Philip and Jaime Connor

I am behind, but that is nothing new. Caleb turned four last month. He had two parties. One he had with his classmates during joy school. It was a fortuitous coincidence that I happened to be teaching his classes the week of his birthday, so on Thursday, after our projects were done we got cupcakes and ice cream. It was messy, but fun. One the day of his actual birthday, we did our family activities. He was so much fun, because he is finally at the age where he understands that this is his special day and he was super cute about it. He especially loved the part where he got to choose his meals. He had pancakes for breakfast, a chicken nugget lunchable for lunch, and pizza for dinner. We ended the day with a lemon fish cake, which was delicious, and presents. It was a great day for a great little boy. Blowing out candles on his cupcake at school. The fishy cake, and no that does not refer to the taste. ;) More candles. Opening presents . . . YES! The boys wearing their new bir...

On Monday, my little Chase turned two. It is hard to believe that so much time has past since his birth. Time is just flying past and I can't seem to get it to slow down. He is such a smart little guy. He is happy and just a joy to be around. He is such a little love and enjoys "kiss mommy cheek." I love him so much and cannot imagine our family without his wonderful presence. He runs, he jumps, he jabbers, and he loves us all so well. Happy Birthday sweet boy. Thank you for coming to our family. This was my lame attempt at making a robot cake. It looks silly, but it was yummy so I guess that is all that matters. Chase is checking out the contents of his first gift bag. Hmmm, I wonder what it could be. Fun stuff. Blowing out the candles.

Last night we took the whole family to the church for Nathan's Blue and Gold Banquet. We took a fruit salad and got to eat some really delicious pizza, along with some other yummy things that other families brought (can I just say, hello good peanut butter cookies?!). I was happy not to have to cook dinner. The boys played some getting to know you bingo and a balloon relay race. Then they handed out badges. This is Nathan's first year doing scouts. He didn't do it in Hawaii because he was involved in First Tee and that was the same day as the scout meetings. Anyway, he got his Bobcat Badge yesterday. I almost missed it because I got called out of the cultural hall into the RS room to look at some stuff for our February RS activity. I came back to the banquet and Nathan was at the front and they were looking for his mom, so he could give me a bobcat pin. I went up and he pinned it onto my shirt, and that was the end, so we helped clean up and went home. Nathan play...

While Heather was here over Thanksgiving, she was good enough to take some pictures of our family. I wanted to take them by this fabulous oak tree that, to me, symbolizes the South. Unfortunately, it was very rainy the day we went to take the pictures, so we ended up going over to the Seabee Lake and shooting under the cover of a picnic pavilion. Here are a few. Chase Caleb Jocelyn Nathan Phil and I The boys The girls The Family (I just Had to throw this one into the mix because Caleb makes me laugh. What a goofball!)

Recently, Phil and I reupholstered our dining room chairs. We bought our chairs years ago, and they were looking, frankly, pretty terrible. When you have four kids, they tend to spill things a lot. Our cushions needed some new life. When my mom was here back in October, we went to look at fabric, and I found some that I really liked. Later, when it was on sale, I went back and bought it. It sat around for a month or so, before I finally got my act together enough to actually do it, but one night, Phil and I sat down and knocked it out while watching a football game. It looks fabulous! We also got some clear vinyl and placed it on top of the fabric, so that spills would be easier to clean and the new fabric would stay looking good for a longer period of time. After and Before

Heather is here for a visit. It is always fun to have her come to stay for a few days. We went down to New Orleans yesterday to check out the historic city. It was the first time there for both of us and we were excited to see some of the famous sites. Our first stop was to Cafe de Monde to get a beignet. Cafe de Monde has been around since 1862 and was the original French Market coffee stand. It is a New Orleans landmark, and offers the original beignet, which is the state doughnut of Louisiana. You can watch them make them at the side window. They roll out the dough, cut them into squares, toss them into hot oil until golden brown and then put them into a bag full of powdered sugar. Yummy! Jocelyn and her beignet. Caleb, taking a big bite. While the rest of us scarfed ours, Chase took his time and savored every tasty bit. Heather enjoying her treat. They even sell a box mix so you can make them at home. I bought some to make on Christmas morning. I thought that would be fu...

My parents came down to visit us for a few weeks and it was wonderful to have them here. With Phil gone, I have been on my own and it was so nice to have some help and some adult conversation. We didn't really do anything while they were here except for a nice trip to the temple. We just hung out around the house and it was so great. The kids loved having their grandparents at their beck and call and I appreciated the break. Mom and Dad planned their visit so that they would be here for Halloween. This year it was on a Sunday, so on Saturday I dressed the kids in their costumes and they went to a Fall Festival at the church followed by trick or treating around to the different classrooms. Then we headed to the mall and went trick or treating to all of the stores there. The kids had a lot of fun and I was glad to have Mom and Dad their to help me herd them along. Dad and Chase sitting together on the couch. They were so cute together and would sit like this and converse. ...