Settling In

(Jenn)

It all started with the green walls. Our living room has green walls. Our living room furniture is orange. I have issues with green and orange being near each other (perhaps stemming from that horrible outfit choice on 5th grade class picture day that caused Toni Jensen's mom to say, "That girl looks like a hot dog stand!" True story). Most people come to the natural conclusion that we'll just have to paint the walls. Oh, that would be way too easy!

So in spite of Ben's denial ("I feel emotionally attached to the couches that I've had for pretty much my whole life") and sincere efforts to thwart my plans (including lots of deceitful calculations "proving" to me that we are going to run completely out of money by the end of the month), I have spent the last two months searching for ideas, poring over catalogues, and even making "paper doll" couches, chairs, and pillows and trying out endless combinations in front of the green walls. I wasn't sure if it would work, but finally Ben must have realized that I would probably never stop if he didn't eventually concede. Or maybe the green and orange finally got to him too. Either way, we finally got to buy stuff! I must say that I have really enjoyed our orange furniture for the past 5 years, and I'm thankful to Ben's parents for giving it to us. It has served us very well. At the same time, it has lived its life, and I get pretty giddy about beautiful, new, comfortable furniture and making a home look pretty -- yay! It makes me feel a lot better about the whole "vow of poverty" thing that comes with grad school.

Okay, with no further blathering, here are the pics:

The rug! This was probably my most exciting find (T.J. Maxx), which I think really ties the room together nicely. It's also super-soft and SOOOO nice. The night I brought it home, Henry was so elated about having carpet that he couldn't stop dancing and spinning and running around on it.

This is quite the conglomeration, and I'm pretty proud of it. :) The sofa (Ikea) is rich and warm and pretty much the most comfortable seat we've ever owned. It also has dry-cleanable covers! The patterned pillows (Crate and Barrel) are my very favorite part of the room -- they were the first thing I bought, and we picked the color scheme from there. The solid pillows are from Pier 1 and Bed, Bath, & Beyond. We also had to get new lamps (Target) because our other ones were orange and cast a hot-dog-standish light on the room.

Here's where I need your votes. First of all, should I keep the small chair, or try to find a different one? It doesn't quite match the wood in the rest of the room, although I love the shape and size. I'm undecided about it. The end table also kind of doesn't match the rest of the room (we already had this). Should I try darkening the stain? I love both of the new chairs (Pier 1), and they're really comfy for this type of chair.

The next vote: Do you like pillow arrangement #1 (2 pictures above), or pillow arrangement #2 (directly above)? Ben and I disagree on this one, so we need your help! You can answer the polls (on the sidebar) or leave a comment. I need your help!

Here's a shot of the room, just to give you an idea of the spacing. Isn't it peaceful and inviting? I especially like how the TV screen matches the color of the rug. It adds a nice touch (at least I haven't made Ben part with this token of his childhood just yet!).

Still working on . . . organizing the playroom! Is it even worth it to organize a room that will only look nice between 8pm and 6am? You'll notice in this picture Henry's latest obsession with spreading things out and lining them up!

And for your entertainment: the current state of our dining room! Notice there are only 3 boxes left to unpack, which I consider quite the feat.

Outer Banks Trip

After a stressful week of moving and a crazy couple of months getting ready to move, a week at a beach house was exactly what the doctor ordered. We spent last week at the Outer Banks in North Carolina for the Iverson family reunion. It really was perfect! It included lots of naps, sleeping in, kayaking, biking, beach time, crabbing, board games, yummy food, and good company. Could it get any better than this? I submit that it cannot (unless you could arrange for Henry to not be afraid of the ocean and throw 20-minute tantrums every time he saw sand).

Watch the slideshow to get a better idea of the loveliness we enjoyed. Ah, summer!

Officially Here

(Jenn)

We are finally back from vacation and actually living in our new house! That's not to say we're settled, by any means. We still have a couple of rooms FULL of boxes, and the unpacking is going pretty slowly. It's amazing to me how long it can take to unload one box. It's just so hard to decide where everything's going to go! We have lots to do before this baby comes, and the due date (7 weeks from Saturday) is a pretty solid reminder of that.

