The Monday following our wedding we flew to Calgary in Alberta Canada. We were greeted with a gray sky and rain. Plus it was a bit colder than we expected, but we made the most of our visit. We headed over to Calgary Tower, which is free standing observation tower in downtown Calgary. We were able to get a better view of the city, which was filled with construction cranes (The building industry is booming in Canada!). You can see cranes in the picture below just above Eric's feet.
There was a section of the floor that was all glass. Eric made me go out on the glass even though I am super scared of heights. I think he thought it was pretty entertaining. See as I grasp the metal column for dear life.
On our way out of Calgary Tower we ran into a very nice beaver that was dressed as a Canadian Mountie. What can I say? I can never pass up photo opportunities like this...
We only spent a couple of hours in Calgary and then drove our rental car to Banff, which was about 1.5 hours away. The town of Banff is surrounded by snow capped mountains and located in beautiful Banff National Park. We took the rest of our evening to stroll down the main street and grab a late dinner.
On tomorrow's docket, find some wildlife.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Our Honeymoon: Day 1
Monday, June 9, 2008
Guest Book
Our guest book!We blurred out the content but if you are really curious,
we are sure you could probably figure out what people wrote...
Family and friends, in the middle of all the celebrating we neglected to get the word out that the table cards were meant for our guest book. Whoops! So if you happen to read this and you still have your table card lying around, we would love love love if you could write something for our guest book. If you lost your table card but still want to send something, send an index card or a postcard! We are not too picky. Our snail mail address is on the back of the ceremony program (or you can contact us through the comment feature of this blog and we can send it to you). Thanks again!
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Thank you!
Eric and Margaret at the receptionin Lincoln Hall of the Union League of Philadelphia
(Thanks Dr. Bobby for the photo!)
Eric and I would like to thank everyone who made our wedding day so memorable and special. We feel so blessed to have you all in our lives and we hope for your continued presence in our future. We also hope you were filled with the same joy and happiness we felt on our wedding day and that we feel on everyday we are together.
We would like to especially thank our parents for their support, patience, and love throughout our relationship. You continue to be examples in our lives and in our marriage. We also would like to acknowlegde our amazing families and relatives who bring lots of laughter, happiness, and delight to our lives.
For all those who participated in our wedding ceremony - our celebrants, our ninongs and ninangs, our bridal party, our secondary sponsors, our readers, and our musicians - each of your contributions were felt and appreciated during the ceremony. You will forever be a part of our hearts and marriage.
To our parents' friends, and our friends from Notre Dame Academy, Carnegie Mellon, Habitat for Humanity, AIAS, and San Diego, thank you again for everything you have given our lives. For those who were able to celebrate with us, who traveled from near and far, we recognize the sacrifices you made to be there and feel blessed that you could share in our wedding day. To those who could not make the trip, we hope our life paths continue to cross in the future.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Brunch on Sunday
We hope to see you there!
Meet the Bridal Party: Mark (Groomsman)
Mark was one of my first friends at Carnegie Mellon. We both found yourselves in a pre-college program at CMU the summer before our freshman year. We were young, awkward, and not so wise on the world but neither of us would ever admit that... but through college and beyond we grew up together both as architects working on design projects as a team, and as people spending a good deal of time pondering the mysteries of the world late at night.
I cannot do justice here to the friendship that Eric and I have with Mark individually and as a collective unit given that it is the 11th hour. But just know that we feel very blessed to have Mark in our lives as we are certainly better people because of him. Mark challenges us to rethink what is possible for one man to accomplish. He instills in us the passion and hope that can only come from the magic that occurs when he assembles a group of people to work for a collective cause. Wise words, outrageous stories, and supportive gestures all make Mark our go-to guy. His presence in our lives reassures us that no matter what we will make it through and be better for it.
Mark and Margaret at Nick's wedding
Mark says:
A bolt.
A short, crazy, ridiculously strong bolt. That is Margaret. She was the first friend I made in Pittsburgh. No exaggeration; the absolute first one. And she kept me grounded. The same unyielding bond when times were up, and when times were down. In fact, the story of my time in the realm of the class of 2001 architecture anthologies will seem mercurial and distant, save the accounts of one small brown girl.
And for that experience, for that friendship, for that bolt, I am continually grateful.
