NYC

Dear Kids-
We flew into New York City on September 11- a little nervous to fly that day, but Lynn kept assuring me it was one of the safest days- there was quite a bit of extra security at LAX so it's probably true! We took a taxi from JFK into the city where we were staying and had the most fascinating talk with our driver- he told us he was from Haiti but had been here so long that he considers himself to be American. Of course our conversation touched on 9/11 and he told us he was in a building next to the WTC when it was hit by the airplanes and how proud he was of how our country stood behind New York. We talked lots about what made our country so great- the opportunities available for anyone willing to work and the diversity that makes it so interesting. I really wanted to invite him to our house so he could do a fireside for the YM/YW about appreciating all they have. I almost gave him a hug when he dropped us off- he was awesome!





















We have been having a great time- we saw "South Pacific", ate Italian sausage sandwiches from a street vendor, took a bus tour of the city, spent 3 hours in the rain at the Statue of Liberty and walked up 158 stairs (ask us any question about her and we could answer them!), made lots of new friends from England, ate at two great Italian restaurants thanks to our new best friends Harold and McKinley (the concierge at the hotel), conquered the subway thanks to some great New Yorkers who pointed out the right platform and train, saw the Manhattan Temple and the lights last night from the WTC- all in just 30 hours! We love our country and seeing this all-especially on 9/11- has made us even prouder of America!

Thanks everyone for the flowers- it was so sweet of you all and we loved them! There were certain things we saw that we knew you would love:


Mandy- you would have loved figuring out the subway!
Chelsea- you would have loved South Pacific- and probably been singing along!
Liz- shoes, what more can I say? We ate dinner next door to the Manilo Blanik shoe boutique
Whit- I wish you could have been here w/dad when he saw the Apple Store- it had glass steps!
Ryan and Jon- the Bentley was awesome!
Dan- you would have loved asking questions with Lynn about the Statue of Liberty!
Matthew- you would have loved the Italian sausage sandwiches- they were enormous!
Emma, Sophie, and Logan- we saw FAO Schwartz today and know you would all have loved playing on the big piano!

Love you all and see you soon!

Mom and Dad