The more settled we get, the more we enjoy our new home. It feels very spacious and serene. At the same time, I feel quite isolated in our little house on the hill. I've only left the house a few times, and each time I've been reminded how "fun" it is to start completely over getting your bearings in a new town. It took 6 months to feel completely comfortable driving in New Jersey, and from my experiences so far in MA, the roads are much more tortuous and unpredictable. This is the part of "new adventures" that I don't love so much!

Here are some pictures of the move:





Ben with President Mathusek on our last day of church.












With the Stephenson family. They were sweet and had us over for dinner on Sunday, the day before we moved. We'll miss these guys!














Goodbye hugs: Henry and his best friend, Evan.

Evan waving good-bye from the car. They came to see us off on Monday before we drove away.










'Bye Evan! We'll miss you (we already do)!


















We made it! After a rush of cleaning and errands and the 5-hour drive, we arrived at our new home. Here are Dad I. and Ben starting to unload the truck. I should mention here that we NEVER would have survived this move without Ben's mom and dad. They just put themselves to work and kept busy with all sorts of projects the whole time they were here. They're amazing!






While we were getting ready to unload, Henry kept busy acquainting himself with our fabulous yard and all of our neighbors' toys.

We had time to visit a few iconic sites while Ben's parents were here helping us. Here's Henry at the beautiful Boston temple.

And Ben at the Baker Library on the HBS campus, where he'll be spending lots of time over the next 5 years.

A pair of farewells

(Ben) I meant to post this earlier, but just never found the time. It turns out that moving is rather time consuming....

We sold our Prizm. I was genuinely sad to see it go. It's odd how you can become attached to a car, isn't it? When the new owner (a co-worker of mine) drove it away, it still had the last remnants of decorative window paint on the mirror from when we got married, and I couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic for all that we've been through in the car. I think I'll especially remember strapping Henry into it for the first time when he and Jenn got to come home from the hospital, and then driving more carefully than I ever have the 2 miles back to our home in Provo. Also, I'll always remember driving it across the country when we moved to New Jersey. All in all, we put nealry 50,000 miles on the car while we owned it, which boils down to a lot of time spend behind the wheel. I guess that's why I had become a little attached.

A week after we sold the Prizm, I worked my last day at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. I haven't posted much about the Fed on our blog, but I do want to say that I absolutely loved my two years there. It was an incredible place to work, where I grew a ton and felt like I was making at least a small contribution to society as well. I worked with great people there whom I'll miss as well.

List

Things we miss about our life in New Jersey:

1. All of our great friends
2. Being part of a branch
3. Proximity to Broadway, museums, and Buttercup Bake Shop
4. Ralph's Pizza
5. Samuel Nelkin park in Wallington
6. Our kitchen appliances, which were new when we moved in two years ago
7. Having all six missionaries over for dinner
8. Our attic (the best, cleanest storage room ever!)
9. Great tasting tap water (believe it or not, Ben loved the tap water in NJ)
10. Carpet (hardwood floors are great, but they are hard on your feet after a long day)
11. Shoprite, especially their Strawberry Oat Cluster cereal and double coupons every day
12. Having a fan in the bathroom
13. The accent (although Jenn and Henry have adopted it, so we'll be taking it with us)
14. Living across the street from a farmer's market
15. Bergen County Library System
16. Being within 20 minutes of 2 Cheesecake Factories and 1 Grand Lux Cafe
17. Cheap(er) gas

Things we do not miss about our life in New Jersey:

1. All of our great enemies
2. Crazy NJ driving
3. Getting yelled at by "customer service," among others
4. Carrying groceries up two flights of stairs
5. Trying to convince Henry to walk faster up two flights of stairs while carrying groceries
6. Street parking
7. Moving the car twice a week for street sweeping
8. 1 hour commute to work
9. Getting honked at the very second the light turns green
10. Train station pick-ups and drop-offs
11. La Guardia, JFK, and Newark Airports (the three most delayed airports in the nation, all in one convenient location)

