Philip and Jaime Connor

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. ...