Principal's Award

Gavin was chosen as an outstanding student for The Illinois Principal Association. They had breakfast, speakers, and then gave them certificates. It was a great honor and we are so proud of him!

Crazy Hair Day

Madison has been looking forward to spirit week. They had crazy hair day and she knew just how she wanted her hair. She loved how it turned out. Camryn participated too but only let me put different colored bows in her hair.

 

City Museum

In January Michael and Stacie and their family came to visit. We went to the City Museum and had so much fun. We haven't been there since Dylan and Camryn were newborns. The kids loved it!

Hanalei Bay

We went to Hanalei Bay to spend some time on the beach. The guys rented paddle boards and took lessons while the girls relaxed in the sun. When their lesson was over they brought over the paddle boards over for us to try. It was a lot harder than it looked.

Waimea Canyon

After we saw the Napali Coast we drove to see the Waimea Canyon. It is known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. It was amazing!

Napali Coast

We took a catamaran to see the Napali Coast. We saw whales and turtles and lots of fish. We stopped for awhile and snorkeled too. The scenery was beautiful!

Beach

My friend and I finally got some time to lay on the beach. Mark swam while I enjoyed the sunshine. When he was done swimming we tried to make him into a mermaid. Not really my best work, but oh well.

Wet and Dry Caves

We drove to see the wet and dry caves on the island. You could walk into the dry cave which was really neat. The caves were across the street from the Haena Beach Park so we stopped there too. There were so many beautiful beaches!

Shopping

We did some shopping while we were there. Which probably wasn't Mark's favorite thing to do. Luckily they had  guys bench for him to relax on while I did some shopping. There were also some great photo opportunities to keep him entertained.

 

 

 

 

 

Snorkeling/ Waterfall

We stopped at a beach that had a spot to swim and snorkel. We didn't have any snorkel gear, but someone was kind enough to let us borrow some. Mark was all for it, but I was a little hesitant. It wasn't exactly warm that day and I didn't want to get into the water. After I saw how much fun he was having and he said he saw tons of fish, I decided to try it. I couldn't believe how many fish there were. You couldn't feel them as you were walking in the water, but as soon as you looked in the water they were everywhere. On the way home from snorkeling we stopped to see one of the many beautiful waterfalls there.

Bike Ride on the Beach

We rented some bikes and went for a ride along the beach. It was so pretty. We stopped and had lunch on the beach. We got stuck in a rain storm, but luckily we found some shelter. It passed pretty quickly and we were able to make it back. It was so much fun!

Kauai

We flew to Kauai and that is where we spent the rest of our time. We stayed in a condo in Princeville. Kauai was such a beautiful island and I am so glad we spent most of our time there. We tried to see everything we could while we were there. We did a lot of sight seeing as well as hanging out on the beach.

Buddhist Temple

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a Buddhist Temple. It was so beautiful! As I was leaving the viewing area I slipped down the stairs and hurt my back. The stairs were wet and I lost traction. It was pretty embarrasing! Luckily we were flying to Kauai the next day so I was able to ice it and relax. I was feeling so much better a couple of days later.

Polynesian Cultural Center

This was one of my favorite parts of the trips. Maybe it was the yummy lunch we had there. We saw all the different polynesian cultures and they had a different presentation for each one. We saw lots of dancing and learned alot. BYU students are the only ones who work there so it was really fun chatting with them. We took a canoe ride and it ended with a performance from all the different tribes. I loved watching them all dance.

 

 

Dole Pineapple Plantation/ Beach

Our next stop was the pineapple plantation. We got to taste some delicious pineapple and walk around the plantation. It rained on and off the whole day, so we got good use out of our complimentary ponchos they gave us. We did some shopping and tasted whipped pineapple ice cream. It was so yummy. After the plantation we drove along the north shore. It was beautiful and they even stopped for a few minutes to let us walk on the beach. It made me so excited for the rest of the week.

Hawaii, Pearl Harbor

In January, Mark and I had the opportunity to go to Hawaii with some friends. We had so much fun! We haven't been on a trip together since our honeymoon. So it was a much needed vacation. Mark's parents and my mom watched the kids for us. It was so nice not to worry about things at home. We flew into Ohau and stayed there a couple of nights. We took a tour to see Pearl Harbor, Dole Pineapple Plantation, and the Polynesian Cultural Center. Our first stop was Pearl Harbor and it was so neat to see. We visited the museums and watched a movie. We were going to get on a boat to see the memorial but the winds were too bad so they cancelled it. I'm glad we made this stop it was very moving to learn more about what happened that day.