In Boston, but not in Boston

(Jenn)

What day is it today? Monday? I guess we moved a week ago. It's been quite a week, and I barely have a minute to breathe! We arrived at our new Boston home last Monday night, spent the next 3 days trying to get unloaded and settled a bit, and then left early Friday morning for the Iverson family reunion in North Carolina. So yes, we made it to Boston, but now we're staying in an incredible beach house enjoying a relaxing time with Ben's family.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to upload any photos of our move or our new house before we left. But the house is perfect and beautiful, and the trees are even better than I remembered! It was great to have Ben's parents there helping us get moved in. Ben's dad just walked around looking for little fix-it jobs he could do. His biggest job was getting our box springs up the stairs. The movers tried to shove it up to our bedroom, and it wouldn't budge between the stairs and the ceiling. The boys had to take apart the aphostery on the box springs and saw a 3-inch piece out of each of the boards going across the back. Then they were BARELY able to wedge it up the stairs before piecing it back together so we could sleep on it.

Ben started "work" at Harvard, and so far he really hasn't had to do anything! He basically just had a bunch of registration/orientation stuff to do. We're hoping for a pretty relaxing summer, although I'm sure he will start actual research when we get back from this trip.

I'm adding these pictures just to give you something to look at before I figure out how to upload our pics. These are Henry's New Jersey friends at a good-bye playdate, and Henry and Evan standing by the trailer truck. We're sure going to miss our friends!

Into the Darkness

(Jenn) Wish me luck. I'm about to enter the Internet-less abyss for a couple of days! I'll let you all know when we resurface in MA and have our precious world wide web back. What did we ever do without it? Moving tomorrow. For now, I'll sign off because I'm typing on a keyboard that's on the floor, trying to lean around my big belly. Not too comfy! We'll update soon :)

Goodbye New Jersey

(Jenn) You're right, I should probably be packing right now (we're moving in one week -- ahh!) I just can't help but take a minute to post about our great weekend. There's a lot about New Jersey that we will miss, but most especially the people we have come to love.

On Saturday, we went to a birthday party for my friend Jessica, which turned out to also be a surprise going-away party for us! We have become really close with Henry's two friends, Evan and Aden, and their moms and dads. We are going to miss these friends so much! It's so sad to me that Henry doesn't quite understand that he's not going to live close to his friends anymore. He's so excited to move, but he really doesn't know what it all entails. :( When it comes down to it, however, I'm probably the one that's going to suffer the most from leaving my good mom-friends behind. I love these people!

After the party, we headed home for naps before the other party started. Suzen and Nick, our great church friends who have also been working closely with us in our callings, threw us a big BBQ party. They invited all of our friends from the branch! Many of the young women and their families came, as well as many other good friends we've made. It's amazing how these people really become your family, especially when you live far away from "home." We are so sad to be leaving all of these wonderful people, although we're trying to save our tears for this Sunday, which will be our last week at church.

A bunch of people from church also pooled money for a collective gift for our family which we are THRILLED about: a year's membership to the Boston Children's Museum! They must have really been inspired to understand how much Henry LOVES this museum -- he has talked about it daily since we visited in the spring. In fact, I think he is a bit mistaken and thinks we're actually moving to the Children's Museum (in his mind, Boston IS the Children's Museum). Anyway, we're so excited about a perfect gift!

It was impossible for me to put up pictures of all of the party-goers on this post, so below you'll find a slideshow with several other fun pics. Enjoy!

Belly Update

(Jenn) At the first of my pregnancy, Ben and I thought it would be cool if we took a picture of my profile every week so the world could marvel at the sight of my growing belly and the gradual growth of Frankie*. After about 15 weeks and with the onset of chubbiness, however, it soon became only Ben that thought it was a cool idea. Needless to say, my image has not appeared on our blog for a long time.

