Aloha Hawaii!

In March we had the opportunity to travel to Hawaii for a work trip for Mike.  Mike is pretty quiet about his successes in his job, which is funny because it's probably the only thing he's quiet about.  So I'll brag about him since he won't tell you himself.  He is a kick-ass salesman! I think it's his competitive nature, because he can't stand to not be at the top of the sales reports! So, this trip was the reward for his hard work.  We love Federated Insurance for sending us to Hawaii! It was the trip of a lifetime, and we'll never forget it! Pictures probably do it more justice than I can put in words, so here you go.  Mike, you're awesome and I'm so thankful for your hard work and dedication to your job.  Love you!

Arrival in Maui - at the airport

We stayed the first few days in Kanipali, these next few are from there. It was rainy and cold! 

watching whales from the hotel pool

our hotel

We did the Road to Hana drive! I can't believe I made it without throwing up.  We left at 6am and didn't get back to the hotel until 8pm. I fell asleep eating take out dinner I was so tired! You know we're beat when we decide to forgo a dinner out!  The drive was stunning to say the least.  We hiked about 6 miles and saw tons of waterfalls, bamboo, flowers, animals, and lava rock beaches.  SO glad we decided to do this!

After Road to Hana we went to the other side of the island for the "work" part of the trip.  We stayed at the Grand Wilea resort, the same place Oprah stays when she comes to Maui! Such a nice place! 

These next few are from the "White Party" theme night.  Every year there is a theme night. This was much easier to find clothes for than the Cowboy night last year! 

Check one off the bucket list! A helicopter ride! They played the Jurassic Park music in the helicopter and that's exactly what it felt like. We went through the mountains and rain forest, then dove down over the ocean to see whales jumping.  It was only 20 minutes, but that was about all my stomach could handle! 

Snorkeling on Molokini island. It was super windy and COLD! 

Formal night.  I missed this night last year because I had to get back to school.  Nice dinner and congratulatory speeches, and then Michael Bolton (??) came out to serenade the new CEO's wife for her birthday! Then they opened the walls up and it was like a club. Very different from any Edward Jones dinner I ever attended! 

These are just the pictures from my phone, I need to download my camera pics and add them in. 

We had such a fun week (minus the massive amounts of shmoozing and small talking we had to do -blah!). 

February and beginning of March pics

 College friends and their babies! Seems like most of our friends from Mizzou are starting to have kids. Wow, that makes me feel old! But it makes getting together so easy - no need for babysitters, in bed by midnight! From the left: Lisa, Connor (and baby #2!) Noakes, Stephanie and Henry Orms, Natalie and Brock Buss, Dylan and me!

See, he loves his Build-a-monkey! 

Crayons are delish! 

Dylan loves playing in front of the heating vent in the winter.  He says "hot" but just keeps playing. Guess that's what happens when you live in an old drafty house! 

Love that hair!

Build-a-Monkey

Grandma Debby took Dylan to Build-a-Bear over the winter. Dylan picked a monkey instead of a bear.  They had fun (maybe too much) adding all the bells and whistles to the monkey - monkey sound, had, overalls, etc etc etc. I think that was probably the most expensive build-a-monkey ever made! The funniest part about this day was that immediately after we left the store, Dylan wanted nothing to do with the monkey. He has since come around and now the monkey is one of his staple stuffed animal friends. Thanks Grandma!

Top Chef

Had to get creative when it was too cold to play outside in the winter.  So we got out the dry noodles and some Tupperware and let Dylan go to town.  He loved it! Threw the noodles everywhere, I think I'm still finding them on the floor behind the fridge and under the stove. 

Odds and ends from January / February

The major excitement of the winter was that Dylan started walking.  I think I already made a post about that though, so here are a few pics of the first few weeks of walking.  Now he only has one speed - running, so it's nice to look back on the days when walking across the room was a big accomplishment.  

Play date with my teacher friends' daughters, Evie and Sophia. This was the best we could do to get 3 toddlers to sit still for a picture.

Lots of hugs and kisses! I think this was right around the time he started hugging and kissing upon request. For awhile he didn't understand that you should close your mouth when you kiss, so mostly it was just like he was eating your face. These days he always says "mmmmmm" when he hugs you and pats you on the back...probably because that's what we always say to him when we squeeze him! Hey, we'll take it!  Hugs and kisses never get old!