Seasons of 2006

We are counting down the days to Christmas with giddy excitement! As we prepare for our annual trip home for this season of giving and sharing, we look forward to see family and friends and catch up on a year’s worth of life stories.

For us, this past year was a time of blessed changes. Here are a few highlights that we would like to share with you.

We started 2006 by celebrating the New Year and our first year anniversary with a relaxing trip to enchanting Hawai’i. What better way to energize the body and soul than with the warm kiss of the sun, the touch of the cool blue water, and the smiles of happy people all around you. [L-R: Near the North Shore in Hawai'i; Waikiki Beach]

It was a milestone Winter as Rex finished his last coursework at NYU to earn his second Masters! Rex’s dad came to visit that February, and we spent Rex’s birthday weekend in quaint Newport (Rhode Island). Then we went on a wonderful New York road trip – wine tasting in the Hudson Valley and snow sports in Hunter Mountain.

With Spring came new achievements. Rex accepted a strategy position at media giant Time Warner’s Internet division, AOL. It was exactly the role Rex wanted to put his multi-year, post-graduate, double-degree investment to good use! His first several weeks found him constantly jetting between their offices in New York and Virginia.

Mara tried something new by running with her Ogilvy colleagues in the 3-mile JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge in Central Park. [L-R: Part of AOL's HQ campus in Virginia; Mara with officemates in Central Park, NY]

Summer was a whirlwind of life-changing decisions and bittersweet changes. We started a new and exciting chapter in our married life as we left the bright lights of New York City and moved down to the Washington DC area (Arlington, Virginia to be exact), close to AOL’s headquarters.

It was a difficult decision because Mara had to give up her role at Ogilvy – a job she thoroughly loved. The Ogilvy folks were sad that Mara had to leave but they offered to welcome her back anytime. She traveled once a week between DC and New York for 2 months, before she finally started her life of leisure in October.

Fall brought a much needed relaxed vibe, following the hectic move down south. We started to enjoy our new home, new car, new routine and new life with some old friends from New York and Boston who moved to the DC area as well – we are truly blessed! [L-R: Our old apartment in New York's Upper West Side near Lincoln Center; Our new neighborhood in Arlingon, near the Iwo Jima Memorial]

Rex’s dad made another visit, which gave us a good reason to explore the surrounding area, including the Naval Academy in Annapolis (Maryland) and Luray Caverns (Virginia).

While making new friends in the DC and Virginia areas, we also caught up with old ones during the lovely weddings of our friends in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Boston (Mass.) and historic Charlottesville (Virginia).

Thanksgiving weekend was spent with family in New Jersey and just enjoying the city that will always have a special place in our hearts – We love New York!

To cap off this fall season, we recently went on a hot air balloon ride over the Shenandoah Valley – something Mara wanted to do before her 30th birthday in January. Thank you to Rex for this wonderful gift.

We hope your 2006 was full of wonderful blessings as well. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We wish you and your loved ones peace, good health, great joy and fulfillment throughout 2007. [Below: In Rockefeller Center in NY]

Keep in touch. Rex and Mara