So here it is -- for those of you who haven't seen me (or Henry) for a while! Both of our bellies are growing at a rapid rate. The question is, "Who is winning, Nina** or Frankie?" Do you think someone should tell Henry it's about time he switched over to maternity clothes?

* the prenatal name for my baby, officially decided by Henry
** the prenatal name for Henry's baby (he's going to go into shock when I deliver a real baby and he doesn't!)

Weekend Warrior

(Ben) I got this ticket for my birthday for a double-feature I could not pass up: Saturday's Warrior & its sequel, The White Star (a value of $19!). Luckily, I had saved up a few vacation days before I quit work, so I used one last Friday (the 13th!) to fly out to Utah for the show. It was at the beautiful Cottonwood Auditorium, and the show was nothing short of spectacular. Even if you've seen the movie, it doesn't hold a candle to the real thing. And then, after intermission came the debut of The White Star: The Story of Jimmy Flinders Continues. Just listen to this teaser line, from the ticket stub: "35 years later, with a family of his own, and Pam watching over him from Beyond..." I was surprised that I didn't see any of you at the show. I apologize that I didn't get a chance to visit any of you--I really just expected you to be there so we could chat. Instead, I went early and got some great autographs, and the cast even invited me to participate in the reprise of "Hey, Flinders!" at the end of the show. Dream come true! Good thing I had the dance down pat.

Thanks, Kati!

Henry's Quotes of the Month, by Topic

Letters and Spelling
* After arranging all of the letters of the alphabet on the kitchen table (in the picture left): "I'm spelling 'Use your hands for turning, turning, clapping, up-down.'"
* "P-O-T-S spells Stop Sign" (Looking at a Stop Sign)
* "O-K-Y-W spells Statue of Liberty" (Looking at our Statue of Libery paperweight, which says New York across the bottom)
* "H-L-S spells your shirt" (Speaking of Ben's good old LHS t-shirt)
* "Earl. Earl says squirrel . . . and burl"

Religious Thoughts
* "I'm playing toys with the Lamanites!"
* (While walking around in the bathtub) "I'm walking on the water, like Jesus!"
* (After slipping and falling in the water) "I fell, like Peter!"

Potty Ponderings
* "Does Jesus have potty?"
* "Good night, sleep tight, and don't let the . . . pee pee come!"

Funny Observations
* "No nap! I'm just so much playing to do."
* "That's a-Larry-ous!" (from the Iverson "1, 2, 3, a-Larry" song that I still don't quite understand :)
* "That song is doing hiccups!" (about a song that was skipping on the CD player)
* "Dan lives in a motorcycle."
* "Does Daddy live at the church?" (Why would he think that?)

Phrases we hear regularly
* "I'm on the beach!" (which means he's either not wearing a shirt or not wearing pants)
* "I'm sprinkly!" (He says this every time he gets out of the bath and looks at his wrinkled hands)
* "I'm going standing up like Daddy!" and "I did toots like Daddy!" (He says this pretty much every time he goes potty)
* "Daddy and Henry play cars?" "Mommy and Henry play cars?" "Frankie and Henry play cars?" (He asks this several times a day)

Night Tantrums (Lately he has been waking up screaming in the middle of the night. When we arrive, panicked, at his bedside, this is what he repeatedly, urgently asks for):
* "WANNA PINK LOLLIPOP!!!"
* "FRUIT SNACKS!!!!"
* "I WANNA GO TO A STORE!!!"
* "I NEED A COUGH STRIP!"
* "TRAILER TRUCK!!!"
* "I NEED A SNAKE COOKIE ON A FORK!!!"

Busted

(Jenn)

Thought it was probably safe to throw away the cute Mother's Day picture Henry made for me in nursery. Boy was I wrong -- with Henry, it is never safe. He has pretty keen observation skills.

Can you spot the frilled-up paper plate in that bag of garbage? Henry could.

Here it is, recovered from the garbage bag with only minor damage.

The damage to my son and our relationship? Infinite.

Wedding Announcement

(Jenn) I spent about an hour trying to convince Shug to send out wedding announcements, but to no avail. So here's my virtual announcement for those of you who know her!

