Hanging with the Hawkins.

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!

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.

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.

Sterling and Spencer. Spencer and Andrea have three boys just like us.

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?

Baby Sarah. She is so darling. I made these booties and was thrilled to see her in them.

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!

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.

Santa was good to us this year. Here's our Christmas set-up early in the morning.

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.

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.

The Salt Lake Temple is breathtaking.

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.

Farm and Mountains

After the reunion we drove up to Guardmans pass. The view was amazing.
I LOVE the mountains.

We spent a little time at the farm. I wish we could have been there for longer. So does Gouverneur. He cried when we had to leave.

Grandpa's rocking horse is always a hit. Sterling Henry and Abe had fun riding on it.

Grandpa's horses are always a favorite. They are so nice and the kids love to feed them. This is probably my favorite picture from the whole trip.
We miss the mountains and we are really missing grandpa's farm!

Hawkins Family Reunion 2011

We had our Hawkins Family reunion this year up at Brighton in Utah. My sister Becky organized it this year and did an amazing job. Thanks Becky!

Here we are minus my brother Jason. I love seeing pictures of the whole family. I always loved growing up in a big family. When we all get together now, it is so much fun.

We played Minute to Win It one night. I have never seen the game so it was new to me and super fun. It was fun because all ages could compete.

This was my team. I'm pretty sure we won or at least that's how I remember it.

Gouverneur was the newest baby and he got lots of attention. Here he is with grandma and cousin Sarah.

I love this picture of him with my sister Becky.

We did lots of fishing. When I say we I mean my boys. Sterling Henry loved catching fish and there were lots of be caught.

He pretends like he is fishing with about every stick he can find so the real deal was almost too good to be true.

He even wanted to hold the fish.

He couldn't get his hands on them fast enough.

Jake and Hema cooking up some fresh catch.

We went on some nice walks around the lake. Dellin got tired and rode double with cousin Cora.

I miss the mountains so much sometimes. Now I remember why.

My boys.

I love this picture of my twin brothers with their kids.

Sterling Henry was in heaven with all the cousins. I love this picture with him and cousin Abe. They look so much a like and even dress similar. Who's who?

Sterling Henry and Brynn looking out the window. Another darling shot.
We played lots of games, ate yummy food, and the kids did lots of crafts. It was three full days of pure heaven!
The reunion rocked. We are missing being with everyone but will cherish the great memories. We can't wait to see what Jason and Brandi come up with for our next one.