Ribbon Outlet

My mom and I went up to the Offray Ribbon Outlet Store in Hagerstown, MD. I'd heard a lot about this place so I had huge expectations. I talked it up to my mom bigtime so she was really excited too. It was AWESOME! They had all sorts of stuff. My basket was overflowing when I went to pay. Guess how much this lifetime supply of ribbon cost me???

$5.01. That's right. Five dollars, and one cent.

I'd say that the hour plus drive was totally worth it. I can't imagine needing more ribbon than this but I'd definitely go again!

Uncle Hema Came to Visit.

While Grandma Hawkins was here, we were also lucky enough to see uncle Hema for the night. He was here for a work conference and then we got to spent the evening with him. We got take-out from Ravi Kabob, the world's yummiest kabob place.

We chilled for a while to let the food settle. The boys were asleep but Dellin was happy to get up. Hema probably read him 25 books to Dellin. Dellin was in heaven.

We woke up Sterling Henry but he was pretty exhausted. He could barely open his eyes for a picture.

Sterling and Hema kept the party going and headed into the city to check out the sites. I wish we'd all gone with them. I love being with our visitors the first time they see the sites. They really are that amazing!
We love you Hema and love that we got to see you even if it was just for the night!

Space Shuttle Discovery

The space shuttle Discovery made it's final descent into the Dulles airport and we got to see it. Twice! We'd originally planned to go to Yorktown on this day but canceled the trip last minute to see the space shuttle. They had listed lots of places to see it. The airport was one and then it would be flying over DC. We were tempted to head into the city to see it. Last minute I looked at the list again and say that it would be going over the airport twice, so that's where we went.

As we were leaving, we heard it was 30 minutes ahead of schedule and I started getting really stressed. We cruised out to the airport and parked in the Marriot parking lot. There were tons of people standing around so we unloaded the kids with 5 minutes to spare before it flew by.

Anxiously waiting.

The first fly-by. This picture could not have turned out any more perfectly with the flag in it.

Even the cook came out to see it. That's when we knew we were in good company.
We had about 30 minutes till the next fly over so we found an even better spot up on a hill. The boys were really great. The excitement was enough to keep them entertained.
The second fly-by. Just as amazing as the first.

Grandma was the only one who got a picture with it in the air. It was so fast that I couldn't even think to get a picture of the boys. Good thing we have proof that grandma was with us.

These are the cars parked all up and town the sides of the roads around the airport. Security was going nuts. People were leaving their cars running and unattended on off ramps.

We got one last picture of it after it landed and taxied at the airport. I almost got a ticket for parking where I did, but this picture was pretty totally worth it. It was so close.
Now we can go see this baby in real life at the Air and Space museum near us. Feel free to come out and see it yourselves. I'll make sure to show you all my pictures when you do!

Stratford Hall with Grandma Hawkins

We brought grandma home with us from New Jersey. She is the first family member to come stay at the new house so it was fun to have her. We took a trip down to Stratford Hall, which was Robert E. Lee's birthplace. We've been there before but it was a first for grandma.

We got there early in the morning and headed straight to the beach to look for shark teeth and fossils. We spent a good four hours at the beach and the boys were completely entertained. The boys were pretty worn out and hungry after a couple hours. They all took a break.

The weather couldn't have been more perfect and the water was really warm. It was such an enjoyable day. Here we are searching for fossils.

There is a working mill on the property so we toured that too. The boys were completely amazed.

Grandma and I toured the house while the boys walked the grounds. There's lots of animals and things to see so the boys were in heaven and we got a nice quiet tour.

Such darling brothers.

Dad and his boys. These guys really have so much fun together.

Grandma and the big boys. They are quite obsessed with their grandma.

The great house. Stratford Hall.

I wasn't really prepared for how warm it was because there was a nice breeze by the ocean. We all got a bit red, even Gouverneur. Poor little guy. He didn't seem to mind a all!
I highly recommend Stratford Hall if you're in the area. It's completely detached from the city and really relaxing.

More fun pictures and post to come with grandma.

Easter weekend part 2

It was really fun to be up with Jake and Tyra's for Easter. They came down to our place last year so it was really great to be at theirs this year. Grandma Hawkins spent the whole week before Christmas with Jake and Tyra so it was extra special to have her there.

The Easter bunny came early Sunday morning. The kids made a haul.
We went to Jake and Tyra's ward. The meeting was beautiful and had lots of beautiful music for Easter.

We had a big yummy Easter lunch after church. The boys were really tired after all the cooking and cleaning up they did. They needed a nap! (I love how good of friends Jake and Sterling are.)

I had to include this cute picture of Tyra's kitchen. Their house is the so darling. It was fun to finally see all the work they have put into it.
Here is their backyard. Can you believe this? They actually live here. My boys were in heaven.

At last, we started our egg hunt. The kids were quite anxious.

Dellin was so darling. He really got into the whole thing. He needed no help.

Sterling was having a blast as well. The yard could not have been more perfect for a hunt. So many places to hide eggs.

Gouverneur watched the whole thing and loved it! He will be in the mix next year for sure.