Griff, Ben, and Henderson are pleased to announce

the marriage of

Shug

to Paul Rigg!

They are getting married today,

Wednesday, June eleventh,

in the Anchorage Alaska temple.

They are beautifully in love

and are the perfect couple.

If you want to send them a gift, I have their mailing address . . . and they are registered at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Try not to be offended that you didn't get a real announcement -- they are just a wee bit stubborn about not wanting their picture on somebody's fridge for all sorts of strangers to see. Yeah, I don't understand it either. But I'm happy for them!

200 Haves & Have Nots

We just read this on Becca's blog, and thought it would be a fun thing to do together before we crash for the night. This is a list of 200 things that we have or have not done. If you want to copy and do this yourself, you can just bold the items you have done. Since there are two of us, we're color-coding. Here's the key:

Blue -- Ben has done it
Red -- Jenn has done it
Purple -- We have both done it
Black -- Neither of us have done it

Here goes:
200 Haves and Have Nots!
1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby’s diaper
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said “I love you” and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game (go BoSox!)
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment (in a Temple Sealing Session! It was Ben's fault, probably :)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold bath
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (define "truly"...)
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain (first kiss for both of us was in the rain...together of course!)
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don’t
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie (as long as you count Sensitive Naked Man)
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check
68. Read - and understood - your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school (in 3 weeks, anyway)
89. Changed your name (well, just my last name!)
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all four
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people
108. Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway (or equivalent to your country) play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band
119. Shot a bird (slingshot--yeah!)
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone
122. Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt
129. Lived in an historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating
135. Run a marathon
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
164. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
166. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hostel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
186. Joined a union
187. Donated blood or plasma
188. Built a campfire
189. Kept a blog
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes or boots
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Know CPR
197. Ridden in or owned a convertible
198. Found a long lost friend
199. Helped solve a crime
200. Responded to a Neighbor Jane Payne newsletter

What are you most surprised at? Good night!

Picture Update

(Jenn)
Here's a brief summary of what we've been up to lately, in pictures.



We finally got Henry's "big boy bed" all put together. Ben painted the bed (we got it for free from someone in our branch). The quilt is Henry's baby quilt, made by Grandma Lori. I can take credit for buying the pillows! Looks pretty good, eh?









And here's the big boy himself (he's very happy about the car pillows -- toys and decorations in one!)











Don't be deceived. The not-so-big boy is still VERY dependant on his binkie and blankie. This is the day he made his bed ALL BY HIMSELF.











Meanwhile, between the three of us, we spent pretty much the entire week last week keeping Kimberly-Clark in business.







I'm becoming a believer in the Neti Pot. Pour warm salt water into one nostril and it comes out the other! It's the "natural" way to clear your nasal passages and fight colds and allergies. I wouldn't be caught dead using one of these if only I were allowed to take more serious medication for my many symptoms. What pregnancy will do to you! But it's working, and for now I'm recommending the method! BTW, I also wouldn't be caught dead letting someone take a picture of me with that glorified gravy boat up my nose -- it's not very flattering. I can't believe how many people have posted videos of themselves using it on YouTube (check it out!)




Henry wearing Ben's new backpack: one of his many great birthday presents. It has a padded laptop sleeve and will help improve Ben's not-so-nerdiness at PhD school.












Yes, he also got the GPS. I told you he would! I must admit it has already saved me once from dying in the middle of Newark.











And here's the birthday boy with his cake. He's finally caught up with me and the other cool 26-ers! We celebrated with a quiet night at home (Ben's request).










And last, but not least, we joined the Minivan Club. Yep, it happened on Saturday night. As if our gas bill wasn't already astronomical enough!Here's Happy Henry with our 2004 Nissan Quest. Pretty snazzy, right?

How the Iversons Make Decisions

(Jenn)

How do the Iversons go about making a major life decision (in this case, which of 14 apartments should we choose to live in for the next 5 years)? Well, it depends which Iverson you're talking about . . .

