Henry's First Snow

Last night we had a beautiful snow in Wichita.  Apparently, it is the second largest snow fall in Kansas in recorded history.  I love the glow of the lights on the snow in the daytime and even in the dark.  I did not want Henry to miss this opportunity to explore snow (even though, as mom of the year, I did not have a snowsuit for my little boy).  My husband and good friend, Nicole, encouraged me to layer him up and stick him out there.  So that is what I did.  The boy had on three hats, two shirts and a coat and three pairs of pants, not to mention socks, shoes and gloves.  I'm pretty sure he was warm enough.  It took me so long to get everything on him that by the time he was ready it was snowing again.  I figured we were all bundled up and some light flurries wouldn't hurt anybody.

He loved to look at the snow.  I can only imagine what he was thinking as he looked at and felt this very cold white stuff.  The only time he didn't seem interested in the snow was when I laid him down in it (pictured below).  I wanted to give you the summary of our experience all at once so that you can just enjoy the pictures from here.  So, enjoy...

Hawaii-Kauai

Kauai was a very relaxing island with a lot of beach and pool time.  We drove around the island and saw waterfalls and the "Grand Canyon" of Hawaii.  I don't remember anything, so the names of these places will not be part of my summary. 

We tried to put Henry in the ocean again, but he still wasn't excited.  We met a very nice couple from Canada at this beach and their 6 month old was having a blast sitting in the sand and kicking his legs, so we took Henry over to meet Braden and maybe add a little peer pressure to get in the water.  Henry did much better, but still didn't want to sit in the sand.

These are pictures of us at a place where water comes shooting out of the holes in the rocks. It just so happens that it started with this adorable expression of Henry's.

This is the "Grand Canyon" of Hawaii.  It was cool and rainy, so we didn't stay long.  Below, Andrew took some beautiful shots of this bird.  I'm sure red is in its name somewhere.

I was trying to change Henry in the car, but the seat was awkward so I had him stand up.  It was quite a challenge so, instead of helping, my husband thought he would take a picture.

We did manage to take a few naps while we were there.  I love that Henry slept with us for most of the trip!

We went to Poipu Beach to watch the sunset one evening.  It was really beautiful and really windy.  When we showed up there was a Monk Seal sunning himself on the beach.  They put a barrier around him so we could only get so close, but still very cool.

The day before we left we went to Lydgate Beach.  It was still pretty chilly that day, but we managed to shoot a few family shots and I jumped the waves with Henry, just like I used to do at the beach with my family when I was younger.

It was a wonderful trip with lots of relaxing, family time and adventures.  

Hawaii-Maui 3

The Old Lahaina Luau was a lot of fun.  As you will tell in most of the pictures it was very windy!  There was a beautiful ocean view where we could all take pictures so we took advantage of that opportunity.  Henry is all decked out in his Hawaiian outfit that Grandma and Granddad bought for him and he even got his own lei!

Of course there were arts and crafts and it seems like everywhere we went someone was making these wooden turtles.  We decided to bring this one piece of memorabilia home and bought Henry a turtle with his name, the place and the date engraved in the bottom.  We are watching the woman engrave his turtle in these pictures.

The pig for our festivities was busy cooking in the ground, but as you can see below, Henry was ready to eat!  He was so hungry, he started eating his high chair.

Finally, we got our food and everyone, especially Henry, was very happy.

I couldn't figure out how to take pictures that didn't come out blurry, but I think you get the point with the grass skirts and coconut bras.  Very fun to watch!  Since I kept getting blurry pictures I didn't take many shots of the show, but it is definitely something I had never seen before!

Afterwards we got to take pictures with the guys serving and dancing.  The guy in front of me was very sweet.  I asked if I could touch his muscles and he was happy to oblige.  :-)

This is one of the dancers.  I'm pretty sure Henry was hoping for a picture with the pretty ladies, but they were leaving by the time we headed out.  I guess he'll have to go back again someday...

This is pretty much how Maui went, lots of new experiences and beautiful scenery.  I am going to end the Maui adventure here, but next the beautiful and relaxing, Kauai...