Ridin' the Wave!

Jenn and I are cool enough to have in our hands 20 coveted invitations to Google Wave. If you haven't heard of Wave, it's Google's attempt to recreate email in a more conversation-like way. Basically, it combines email and chat together in one, and adds some other little bells and whistles on the side. If you'd like to see it in action, Google has a 10 minute video of how it works here. The first 20 people to respond (either in the comments or by email) with your email address get the invites! The race is on!

Photo Shoot

I am SO happy with JoDee's latest photo shoot of our family! I feel like it accurately captures our love for each other and for Boston. If you want to see more, go here (and for more details on her photography business, go here). Thanks again, JoDee! It was so fun to have you, Olivia, and Ben come for a visit!

Angels in the Airport

We took a little jaunt to Utah last week to say goodbye to Ben's parents, and Ben came back a few days earlier than me. It was my first time flying solo with two kids. Let's just say that it's an experience I'm not eager to repeat! I took zero pictures of our trip (darn!). But let me tell you about all of the angels I met in the airport:

1. Ticket agent who made me take 2 lbs. out of my suitcase to get down to 50 lbs., then quickly looked from side to side and told me to put the 2 lbs. of stuff back in the suitcase.

2. Lady behind me in security line that insisted on pushing my items through the detector for me.

3. Lady at our gate who noticed Ellis kept walking away from me while I was diligently waiting with our bags. She positioned herself and her suitcase at the end of the aisle of seats so Ellis couldn't escape, and both boys stayed in my sight while getting their wiggles out.

4. Lady who offered to hold Ellis while I buckled the car seat in (not sure how on earth I would have done that alone), and then later unfolded my stroller for me.

5. Man next to us on plane #1 who kindly pretended to sleep through Ellis' shrill screaming, and then happily carried our car seat off the plane.

6. Man across the aisle who made faces at Ellis, in spite of his constant shrieks, and found humor in our situation (told me I NEED to watch Bill Cosby's "Himself," and laugh at this situation later). He also told Henry he was the best 3 1/2 year old he's ever seen.

7. Henry. He really was an angel too. When Ellis finally fell asleep in my arms, and Henry wanted a book/drink/toy, I told him I couldn't get anything for him or Ellis would wake up, and he tearfully said, "okay" and then didn't say another word. I love that boy.

8. A true heavenly angel who hushed Ellis to sleep. He slept for 90 minutes on the first flight. It was a miracle for him.

9. Woman who saw us walking around the airport during our layover who asked sincerely, "Is there ANYTHING I can POSSIBLY do to help you?" (I must have looked pretty pathetic)

10. Gate agent who moved the 3 of us to a row where we could sit together, and went out of her way to find us a row with an empty seat (Ellis got a seat on the second flight, which was a miracle).

11. Man who carried our car seat on plane #2.

I honestly don't think I would have made it home without these angels. Thank Heaven for sending people to help us when we need it the most! I didn't ask a single favor of anyone. They just seemed to be placed in my path, and they all unabashedly offered to help, each one knowing exactly what I needed at that moment. If you're out there angels (or if you've ever been one to someone else), THANK YOU. You made my day.

Go Real Salt Lake!

Hey sports fans: I just wanted to get the word out that Real Salt Lake has made it to the Major League Soccer final! If you're saying to yourself, "Salt Lake has a professional soccer team?" (and I know some of you are!), that's okay! Now would be a great time to tune in to see if you're a soccer fan at heart! And, their opponent is the L.A. Galaxy, who have one David Beckham on their team, so everyone will have heard of at least one player on the field.

Really, though, soccer in the U.S. is getting a lot better, and it's only going to get bigger as time goes on. The U.S. National team has qualified for the World Cup, which will take place next summer in South Africa, and MLS is attracting more and more foreign talent to come play in America while more and more U.S. players are playing in the top European leagues as well. Why not give it a try? The big game is next Sunday, Nov. 22nd, at 8:30 EST (6:30 Mountain Time) on ESPN.

Also, for all of you who live in or visit Utah, I would highly recommend going to a game at Real's new stadium in Sandy. Jenn and I went this summer with her siblings and we had a great time (thanks for the tickets Mom and Dad!). Even Jenn liked it! Give it a try...

Halloween Festivities

Ask me this year, and I'll tell you I like Halloween. This is what I like about it:

• Getting to do whatever festive fall things I want to do.
• Pretending the inflatable jack-o-lanterns and purple-light-cobwebs do not exist.
• Instead, drinking in the height of the season and making a holiday of it!
• 70 degree weather (just cool enough to call it crisp).
• Trick-or-treating with friends. It's fun to be the group of parents watching the kids get so excited running from door to door. It's fun to hear all the people tell your kids how cute they look and then reward them with candy. And I got a kick out of Romney telling the kids, "At this house you have to do a dance to get the treats!" They really did it!

Here's what else I liked about Halloween this year:

guitar and donut night with Jonathan and Eliza

(mostly the donut part) Our raised donuts turned out great (here is the recipe)!

We also made pumpkin spice donuts -- a must try recipe! Mmmm hmmm!

Finally introducing Henry to his half-namesake: Henry David Thoreau. He was so excited to finally meet him! (we're still working on introducing him to Henry B. Eyring)

Watching Henry dance at "the Walden Pond"

Love that clear clear water

Walking around Walden Pond

Crunching all of the leaves

Managing to get lost while walking around the pond and taking a train track detour

You know, living deliberately.

The Great Pumpkin's Visit!

Well, the Great Pumpkin made it to our house this year with a bundle of Halloween surprises! It turned out to be a successful way to come to a decision about the costumes (okay, let's be honest: it was a successful way for me to choose the costumes I wanted, perhaps for the last time!).

I think Henry was pretty happy about the whole idea though. He acted really excited for several minutes, and then he got all wistful and said, "Maybe next year the Great Pumpkin will bring me a boxer costume!" I didn't even know boxer was his top choice in costumes! Maybe next year . . . Anyway, the Great Pumpkin also had this great idea of sending Henry a toy UPS truck in the mail, which made up for any disappointment Henry might have had. Who can complain when there's a new truck involved?

I may be biased, but I think these two boys are the cutest UPS guys I've ever seen!

Ben's great idea: Henry put his candy inside the Amazon box!

The truck turned out to be the perfect prop! Ellis just needed a little help keeping steady as we went trick-or-treating. It was so cute to see him pushing his deliveries along!