Ben:

1. Narrow the 14 apartments down to the 6 best.

2. Make a list of all the features we find important in a home (location, commute time, space, bathrooms, yard, etc.).

3. Rank each of the top 6 options according to each feature, giving the best apartment for each category a score of 6 and the worst a score of 1.

4. Put each feature into a category, and weight each category according to how important it is to us.

5. Plug everything into an Excel document and see which apartment wins!

6. Make a bar graph to show Jenn (not so much a number person) the winner.

7. Pray to confirm that the decision is correct.

Jenn:

1. Narrow the 14 apartments down to the 6 best.

2. Look at the pictures on the camera of each apartment. Look at them again, and again, and again. Repeat until the camera dies.

3. Imagine our family living in each apartment, one at a time. Ask questions like, "Where would we put the toys? How am I going to do the laundry? What furniture will go where? Could I really stand having pink cabinets/only one bathroom/no backyard/an ugly exterior for 5 years? Which one will feel the most comfortable? Which will feel the most beautiful?"

4. When none of them seem to be the perfect match, rework everything again. Rearrange the furniture in your mind. Change the bedrooms around. Draw pictures if necessary.

5. When one of them seems like it would absolutely work, tell Ben that you've decided. Tell him that you hope he agrees, because it's now impossible in your mind to imagine living in any other place.

6. Pray to confirm that the feeling is right.

Miraculously, the two of us came to the same conclusion on this one. Isn't it amazing? Mostly I just think it's funny how differently our minds work, and I love that Ben creates an Excel file for everything (yes, there was a giant Excel document for deciding where to go to grad school, and there's even a little one for GPS systems). I have to give Ben credit though. If he were 100% logical, we would never get along. He even had a category in his Apartment equation entitled "aura." That's pretty good. And he gave it the same weight as "price." I guess we balance each other out. :)

Memorial Day Checklist

1. Ate Lehi Roller Mills Country Raspberry Muffins for breakfast . . . a perfect start to the day.

2. Got the A/C units put in the windows. Hallelujah!

3. Fed Jenn's latest obsession by going to Ikea "just to look." Came out only $3 poorer, partly because we had to bribe Henry to stay in the cart with Swedish Fish. Still not sure if the trip hurt or helped my intense and greedy desire for MORE AND MORE STUFF to fill our beautiful new house (it will be hard to live there with our old furniture after seeing it so nicely furnished by the previous tenants). Still, even after all the amazingly good deals we found, it doesn't mean we have any money . . . nor will we likely get any money over the next 5 years. Oh, the injustice of it all!

4. Fed Ben's latest obsession by going to Best Buy "just to look." Ben has slightly more self-control than me, although I still give myself credit for only spending $3. We didn't buy anything, but we played with GPS systems for about 30 minutes. Ben has been spending nearly every minute of his free time trying to decide which system is the best. Just as soon as he thinks he comes to a conclusion, someone throws another factor into the equation, and he starts all over again. And why would we have money for a GPS system and no money for a new sofa? Probably because Ben never wants anything, and I always want something. So it will probably end up that he gets the thing he wants this time, since he wants it so badly. We're still waiting eagerly for that stimulus, by the way.

5. Afternoon: went hiking at Mills Reservation. Much more satisfying, relaxing, and fulfilling than how we chose to spend our morning. So in this part of New Jersey you have to search for them, but when you find these little pockets of preserved nature, they are amazing. We kept reveling in the stark contrast between what Northern New Jersey is (way too many people, buildings, houses, and businesses crammed together) and what it once was (endless forests of tall, thin deciduous trees -- basically a canopy of green). And to reinforce that contrast, at the peak of the hike (which isn't much of a peak at all), you can see a beautiful view of the NYC skyline. You might have to squint to see the skyline in my photo.

6. Henry learned to answer nature's call "nature's way." A big step for him -- his first successful standing up endeavor. This is big, as we're trying really hard to move away from having to take his potty seat with us everywhere we go.

