5 hour dance recital, so we wanted to return the favor and come watch a soccer game. It is amazing to watch these kids growing up! We were honored to be a part of Avery's cheering section!

vivi is leaning more towards basketball

{I love how this picture has vivi, annabelle & the soccer team}

in honor of Avery, Annabelle lined up all the cones!

notice the tongue...he is serious!

the after game hug!