The 30/36 Pennsylvania Ave Bus Route carves up the streetscape of the Nation's Capital in a tremendous cultural zigzag that connects old and young, wealthy and poor, first day new job rookies and office cubicle icons. It is as much a representation of the diversity of city as you are likely to find. In its almost brutal acceptance of people on their own terms, it reminds me of unabashed friendship, and of relentless loyalty.
And of Eric.
One part problem solver, one part co-conspirator. That is who he is. Appreciating the complexities of his character came long after college in the throws of underwhelming job descriptions, canal bike rides, bi-annual moving boxes, and impromptu do-it-yourselfisms. The funny part is that whether or not starting down some obscure path of internal or external growth was a good decision to begin with, Eric will see it through with you to the bitter end. Constantly reminding me that merit exists not in the duration of time you spend with someone but the quality of their presence.
And for that honesty, that trust, that friendly bus ride through life's peculiarities, I am continually grateful.
Meet the Birdal Party: Doug (Groomsman)
Aside from Doug being a Yankee fan and his general disdain for all sports teams starting with the name Pittsburgh, he is pretty much an all-around good guy. Doug is probably the most loyal person I have ever encountered, even to the point of working for places that don't pay him for periods of time that can be quantified in years. Yes, years. But it was this extreme loyalty (or unbelievable laziness, depending on who you talk to) that brought he and I together at a small firm outside of Washington DC (shout-out to Mangan Group) for a few glorious years. It was here that I believe Doug and I really matured as professionals, making the leap from being young, green interns to guys who genuinely contributed to the growth and development of a firm. This was in large part due to the management style of the firm's principal, but I also like to think that Doug and I inspired one another to become leaders in a firm that was then and is still today on the rise. This was a special time for us both, and Doug continues to be a major part of Mangan Group's successes.
Fortunately, our social maturity in no way paralleled this professional growth. And we continue to jab one another and anyone else within striking distance any chance we get. I can always count on Doug to call me out when I screw something up and knock me off my admittedly high horse when the situation calls for it. But much like the army, he will also build you back up. And together you may achieve small moments of greatness such as a concrete countertop or a 200+ bowling score. That is, if you're not first blinded by Doug's bright yellow Nike t-shirt. I'm sure it will make an appearance this weekend, so be on the lookout. That's Doug.
Doug and Larry are wondering, "Where did they go?"
while taking in the rays in Hawaii.
Eric is documenting this meeting of the minds in the background.
Doug says:
Do any of us really remember our first time meeting another? Up until the time I met Eric I thought it wasn't possible. Well really it still holds true. Blame my foggy memory perhaps but it was a long time ago. Eric and I were in different crowds throughout most of college. Yeah we hung with the same peeps but usually not in the general vicinity of one another. But those times we were in the same place at the same time enjoying the same company, man there were some chuckles to be had - most of them at my expense. That sharp witted tongue and dry sarcasm were things I couldn't compete with. But it was something I wished I could master. I studied up. Just when I thought I was getting the hang of it,college ended and he soon jetted down to DC on one of many meandering across the country episodes of following Margaret. I remember telling my roommate at the time that Eric was one person I really wished I had known more.
As fate would have it, that time would come to fruition a few years later. I was out of a job at the time, and Eric had heard through the grapevine that things weren't going so swell on my end. Even though we weren't tight buds, he still put his neck out there for me to see about getting me a job at his firm. From that gracious offering, he opened the door for me being set up in a great spot. I am forever grateful to him for this. And besides I may be the only person in our gaggle of friends outside of Margaret who gets to say they were with him for eight hours a day every weekday for two or so years. A better time could not be had I would venture to say.
Now because of him I occasionally wear a belt. It might actually coordinate with my pants. I even wear nonfaded black socks if you can believe it. And best of all I can talk eloquently about how the Olympics are a perfect analogy to why grade inflation is perfectly alright when you're taking AP classes. It's amazing. He has turned my life around. But I still take my shoes off at work...
Eric's good people and at minimum the same can be said about Margaret. Two wonderful people I'm more than happy to call my good friends and proud that they've asked me to be a part of their great day.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Things to Do in the Vicinity of Philadelphia
Bartram’s Gardens – America’s oldest botanical garden along the Schuylkill River
Adventure Aquarium – located in Camden along the Delaware waterfront, this aquarium offers glimpses of sharks, hippos, birds, and sea life!
Longwood Gardens – located in the Brandywine Valley, this is a premier horticultural display
The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education – 360 acres of forest with 4 miles of hiking trails