7. Birthday dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, topped off with our White Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle Cheesecake a few hours later at home. Ben's birthday is Wednesday, but since I have Mutual on Wednesday night and he has a meeting Thursday night, his Birthday Observed will be Friday night. And apparently his other Birthday Observed was yesterday. That lucky duck.

New House!

(Jenn) So I returned from my trip to Utah and was hit head-on with the realization that we are MOVING and there is SO MUCH to do!  Can you believe it?  We're planning to move by July 1st, which is 5 1/2 weeks from today.  Aah!  Needless to say, my life has been swirling around me the past few weeks, and blogging has pretty much dropped off the map.  My apologies to all of you.

Fortunately, things have been feeling a little more calm since we found a new apartment!  We couldn't be more excited about our find.  We will be living on the 1st and 2nd floors of this two-family home in Watertown, Massachusetts.  The house is 10 minutes from the Boston temple and a 15-minute bus ride from Harvard.  It was a little smaller than some of our other options, but I'm feeling better the more I've thought about how we'll use our space.  We have plans to make a playroom/guest room out of the bedroom on the main floor (which will most likely be Henry's bedroom), so those of you who come to visit us over the next five years (hopefully all of you!) will be comfortable.  Start making your plans!  

At one point in Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery, Gilbert is telling Anne all about the new house they'll be moving to.  He goes on and on about the details of the furnishings, rooms, etc.  Anne interrupts her husband by saying, "But Gilbert, man cannot live on furniture alone!  Are there TREES about this house?"  When I read this, I completely related to Anne and have always agreed that the trees are a very important part of a "house of dreams."  So as you can see from the pictures, the trees at our new house are amazing, and I have a feeling I'm going to love living there.  The yard is BIG and breathtaking; I can't wait to see it in the fall!  Just look at how many trees you can see out the windows!   It will be perfect for our boys.

Below is a slideshow showing the inside of the house.  I have more pictures on our home computer that I may add later.  For now, this is all you get:

Bachelorhood!

(Ben) I've been on my own for the past 6 days while Jenn and Henry have been in Utah. I dropped them off at the airport early on Monday morning, and they won't be back until late Monday night, so I've still got a couple of days left of solitude. Jenn wanted to go so that she could see Shug, who is getting married in June and happened to be in Utah, attend Women's Conference with her mom, and then join my sisters, Autmn, and Grandma Whitesides for a surprise birthday weekend with my mom (who's turning 60 on Tuesday!). Those are all very good reasons to go, but I don't think either of us realized how long 8 days is!!! I'm definitely ready for her and Henry to come home.

In the meantime, I've been keeping pretty busy. I've worked late most nights in an effort to get a few projects wrapped up before I quit in less than two months (yikes!). In the evenings I've had plenty of church meetings to keep me busy, and I've gone out with the missionaries a couple of times as well. Also, I've been watching the BBC nature documentary Planet Earth on DVD (through Netflix). I heard about Planet Earth from a coworker of mine who raved about it for a couple of weeks. Since I was interested, and Jenn wasn't so much, I thought this week would be a good time to check it out. Wow. The footage they have on there is absolutely incredible. Apparently the BBC had a $25 million budget to make this series, and they spent about 5 years traveling the world filming. It's all in HD (which makes absolutely no difference to me since our TV was made in 1977, literally), and they did some incredible things to get the footage that they have. For example, they sent a camera crew up to the Himalya's for 2 years in an attempt to get the first footage of the rare snow leopards. Of course, they were successful. I've only watched the first 3 episodes (I think there's a total of 15), but I've got the next DVD here and I'm going to watch a couple more tonight probably. Anyway, check it out if you get a chance and you like that sort of thing!

Lastly, I've been painting a toddler bed that was given to us for Henry. I'll post a picture of it when Jenn gets back with the camera. It's going to be navy blue, and Henry's really excited to have a real bed.

I do have to say that I'm extremely grateful to Jenn, who definitely didn't leave me with an empty fridge like in the picture!! :) I've been feasting well on great leftovers and I'll have just enough to get me through until she returns. Thanks, Jenn, for always taking care of me!!