The main attraction is always the golden money eggs. I grew up with this tradition and Jake always found them so it's no wonder that his kids are as into it as he is.

JACKPOT!

The boys' baskets were packed to the max by the end. We could hardly get them to stop looking long enough for a picture.
Easter weekend was so much fun. We are so fortunate to have Jake and Tyra living so close to us. I wish we saw them more often and hope to in the future. We were sad to see them go but luckily for us, we took grandma with us. She came home with us to spend the next two weeks.

Thanks Jake and Tyra and the cousins for such a fun weekend. The boys have never had more fun! We look forward to seeing you again soon. Love you!

Easter weekend part 1

We decided to go shark tooth hunting with Jake, Ty, grandma Hawkins, and the kiddos on Saturday. We found this awesome area and spent a good 4 hours there. It was dreamy. The kids were in heaven and completely contained.

Here are the boys with their nets working hard and loving it.

Here was our spot. We have this little island area all to ourselves.

J.J. with Dellin. The boys had so much fun with their cousins. J.J. was always helping the boys out. Dellin took full advantage.

The whole gang minus Jake. We found this awesome log to sit on in the shade where we could sort and look. This spot was the jackpot!

When we got home we took out all our findings and compared. We found more than 70 shark teeth collectively. What a day.

Abe and Sterling are just months apart and look so similar. They even dress the same. I confused them from behind all weekend.

Gouverneur got all the attention that he deserves. The kids played with him nonstop and he loved it! Here he is with Abby and Leah.

The cousins relaxing and watching a show in a tent. Why not?
Stay tuned for more pictures of Easter.

Happy Birthday Daddy-O!

Sterling turned 34 and boy did we celebrate! We started the morning out right with birthday breakfast and presents. Sterling actually only got one present this year because it was really awesome. I had pictures taken of the boys holding the letters DAD. I have been planning this gift for months and we were all excited for him to finally see it. It's now hanging at his office!

The boys helping dad open his gift.
Look at Gouverneur's face. Don't you just want to pinch those cute cheeks?!?

When Sterling got off work, we headed up to New Jersey to see my brother Jake and his family for Easter weekend. We got in a bit late but were greeted by all the kids and lots of birthday signs and balloons for Sterling.

We celebrated up there with cake and ice cream. It was lots of fun to celebrate with family.
Dellin eating chocolate cake in his birthday suit. He claims it tastes better this way.
We sure love our Daddy and love celebrating his birthday with him. Thanks Jake and Tyra for helping this birthday celebration be one of the best yet!

AUNT JEN AND COUSIN EMMA CAME TO VISIT!

My sister Jen and my niece Emma came to visit over the weekend and we had the time of our lives. The boys were beyond thrilled to have family around.

Emma brought us some darling gifts including this book that she wrote. She included two things that they boys really love, dinosaurs and BYU. The boys absolutely love it. Thanks Emma.

They were here for 5 days and we made sure we went to Georgetown Cupcake 4 of those days. Thanks to Facebook, we've mastered how to get the maximum amount of free cupcakes. We bought a lot too so I'm sure it all evened out.

We headed to the Museum of Natural History first. Emma really wanted to see the butterfly exhibit and the Hope diamond. We had no idea Titanoboa Monster Snake was on display. Super awesome!

On Saturday morning we headed to the Eastern Market for breakfast. It was a first for us and was well worth the hour wait in line. The food was amazing. We all tried different things including Pecan French toast, fried green tomatoes, crabcakes, The Brick sandwich, Green Chili grits, Blueberry Buckwheat pancakes and the most delicious fried potatoes.

Some gorgeous tulips along the way.

On Sunday we headed to Arlington Cemetery between conference sessions. The tulips at Iwa Jima were in full bloom.

Dellin being darling while in walking in the cemetery.

Two cute girls! Emma is just darling and Jen looks like a teenager.

On Sunday evening we walked around the Mall and saw all the memorials. The weather was beautiful.

We took two strollers to insure that all three boys could be strapped in. The boys resting outside the white house.
We had the best time. The boys have asked about a million time where aunt Jen and cousin Emma went. We really miss them!
Unforgettable moments of the trip included:
- Georgetown Cupcake almost everyday.
- The boys waking Jen and Emma up every morning WAY too early.
- Dellin locking himself and Gouverneur in the car in DC and us trying to get him to unlock the door. It took almost 20 minutes.
- Lots of girl time. Emma got her first highlights and liquid eyeliner. Girls are so fun!
- Losing Sterling Henry at the Zoo on the most crowded day I've ever seen. He was only missing for 5 minutes and I seriously went crazy after that. He was calmly standing at a gift shop right by us looking at souvenirs. (I'm sure I knocked a few years off my life in those 5 minutes.)
-Almost getting kicked out of the Lincoln Memorial by the rudest cop in history. The guy was a jerk!
-Revisiting Mr. Yogato.
-The boys getting more attention than they are use to. They loved it!

We miss you Jen and Emma. Thanks for coming. We love you so much and will always cherish this trip!