Halloween

(Jenn) It's true. Halloween is one of my least favorite holidays. I'm just not really into all the spider webs and jack-o-lanterns, probably because I feel these morbid decorations seem to desecrate my favorite season of the year. Still, I learned a few things this year about how to enjoy Halloween. #1: Ignore the tacky decorations and don't judge! #2: Have kids! It really is a lot more fun with kids. As you can tell, Henry dressed up as Frankenstein. I know, it's not very "cute," and I'm probably not a good, cute Mormon mom, but the costume was $3.50 at a consignment store. AND, Henry came away with the "funniest costume" prize at our branch's Fall Festival, which was really fun. I probably should also say that Henry's costume was appropriate, since one of his favorite things right now is monsters. Rrraaaaaarrrr!

Halloween 2

Okay, so this part didn't work the first time, so here's the sequel: On the afternoon of Halloween, we went with some friends to the "Ragamuffins Parade" in Hoboken. I have never been to anything like it! The parade had floats, a band, and people in extravagant costumes. Then, all the kids who were dressed up got to join the parade. I guess the most impressive part was how much people got into "decorating" themselves and their kids! Many of the kids would not only have over-elaborate costumes, but their strollers or wagons were decked out as well. The trend was to make their "ride" match the theme of their costumes. We saw pirates in pirate ships; Nemo in an aquarium, a bat with "other bats" swarming around him, and a boxer in a ring. I wondered how much some of them paid their personal costume-designers. Hoboken is a pretty up-and-coming place, perhaps the most popular place in the NYC area for affluent young parents to live. We trick-or-treated in their Brownstone neighborhoods after the parade, and I couldn't help but envy the striking couples who sat on their elegant (and tastefully decorated) front steps asking if the kids wanted "chips, a candy bar, or Play Doh." And then Ben and I spent the evening, after Henry went to bed, having the conversation: "Since we're never going to be rich . . ."

Autumn Swinging

(Jenn) Henry and I try to go to the park 3 times a week in the mornings. It is just so beautiful right now, and Henry loves it so much that I had to take some pictures. I added a cute little movie of him swinging to our video page as well. I love the fall!

Tricks and Treats

(Jenn) So if you haven't heard, Henry is officially walking. Don't believe it? Check out the movie we just uploaded to our video site (see link, left). Anyway, so this morning Henry walked into our bedroom, stopped by our night stand (one of his favorite spots), and walked out drooling a little more than usual. I didn't think anything of it, but a few minutes later when I checked on him, he had the look of a child who is eating paper. Henry looks this way a lot, as eating paper is one of the sneakiest and most fun things to do around our house, so I was familiar with it. As I went to swipe my finger in his mouth to get the paper out before he choked on it, he started to fight me much more than usual. He kicked, punched, screamed, shook, and would not open his mouth. Finally, I caught a glimpse of it -- a piece of Trident gum, still in its wrapper, sloshing around in Henry's mouth. Apparently, Ben had left it on the nightstand within reach. I didn't really feel like having a battle, so I let him "chew" the gum until it finally fell out on the floor after 5-10 minutes. I wish you could have seen his happy, drooly face, letting that gum churn around in his mouth. So Henry is now a gum-chewer, although he has not yet reached age 8, which, I believe, is how old you are supposed to be to chew gum (correct me if I'm wrong).

Sorry, I didn't get a picture of the gum-chewing experience (hence the "Henry Potter on Nimbus 2000" picture). But we put a couple of movies up with other tricks, including throwing and pat-a-cake. Enjoy!

Hay Ride

(Jenn) Henry and I are part of a few playgroups in the area here. This week, we went with one of the groups on a hayride. It was a beautifully crisp fall day, especially with all the gorgeous trees here on the east coast. It was a festive and fun trip!

Woodburning Project

(Jenn) I don't know if you have seen my hope chest, but it's a project I've been working on for years. Over the past few months I've had some time to work on it though, and I've finished one side of the box. I'm hoping to finish the last side in the next month and then call the whole project complete. Each box is a different part of my life mission statement, and I think it's pretty cool. :)

Henry enjoyed the trip too!

Henry gearing up for a big helping of whipped cream at Cheesecake Factory. He loves this place almost as much as we do! This is mostly because of their 30 page spiral-bound menu, which keeps him entertained for most of our meal. On our first trip here (yes, we came twice) he liked playing with the purple cabbage as well, and he got it under his fingernails! Yum.

This other picture is Henry on the Brooklyn Bridge with Grandpa Dave. Grandpa Dave is one of his favorite friends, although his big, orange mustache is scary at times. During walking practice, Henry would walk to everyone except Grandpa Dave. In fact, he was so scared that he would walk to within a step or two, flip a U-turn, and run back to someone safer!

A view from Hoboken

This is a view of downtown Manhattan from Hoboken, NJ. Hoboken is only 15 minutes from our home and it's quite the happening place. We took a walking tour of significant Frank Sinatra sites, who hails from Hoboken, and enjoyed the aura of this charming brownstone town. There was a youth soccer game going on right next to us here--what a place to grow up playing soccer, eh?

Traffic at the Lincoln Tunnel

This was the mess we went through getting to Wicked.

