The 9/11 Memorial Museum...

While Desire was in town we had to take a quick trip up to NY to visit our offices up there, which she didn't mind as it meant she would also have a chance to see the Big Apple - and I certainly never mind an excuse to spend some time in that wonderful city. In addition to showing her some of the highlights - Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Plaza, Radio City Music Hall, and Times Square - we also visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. 

We were lucky to have an unseasonably warm and beautifully sunny day with clear skies, which just makes the memorial and Freedom Tower that much more impressive. The two fountains which represent the twin towers and are built in their footprints are breath taking. Seeing all the names inscribed is really sobering, especially seeing the name of the son of my parent's friends who passed away that day. 

While the memorial is almost a peaceful area, the museum is something else, kind of hard to put in words, though I will say that it is very well done. It's basically one big timeline that you walk through starting with a similarly beautiful and clear day - that as we know quickly changed and as a result changed everything. 

One of the exhibits that stuck with me was this large wall with the quote - "No day shall erase you from the memory of time," Virgil - and the display that accompanied it - squares of blue - in different shades - all meant to represent the memories people have of the sky that morning - all a little different - yet when you put them all together they make something quite beautiful out of something that everyone would agree was anything but. 

Most of the museum restricted cameras - and rightfully so - the images, artifacts, videos, and recordings they curated deserve the respect of your devoted attention - and trust me, you don't need a camera to remember those images, they are forever etched in your mind - but in a positive way that I know helps us to remember, to continue to learn and hopefully continue to grow as a nation that will never be the same and yet can find a way to be better. What better symbol of that than to see Lady Liberty off in the distance after we left the museum - a comforting site for sure...

International visitor...

Back in February I had the pleasure of hosting one of my colleagues from our European headquarters for about a week. Desire traveled here from The Netherlands and we spent a week working out of my home office knocking all kinds of things off our to-do list. Normally our interactions take place via text, email, and the occasional phone call - so it was really nice to be in the same country, time zone, and office for a bit. 

It was also fun getting to play host - this was only her second time in the US - the first and only time had been to our conference last year in Clearwater, FL. Unfortunately the weather didn't really cooperate - hello below freezing temps, 8 inches of snow and canceled school during her visit - but we still made the most of it with a fancy end of a busy work week dinner at Passion Fish, and a short romp around DC to show her some of the sites. It was a great excuse to go up in the Washington Monument - something I've only done once and about 18 years ago...

Adam loved having an international visitor in the house - he just talked her ear off and got a kick out of her accent and the occasional translation mix-ups. It also helped that she brought treats - including a children's short story book, "Jip & Janneke" (pronounced like Yip and Yanneka). Though my favorite were the stroopwafel - oh my those are crunchy, yet chewy, wafers of caramel goodness. 

Looking forward to welcoming her back again sometime soon - with hopefully nicer weather - and of course heading over there sometime as well. Love the company I work for and the people I work with! :) 

Valentine's Day at Wintergreen...

We spent Valentine's Day at Wintergreen with Kristine, Kathleen, Reid & Ava. We're in year two of meeting up there for a winter weekend so I'm officially calling it a tradition. 

For our Valentine's feast the kiddos made heart shaped pizzas. They are too cute together. We then sent them downstairs for a movie so we could enjoy our fancy feast of lobsters and filets. Oh so good. 

The weekend was going to entail skiing but with sub zero temperatures we found it was more fun to just stay in, let the kids play games and puzzles in the basement (and iPads of course) while we enjoyed chatting by the fire and watching lots of Food Network. 

Already looking forward to next year's trip - but hopefully with warmer temps!

The year of the snow day...

Wow this was a winter of non-stop snow days - even a few "it's too cold to go to school" days. I'm writing this on March 18th (I know, I'm behind!) and can say that between holidays, snow days, delays, teacher workdays, etc - Adam hasn't had a full week of school since Thanksgiving - what!? Hopefully next week will be a full week - and then it's Spring Break - I mean seriously.

That being said, it was fun to have the little buddy home in his sweats and watching him play in the snow. Though I will say most of the snow we got was not really good for sledding, so last winter wins on that front.