We had such a blast with the Hawkins side of the family while we were there. We missed out on most of the Hawkins gatherings but made the most of the ones we made it too. We spent lots of time with grandma and grandpa and Becky and Hema.
My mom has so many fun things to play with. Here are the boys playing with this darling tiny wooden village I remember playing with as a child. Sterling Henry particularly loved it.
Gouverneur being a serious big boy. He moved up to a highchair while we were in Utah.
Grandpa feeding the Gouverneur. I love this picture. Also pictured, Gouverneur's new boots that he got for Christmas that might be my favorite piece of baby clothing we own. Darling!
Cousin Vela feeding Gouverneur. Vela loved helping me with the baby.
We rang in the new year on the farm. Here is grandma and Sterling making food. Sterling made bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers that were amazing. My mom made her traditional seafood gumbo that is out of this world.
We also had smoked salmon, compliments of the Fillmores. Smoked salmon is the Fillmore family Christmas tradition. We ate our weight in it over the holidays. The boys smoked some for Eric's baby blessing and we took a fillet down to share with the Hawkins. AMAZING!!!
Cora and Gouverneur. They are 11 months apart. Cora is the most darling little girl. Look at those eyes. She also loved the baby.
Here we are ringing in the new year.
The cousins going crazy. They loved the new year's celebration. We may have celebrated at 10pm. The kids will never know. 
By far my favorite picture from the trip. My parents gave all the grandkids fleeces this year. This picture is just too cute. It needs a frame... soon!
We did see Jason and Brandi, Joe and Rindi, and Josh and Laura on Christmas Eve but of course I forgot my camera. We missed all those who didn't come this year. Maybe next year...
We are so blessed to have such amazing families. We wished we lived closer but make the most of the time we do spend together. We love you all, both Hawkins and Fillmores!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Hanging with the Hawkins.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Life on the Farm
We headed down to see grandma and grandpa Hawkins on the farm for the last part of our trip. We were the only ones down there so it was pretty quiet. It was nice to have so much time with grandma and grandpa, but we sure missed all the cousins.
We toured a dairy down the road from my parents' house.
I thought the whole thing was pretty amazing. Sterling Henry was completely freaked out. Here are the boys.
Here I am with my parents and the boys.
Little Man and the calves. They're pretty cute if you ask me.
This is probably one of our favorite parts of the day. Walking up to feed the horses with grandpa. The boys just love it.
Little Man was pretty brave.
My mom always has carrots to give to the horses. 
I love this picture of my dad. He is just too cute with my boys. It's no wonder they adore him.
Dellin insisted on carrying this bucket the whole way. He was cracking us up.
Farm work can be pretty tough. Luckily grandma had some refreshing drinks afterwards.
We sure love the farm and miss it already.Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Hanging with the Fillmores.
We did a lot of fun things with the Fillmores. The whole family was in town so we made the most of it. Not everybody made it to everything, but we tried our best and had a blast.
We went to the Natural History Museum of Utah (The Dinosaur Museum). It was awesome.
Here is the view from the top of the museum. We were there right at sunset.
Eric and Marci blessed their darling new baby Sarah while we were there. We all went up to Bountiful for the blessing.
Don't they have a darling family?
Grandma Fillmore and the Gouverneur.
Sterling took little Sterling sledding one day. He sort of liked it.
Sterling and Sterling Henry hiked the Y. I stayed home with the babies who were napping and teething. Little Man made it all the way up on his own.
On the way up with dad before sunset and then with grandpa. Look at that view.
He passed out on the way down and dad carried him. Look how tuckered out he is!
The boys had a blast with their cousins. All the cousins got a long really great, most of the time :)
Grandpa Fillmore gives great horsey rides.
We had so much fun with all the Fillmores. It was loud and crazy and we loved every minute of it! Grandma and Grandpa Fillmore took such great care of us. Thank you so much for showing us a great time. We miss you!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Christmas 2011
We woke up Christmas Eve and headed down to the the farm to see the Hawkins. I was still a bit out of it from the day before and forgot my camera. We were down there till mid-afternoon and then headed back to be with the Fillmores.
Grandma and Grandpa Fillmore were on a mission last year so it was great to have them back this year. We were all there during the holiday break so it was a full house and lots of fun.
The grand kids acted out the nativity for us all. Little Man narrated the Christmas Story reciting Luke 2, and he really got into it. We have been working with the boys all of December to learn it. This picture kills me.
Gouvernuer got to be baby Jesus.
Grandma Fillmore's tree looked quite magical. Here's the boys in front of the tree.
We opened our stockings and then got ready for church. It was really nice to have Christmas fall on a Sunday this year. After church we came home and relaxed and finished opening presents.
Gouverneur got a Cookie Monster to match the Elmo and Grover that the boys got last year. He seems to like it and the boys LOVE that he has his own.
Naps made it hard to get a family picture that morning. Gouverneur had already gone down by this point.
The boys got lots of killer stuff. This mommy alligator with her babies might have taken the cake. Little Man was thrilled.
We gave Grandma and Grandpa a new picture of the boys and a dvd of the boys singing their favorite hymns.
We had a huge dinner that night with tons of smoked salmon and other yummy food. It was great to be together with the Fillmore family.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Temple Square SLC 2011
We just got back for spending 11 days in Utah with our families. We had a wonderful trip! We flew out the morning of the 23rd. We started the Christmas trip off right by heading to Temple Square that night with the Fillmore family. The Salt Lake Temple, which is absolutely beautiful, was made even more beautiful by all the lights at Christmas.
It was FREEZING that night. We bundled up as best we could and off we went. The boys loved it! This might be my favorite picture from that night. This was at the corner of the Conference Center at the beginning before we all froze. Look at all those lights!
The most beautiful tree at temple square. Here we are with Grandma and Grandpa Fillmore.
Sterling Henry was obsessed with the bagpiper just outside the gate. The guy rocked and played "Itchy Fingers" at Sterling Henry's request.
Little Man in front of the reflecting pond. They had little lights floating and a beautiful manger scene. You can see it in the background if you look closely.
I was sort of complaining by the end because I was exhausted and freezing. But I was so glad my hubby made me stick it out. It was fun to show the boys all the lights at Temple Square. We loved being there with all the Fillmores.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
National Christmas Tree 2011
We took the boys to see the National Christmas Tree over the weekend. It was super cold, so we bundled up and had a great time. In February, a huge wind storm snapped the original tree in half so this is the new one. The new one is 26-feet-tall whereas the old one was 40-feet-tall so there is quite a difference. I was sad the whole time we were there looking at it because it just didn't feel right.
2008
We visited Santa's workshop while we were there. Dellin didn't cry but he still wasn't very happy.
There's always next year!