The Griffin Family Visit

(Ben) This past week Jenn's family (her parents and Tanner) came to visit and we had a wonderful time. For me, the highlight of their visit was a day trip we took up to Palmyra on Columbus Day, which I had off from work. Palmyra is about 300 miles away from our house, so to get there, see everything, and then get back makes a pretty big day. But it was so worth it! The drive through Pennsylvania and upstate New York is beautiful, and we caught the leaves at the perfect time. I hadn't been to Palmyra since 9th grade, and it was cool to see the replica of the Smith cabin (which they were excavating when I was there last), the temple (dedicated on April 6, 2000), and the Grandin Building where the Book of Mormon was published (which was also under construction last time I was there). But the Sacred Grove topped them all. I know that the First Vision took place in the spring, but it is sure beautiful in autumn as well. I hope the pictures do it justice. While we were there, I couldn't help but think, "It's no wonder that Heavenly Father chose to come here to visit the Earth." It just seemed so true. Anyway, we didn't get back home until 1:00am, so it was a long day, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Besides Palmyra, I was at work most of the time while they did the regular NYC tourist stuff. However, I did get to go to Wicked the musical, and it was spectacular. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has an extra $100 for a ticket (or in-laws who do), since it is completely sold out and there are no discount tickets available. For those of you who don't know, Wicked is the backstory behind The Wizard of Oz, focusing on the Wicked Witch of the West. It is really creative and highly entertaining.

Lord of the Ring

(Jenn) This week, while I was feeding Henry, I realized there was something hard on his leg. As I lifted up his shorts, I found a canning ring around his thigh, snug with his diaper! I knew that he was playing with that ring, but he hadn't been playing with it for a while. He had been using it as a garter (or a leg bracelet?) for at least several hours without me noticing! We had a good laugh, and I had to think that such serendipities can only happen to babies.

Henry Makes Strides!

Henry has had a walking breakthrough! He has been making progress for the past 3 weeks or so -- walking along furniture, walking with one of us holding his hands, and taking a few steps before diving into Mom or Dad. Tonight, he just walked wherever he wanted to go. We estimate that he walked 10 feet (or 20 steps) without help! You're right, he's only 9 1/2 months old, and yep, he still can't crawl! This kid marches to the beat of his own drummer. Take a look at "Our Videos" (see Links, left) to see the latest "foot"age!

Our New Organ!

(Jenn) We are reaching our 3rd anniversary, and my sister Kati said a couple should have a piano by the time they've been married three years. That's when someone gave them their first piano anyway. So I have been praying pretty hard that someone would give us a piano (or that we could miraculously come up with the funds to buy one). Anyway, Heavenly Father didn't have a lot to work with here in the Paterson 2nd Branch, so He got us an organ instead. It's definitely doing the job! This picture is the Elders helping Ben carry our new, beautiful organ up the stairs. We are very grateful!!!

Henry is Growing Up!

(Jenn) Meanwhile, Henry is changing every day. He is finally creeping along on the floor (almost crawling), but he really is much more interested in walking. This week he decided that he no longer wants to sit or lie on the floor. Instead, he wants to walk everywhere, but he forgets that -- wait -- he can't walk yet! So I get to be his personal assistant, holding his hands as he excitedly goes wherever he wants to be. In order to save my back and to help me get my personal time back, we have a new goal for him to be walking within a month -- we practice every day!
If you want to see movies of Henry and all the cool things he can do, you should check out the link that says "Our Videos" on the left!

The Brooklyn Bridge

(Jenn) Henry fell asleep on our walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. It is at least a 30-minute walk, and a breathtaking and empowering experience, if you haven't done it. We enjoyed the breeze, the view, and the pizza at Grimaldi's when we got to the Brooklyn side.

We'll blame the wind for my eyes being closed!

The Big City

(Jenn) Last Saturday we took our first trip as a family into Manhattan. Really, I can't believe it took us a whole month to get there! We have been so busy getting settled into our New Jersey home, and I haven't quite mustered up the guts to take Henry on the train by myself. Still, we made it, and it was a blast! I was nervous that Henry wouldn't like the long commute, but he made a hundred friends on the train and subway. He was in Heaven! We have several more trips planned for the future!

9/11--5 years later

(Ben) I was in Guatemala when 9/11 happened. I had only been there about three weeks, I was still very lost as far as the language was concerned, and so when the clerk at the post office tried to explain to me what had happened, I was totally lost. Throughout the day I got all sorts of stories: New York had been destroyed, all the planes in the US had been hijacked, the Pres. Bush had been killed, etc. It wasn't until that evening that I finally went to our branch president's house and watched CNN to get an idea of what had happened. It was so strange to be in a foreign country, so far removed from "real" life and have something like that happen. It was never real for me. It was just a movie.

Fast forward five years, and I found myself on a subway that literally goes right through the WTC site at 8:30am every morning. Sept. 11th had never been real for me until Monday, when I was able to look around in the train and see a lot of people who were probably very nearby when it happened. Perhaps they had just sat down in their offices when the first plane hit. As we came into the WTC pit, the subway grew quiet and everyone's eyes were on the windows, looking at steel beams and giant storm pipes, most of which are left over from the wreckage. After exiting the train and climbing up to ground level it was packed with news crews and protestors (who claim 9/11 was planned by the Bush Administration), of course. But overwhelmingly the site was filled with people who just wanted to be there. They were putting pictures of loved ones on the wire fence that surrounds the site, or singing, or taking picutres, or staring up at the huge flag that had been draped from the World Financial Center just to the west. It was truly moving for the first time for me.

Anyway, I wanted to share that with everyone, since you weren't able to be here on the 5th anniversary. I can't help but think how Pearl Harbor in a way defined the "WWII" generation, and to some extent Pres. Kennedy's assassination defined the "baby boomers." How will 9/11 define us?

The Yellow House

This is our yellow house in New Jersey! We live on the top floor of this two-family home. We love it! The best part about our house is that it has plenty of extra floor space for visitors, so plan your New York City trip ASAP!