Wedding Bells

Last night our friends John and Christine were married down on the Jersey Shore. Contrary to popular belief (thanks MTV) the Jersey Shore is actually quite nice. Very different from the west coasts rough and rugged sea, the coast here is soft and rolling, the leaves just starting to turn colors. The couple picked a lovely spot to be married, replete with an old red water wheel and swans, surrounded by lush greenery and a pond. The sun was setting just as the kissed...perfect timing! You knew it was going to be a great party when once inside the bride's mother was on the dance floor as soon as the music started!! AWESOME!!! :) The couple danced and laughed the night away with family and friends, was serenaded to Sweet Home Alabama (John's originally a southern boy from Atlanta) and the night ended with the entire crowd singing and putting their hands in to Journey's, Don't Stop Believing. So much fun and love in the room!! Exactly what a wedding should be!!

So, congratulations once again to the new Mr. and Mrs. John H. Reid!!!! We wish all the happiness in the world!

xo,

-A

 Shaun, Emo & Jimmy before the ceremony started

A radiant Christine with her father

Christine & John saying their, "I do's"

Christine being hoisted into the air!

 Party people gettin down! LOL! So fun! 

 Emo, Jenny & Jimmy having a good time!

 Shaun put his finger over the flash.  Oops! LOL! So, much for straightening my hair too! Humidity sucks!

 Getting low!

 All hands in!

 GOTCHA!!!

 Jimmy, Shaun & the groom John

 Things are getting crazy!!! :)

 John with his father at the end of the night. 

 MJ in the house!

 Jimmy's doppelganger split his pants dancing!! LOL! That's a good party!

 Raise the roof!

 Rock-n-roll Shaun!

Matt serenading the couple..Sweet Home Alabama!

 Joanne showing us her dance moves!

 Preparing to be serenaded. :)

 Chris, Courtney, Me & Shaun

Travel Season Begins!

This weekend is the beginning of what my husband has deemed travel season for me. I'm super excited to be going down to Charlotte to visit my girlfriend Gemma and her family. They moved about a year ago and Jersey City hasn't been nearly as fun since they left!!!



The following weekend some friend's are getting married in Spring Lake (here on the coast), so it's a fun night out for just the hubby and me. :) Then I'm off to Oregon to visit family and friends. I'll finally get to meet my little nephew Niall!!

I hope you're all having as much fun as I am! I promise to come back with loads of picture's!

xo,

-A

PS. Today was Kieran's first full day as a big first grader! :) Very exciting day for the little man!! :)

Remembrance...

There is no question what the roll of honor in America is. The roll of honor consists of the names of men who have squandered their conduct by ideals of duty. – President Woodrow T. Wilson

The initial numbers are indelible: 8:46 a.m. and 9:02 a.m. Time the burning towers stood: 56 minutes and 102 minutes. Time they took to fall: 12 seconds. From there, they ripple out.

• Total number killed in attacks (included are the 19 terrorist): 3,497
• Number of firefighters and paramedics killed: 343
• Number of NYPD officers: 23
• Number of Port Authority police officers: 37
• Number of WTC companies that lost people: 60
• Number of employees who died in Tower One: 1,402
• Number of employees who died in Tower Two: 614
• Number of employees lost at Cantor Fitzgerald: 658
• Number of U.S. troops killed in Operation Enduring Freedom: 1,751 (an additional 4,421 were killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom) 
• Number of nations whose citizens were killed in attacks: 115
• Ratio of men to women who died: 3:1
• Age of the greatest number who died: between 35 and 39
• Bodies found "intact": 289
• Body parts found: 19,858
• Number of families who got no remains: 1,717
• Estimated units of blood donated to the New York Blood Center:36,000
• Total units of donated blood actually used: 258
• Number of people who lost a spouse or partner in the attacks:1,609
• Estimated number of children who lost a parent: 3,051
• Percentage of Americans who knew someone hurt or killed in the attacks: 20
• FDNY retirements, January–July 2001: 274
• FDNY retirements, January–July 2002: 661
• Number of firefighters on leave for respiratory problems by January 2002: 300
• Number of funerals attended by Rudy Giuliani in 2001: 200
• Number of FDNY vehicles destroyed: 98
• Tons of debris removed from site: 1,506,124
• Days fires continued to burn after the attack: 99
• Jobs lost in New York owing to the attacks: 146,100
• Days the New York Stock Exchange was closed: 6
• Point drop in the Dow Jones industrial average when the NYSE reopened: 684.81
• Days after 9/11 that the U.S. began bombing Afghanistan: 26
• Total number of hate crimes reported to the Council on American-Islamic Relations nationwide since 9/11: 1,714
• Economic loss to New York in month following the attacks: $105 billion
• Estimated cost of cleanup: $600 million
• Total FEMA money spent on the emergency: $970 million
• Estimated amount donated to 9/11 charities: $1.4 billion
• Estimated amount of insurance paid worldwide related to 9/11:$40.2 billion
• Estimated amount of money needed to overhaul lower-Manhattan subways: $7.5 billion
• Amount of money recently granted by U.S. government to overhaul lower-Manhattan subways: $4.55 billion
• Estimated amount of money raised for funds dedicated to NYPD and FDNY families: $500 million
• Percentage of total charity money raised going to FDNY and NYPD families: 25
• Average benefit already received by each FDNY and NYPD widow:$1 million
• Percentage increase in law-school applications from 2001 to 2002: 17.9
• Percentage increase in Peace Corps applications from 2001 to 2002: 40
• Percentage increase in CIA applications from 2001 to 2002: 50
• Number of songs Clear Channel Radio considered "inappropriate" to play after 9/11: 150
• Number of mentions of 9/11 at the Oscars: 26
• Apartments in lower Manhattan eligible for asbestos cleanup:30,000
• Number of apartments whose residents have requested cleanup and testing: 4,110
• Number of Americans who changed their 2001 holiday-travel plans from plane to train or car: 1.4 million
• Estimated number of New Yorkers suffering from post-traumatic-stress disorder as a result of 9/11: 422,000

 Memorial in Jersey City that looks onto WTC to all those from JC that lost their lives

 Freedom Tower w/the Tower of Lights & NYFD Boat

 17ft, cross beam that was pulled out of the debris.

 Tower of Light

 When rescuers first saw the hand of this statue they thought they'd found someone. As they came to realize it was a statue, it became a shrine of hope for rescue workers. The artist took a picture of everything being left and recreated it in bronze. The original will be placed at the new WTC site when it opens. 

 A piece of bent steel from one of the towers

 The new Freedom Tower lit up red, white & blue

 The Twin Towers of Light

 FDNY Patrolling the Hudson, as terror alerts have risen

 A tribute to those lost with the Tower of Lights shining in the back

 Fire fighters left their age & company

 FDNY & NYT out shooting

 Getting the perfect shot

 Showing Kieran what the skyline used to look like

 Remembrance

 Twisted steel, with bent & broken bolts

 Our usual view, slowly rising into the sky the new Freedom Tower

"To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time."  - Elie Wiesel