Next Stop: Idaho

Friday, after barbequeing with Stephen, Rod and I caught a plane back to SLC. We arrived there within minutes of my Mother and Larry arriving from Denver. The next morning, we picked up Rumba and headed to the big IF (Idaho Falls).

As in Louisiana, our visit to Idaho was filled with family gatherings. We visited with Grandma and Grandpa all day Saturday and spent Saturday night "doing Christmas" with my dad and his girlfriend Amanda.



The next day, we opened presents with Grandma and Grandpa in the morning



and went out to dinner with Mom-Dena, Jayde, and Jordan in the big city of Rigby that night.


Monday was filled with birthday celebrations. Grandma and I made Mom's favorite dessert in the morning and then the whole family took her out for lunch to celebrate.



That night, we went out to Rigby to celebrate Jordan's 13th birthday.


I CANNOT believe that my baby brother is a teenager! While we were there, Rod played on the Wii for the first time and he would NOT get off of it despite the fact that it told him he was unbalanced and 32.
I guess we will have to break down and get a gaming system for our house after all. We opened Christmas presents with the kids after the Wii excitement settled down.



Before saying goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa the next morning, Rod and I stopped by my Great Grandma Sauers. Little did we know when we stopped by that most of my extended family would be dropping by. Grandpa and Marina were there with Uncle Chris and Karen. As soon as Chris and Karen left, John and Charlene stopped by. It was nice to see everyone without trying to schedule a get together.


On our way out of town, we stopped by the farm to see Uncle Wade and my cousin Becky. Then it was back to Salt Lake to pick up my stepsister Holly from the airport. Non-stop fun.

Dreaming of a White Christmas

I love the snow at Christmas time. But, alas, it was not meant to be this year. It's not that Louisana never gets snow. It's that it rarely gets snow and, just a week before we arrived, it got an unheard of 3 inches! By the time we got there, it was back to a not-so-cold 80 degrees.

My craving for the powdery white stuff would have to be satiated with the excess amounts of powder sugar covering Cafe Du Monde's world-famed beignets. Off to New Orleans!

As many times as I have been to Louisiana, I have never done the tourist thing and have only really seen New Orleans shortly after Katrina when the streets were deserted. This time was much different. We started our day at Jackson Square,

followed by beignets at Cafe Du Monde. Our next stop was the WWII Museum, which was really informative and interesting.
Then we caught the Steet Car back to the Quarter, stopping for lunch at the Palace Cafe. After a quick stroll down Bourban Street, grabbing a hurricane from famous Pat O's,



we walked through the French Market

and drove through the Garden District, before heading back to Baton Rouge. Even with all that, we barely scratched the surface. Now if only I can convince Rod to come back during Mardi Gras!

Belated Happy Holidays

Where to begin? For the last two weeks, Rod and I have been with family and/or friends non-stop (except when we are sleeping or on an airplane between families). The last of our family (my adorable little sister) left this morning. The ornaments have all been returned to their resting place under the stairs. And I billed six hours today. The holidays are officially over :(

We started our adventure in Louisiana. I have been there many times and spent one Christmas there, but this was my first time there as Rod's wife. I was sad that I didn't get be with my family on Christmas until my Grandma pointed out that Rod's family is my family now. Rod's family has always been very welcoming, but my grandma's observation made me look at it with a new perspective. These are people that will be connected to me and my family for the rest of my life. Boy am I glad that I have such great in-laws!

Our time in Louisiana included several family gatherings:
Melanie's Birthday celebration at Aunt Patty (Rod's mom's sister) and Uncle Gerry's,




dinner at Mike Anderson's with the Abernathys (Rod's stepdad Sterling, his "Third Grandmother" Ms. Caroline, and Rod's stepbrother Benton), Christmas Eve Eve at Aunt Jumy's (Rod's dad's sister Judy and her husband Jimmy),






Christmas Eve at Aunt Patty and Uncle Gerry's and at Marshal Anne and Nelson's (Ms. Caroline's cousin) with the Abernathy's
before Christmas Mass with Mr. Pete (Rod's Dad), and Christmas Day at Aunt Terry and Fred's with the Dewailly's (Rod's mothers family: Maw Maw, Paw Paw, Uncle Eddie, Patty and her husband Gerry, their daughter Melanie, her husband Jonathan, their girls Ellery, Hailey, and Avery, Terry, Fred, their son Cole)



and at Chris and Lee's (Rod's cousins),

and the day after Christma barbequeing (seriously! It was 80 degrees) at Rod's brother Stephen's house.



Whew! That is enough for tonight. Stay tuned for details about our trip to New Orleans tomorrow.