When the terrorist attacks occured in NYC, we were sound asleep in Hawaii, about to enjoy the first full day of our honeymoon. We made it through half the day without knowing, despite being 6 hours behind Eastern time.

While shopping for some shirts that morning, a saleslady asked us where we were from. I mentioned I was from Chicago and that my husband was from New York. She then asked if we had heard what happened? A plane ran into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. At the time we thought it was a joke because it made absolutely no sense, plus she didn’t seem overly concerned by the news.

Then we were stopped by security on the way back in to our hotel, which was odd because we hadn’t been stopped the night before. When we asked about this, the guard stated that because of the attacks in NY, security was being stepped up. All of a sudden, the strange comments from the saleslady and the brief airport closing announcements on the radio made more sense. We bolted to our room, turned on the TV, and stared in disbelief.

It was a bit surreal to be so far away from family and friends during this time (Eric is from NY) and only once we knew everyone was safe did we allow ourselves away from the TV and back to our vacation.

Throughout our trip we saw glimpses of the effects of the attacks here and there but mostly people seemed to go about their business like nothing had happened. Our hotel emptied out once flights resumed and I imagine very few people were flying in. We did have a lovely time in Hawaii, of course, but that first day will always be especially clear in my mind.

Five years ago today I put on a poofy dress, got all dolled up, and promised my best friend that I’d love him for the rest of my life.

The playbill-style wedding programs.

Walking into the reception (note my orange shoes!)

Happy anniversary sweetie! :)

Unfortunately, we’re writing with sad news today. As many of you know, Leandra’s mom has been in critical care for the past several weeks. This Saturday morning she passed away. That set in motion a plan that led to us to fly into Tampa to tell her grandmother Saturday night, then getting her grandmother to Chicago by Sunday afternoon. Needless to say we’re rather exhausted, and it’s going to be a long week.

There will be a public visitation on Tuesday from 3-9p at the Salerno Rosedale Chapels (450 W. Lake St, Roselle, IL 60172). The family is asking that, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Audubon Society.

Thank you for your sympathy through this tough time and we appreciate your prayers.

Leandra has the same birthday as our friend Stan, so we had a dual 30-year birthday party Saturday night.

Born ~12 hours apart on opposite sides of the world!

Thanks to Wambui for planning and hosting!

Internet, meet Riesling! Tonite was our successful introduction and we’re hoping to bring her home on Saturday. We can’t wait…

And yes, we’re pretty sure she can receive radio signals from Siberia (when the atmosphere is right :)

Direct your attention to the sidebar and you will notice a new feature… we’ve created a travel map illustrating all the places we’ve been! Just click on the flag marking a location to see photos of our trip. Zoom and pan to your heart’s content.

Introducing our new mac mini!

I can hear the honking from the highway! :)