WE FINALLY GOT A LITTLE SNOW!

We got our first bit of snow on Christmas Eve, but it all melted that night. As we were going to bed on Christmas Day, it was snowing. The boys wanted to go out first thing. We bundled up and headed out to play.  Naturally Gouverneur wore his new boots that he refuses to take off. 

 

These boys sure melt my heart.

Dellin wanted to make a snow angel. The snow wasn't really cooperating. Oh well, he had fun anyway.

It was really wet and didn't last long, but we got our snow fix. Hopefully we'll be getting more soon so that we can make a snowman. After watching Frosty The Snowman a million times over Christmas, we're ready to make our own.

Christmas Day 2012

The boys all slept in till a little after 8 on Christmas morning. They came running into our room to tell us that Santa had come and left lots of presents. Because we don't have stairs to make them wait on, they had to sit on the couch and wait for us to get the cameras ready to document everything. Little Man could barely sit there he was so excited. I remember feeling the same way as a kid.   

 

 Family photo.

Stocking were the first place the boys went.  (These are still my most favorite thing that I've ever made.)

 

Dellin found a pack of fruit snacks at the top of his stocking and was done. Who knew that's all he needed?!

 

More fruit snacks.

Oh and a chocolate filled candy cane. He sat in this box eating for a good while.

 Little Man handed out all the presents from under the tree. Some of the gifts included Connect Four from Grandma and Grandpa Hawkins, and Dad got a sweet BYU sweatshirt from his brother Parley.

 Gouverneur stole the show Christmas morning with his cuteness. His darling "Rudolph" nose looked pretty cute on Christmas morning. His first gift he opened was yellow rain boots. He put them right on and marched all around the house. He was in heaven. He also managed to steal the boys' pack of bandaids and run around with them. Darling boy!

  

 

Santa stuck the boys' bikes under a blanket back behind the couches. We waited until the boys were all done with their other gifts and then I asked Little Man to grab me a blanket. This is what he found.

 

 " Bikes! Bikes for the boys! Christmas bikes! Bikes!"

 To say that they were shocked and super excited is a complete understatement. Dellin was very serious about posing with his bike for some reason.

 

 Little Man made us a really cute card and painted a frame in preschool. He loved giving us his gift.

Sterling completely surprised me with his amazing enameled, cast iron pan. I've been wanting one this size for a while. Thanks Love. He always surprises me. He also got me new slippers and boots.

One of the best part about Christmas was having Sarah with us. The boys absolutely adore here and we do too. We love you Sarah. Thanks for joining us.

 We spent the rest of the day just lounging around. Dad smoked some salmon for a dinner we went to that night. Little Man helped.

 This Christmas was magical. It was fun to be in our home and make some of our own traditions. The most fun part about the Christmas season was watching our boys get excited about all of it. All the lights, music, movies, food, traditions, decorations and work were all worth it! Already looking forward to next year.

Christmas Eve

We had a very relaxed and enjoyable Christmas Eve. We started the day out right by going to Costso. Yes, I took four boys to Costco on Christmas Eve. We got there right when they opened and the store was empty. The boys were angels and of course were rewarded with churros!

I love to watch people look at my cart with four boys in it.  But seriously, I love to look at my cart with four boy in it too.

We came home and started a cosy fire that went strong for the next 36+ hours. We love our fireplace.

We had a delicious Christmas Eve dinner if I do say so myself. We had ham, rolls, asparagus, and mashed potatoes. It's always fun to have a fancy dinner with our boys. Note that the boys were already in their pajamas. 

We always got to open one gift on Christmas Eve which usually ended up being pajamas. My boys have ridiculous amounts of PJ's, so they got slippers. They were thrilled to open them.

Getting them to all sit down for a picture was almost impossible. Gouverneur wanted to march around in his new slippers. Here's the best we got. 

We put the boys to bed after have a special scripture reading that dad had prepared. They were in bed and asleep by 8 which was good because Santa's elves had a lot of work to do. Daddy elf stayed up late assembling bikes, while momma elf wrapped gifts and arranged things.

The bikes turned out great. We knew that they boys would go nuts in the morning. It's fun being in charge.

Here is the loot under the tree. We made special Grandma Fillmore Cookies that day. The boys loved putting them out for Santa. 

Sarah came over and joined in the prep fun. She stayed over to be there with us on Christmas morning.

Temple Christmas Lights 2012

The Washington DC temple is absolutely beautiful. It is especially beautiful during Christmas, when they have all the Christmas lights up.  We visit the temple every year during the holidays and I'm always amazed at how amazing it looks. 

We went up on a Sunday evening this year. The weather was cold, but not freezing. It was a really fun evening. The boys really enjoyed it this year.

I love pictures of my boys. They are so handsome.

 

They use to have a live nativity when we first moved here but started using this one 4 or 5 years ago. The boys always love to see it. 

Family shot 2012 with the temple. I love this one. 

We met up with our friends, the Greens. We have done this with them for a couple of years now. Our camera died after one picture, so they saved us big time. Me and Marjorie (and Israel all bundled). 

 I love trying to get a bunch of kids together for a picture. This one turned out pretty good.

Hot cocoa is a must!

Dellin enjoying his.

  Gouverneur fell down face first while running around looking at lights. We now have our very own little "Rudolph",

We really love to take the kids to the temple. We're so grateful for the blessing of the temple in our lives. We love our eternal family!

Preschool Christmas Party

It's no surprise that Sterling is absolutlely loving preschool. The kids in his class are really fun and his teacher, Ms. Lynn is amazing. She is always planning fun things for the kids and they all adore her.

This week was Sterling's class Christmas party and he had a great time. Parents were invited at the end to be there when a "special" visitor would arrive. The kids had no idea. To say that they were thrilled was a complete understatement.

Here he is knocking on the door. Ms. Lynn is beyond darling is this picture.

Sterling stood right up and started yelling, "SANTA".

This picture is priceless. I'm not sure I've ever seen him this excited. Just look at that face.

Each kid got to go up on Santa's lap and tell him what they wanted. Sterling is NEVER shy so it was cute to see him be a bit timid. Such a darling boy.

They also sang songs, played games, and decorated cookies. It was a lot of fun.

We just love watching this cute boy grow up. We just wish he wouldn't grow up quite so fast. We love you Sterling Henry.

Santa Baby 2012

 We had our ward Christmas party on Saturday and I couldn't help but pull out the Santa suit. I was worried that it was going to be big, but it turned out pretty cute. Gouverneur wore this same one to our party last year.

Israel turned on the smiles with this outfit on. I was in heaven. Still am. Look how cute he is.

Trying to get all the boys to look at the camera and smile is nearly impossible these days. They turned out pretty cute and really show their little personalities. Plus, Dellin is ALWAYS putting something in his pockets. It's fun to have it documented.

These boys really love their baby.

The party was really fun and we lasted 45 minutes. The boys made some cute ornaments and filled their bellies with cookies and hot cocoa. We drove around and looked at Christmas lights on the way home. The whole night was a success.

Gingerbread Houses

Last year was our first year of making gingerbread houses. We had such a great time that we decided to do it again. The key to success I've decided is hot gluing the grahams so that you have a sturdy base. The kids had an absolute blast and ate their weight in sugar.

Little Man wanted a bigger house so he got one. He took the whole thing quite serious and did a great job.

 Dellin's little hand in action.

Finished products.

I loved how the houses turned out. This is a fun tradition and I think we'll keep it up for years to come.