Hawaii

This post has been a long time coming and believe me, it has been on my mind like a 20 page paper for weeks now! All kinds of stuff going on in the Hogue home right now and I'll try to fill you in in a bit. Dylan has been working so hard editing the 1,500 pictures taken by the family in Hawaii, and still isn't done. I was going to use that as an excuse for not getting this post done earlier, but after spending an hour tonight trying to get pictures uploaded, I'm not even going to get to post any after all. The files are just too large! :(

I can't begin to do the trip justice by just saying a few things here, but I'll try to sum it up as best I can before the munchkin wakes up. Hawaii is absolutely the BEST place on earth. I'm convinced. The End. :)

Seriously though, we had an amazing time. We left Houston Thursday afternoon around 1:00 p.m. and arrived in Honolulu at around 7:30 p.m. there time. Of course, after almost 12 hours of travelling, we were all just ready for bed! We spent the next day and night in Honolulu, visited Waikiki beach, the International Market, Pearl Harbor, did some hiking, good eating and other site seeing in the big city before making our way to Maui. Honolulu is an interesting place! If you are like me and have never been to Hawaii, you probably picture everything there to be a lush, tropical beach. Honolulu is a hustling, bustling place...with malls!

Maui = PARADISE. Honestly the most beautiful place I have ever been (I know that isn't saying much...). What I really loved about Maui is not only are there beautiful beaches, but there are mountains and waterfalls and caves and lush, amazingly beautiful trees, flowers, and more plants than I knew existed. It didn't hurt that the condo we were staying in was completely over the top! It was about 2,200 square feet, I think, either the top or one floor below the top floor, with the best view of the beach in the whole place! There were two master suites with two master baths, as well as a third bedroom and 3rd bath. Everything appeared to be brand new and very modern. Walking into the living room/kitchen was probably the best part of the condo. The whole back side of it was all floor to ceiling glass doors that opened up to a balcony that went on forever and an outdoor kitchen and dining table. We ate many breakfasts and dinners out on the balcony and I don't think there was a single morning that we didn't have a whale watching session in our pjs right from our balcony! Truly amazing! We took some pictures inside, but they won't even do the place justice. Here's a link that has some pretty good pictures though. Kaanapali Beach Rentals

While in Maui, we spent time at the beautiful pools on the condo grounds, went snorkeling, took the Road to Hana, shopped in Lahaina, took a fishing excursion, went to a luau, and lots of other fun things! The Road to Hana was an all day trip, taking the windy road up into the mountains where we found waterfalls, swam at the black sand beach, visited the Garden of Eden (where we saw the rock that the helicopter landed on in Jurassic Park), and just got the most breathtaking view as we wound around. I think my favorite part of the Road to Hana was the black sand beach. It was gorgeous - I've heard of it many times, but seeing it was unbelievable. The road is treacherous though! :) If you get car sick fairly easily like I do, be prepared!

I could really go on and on about everything we did and saw and how much fun we had. We didn't want to come home. In fact, it took Dylan and me a week or so to give up on the idea that we were going to just pack up and move there. We will forever be grateful for this opportunity and thank Dylan's parents, Nana and Papa, for everything they did to make this trip a reality for all of us. It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience...we just hope it really doesn't turn out to be exactly that - "once" - because we want to go back! Thank you guys again for everything!!!!

Hawaii!!!

Post coming...I promise!

Easter

This year we spent Easter in Beaumont at my mom's house. We really had a great weekend...afternoon at the park with the kiddos, crawfish boil, swimming and backyard games, egg dying, Easter egg hunt, and more yummy food! Madison and Landon were such sweethearts to each other and really had a great time! I love seeing the excitement on their little faces for what seems like the littlest things to us - telling them we're going to the park, filling up an inflatable pool, setting out carrots for the Easter bunny and finding their Easter baskets on Sunday morning. It really doesn't get any better than that! :)

Precious...they love each other so much!

The Easter Bunny left tracks on the paper towel where the kids left their carrots. Silly bunny!

Love these two...they look like little angels. Don't let the picture fool you. ;)

Uncle Devin with the kiddos. Madi loves her uncle so much!

:)

Preschool

Madison transitioned into the Preschool I class last Friday and today was the first time I got to actually meet the teacher and find out about the class a little bit more. First, I must brag, so if you don't like that kind of stuff, quit reading now. :) The preschool class is for those approaching 3 and early 3s. Most of the kids transition into that class a month or maybe 2 months at the most before they turn 3. Madison is 4 months out, so is the baby of the class! I know that she is capable of handling the curriculum that they introduce, but was a little concerned that the structure of it, etc. might be too much for her at this point. The teachers and school director were all confident that she is more than capable of handling being in there and that they wouldn't transition her if they didn't think she was or if we were't comfortable with it. I am all about her moving at her own pace though and not being held in one class just because she doesn't meet the "age requirements", so sounds like this is going to be a good thing for baby girl! She will still get nap time, free play time, etc., but they will also be introduced to science experiments, math, reading, art, and will even spend some time working on computers. Miss Harris, her new teacher, is super sweet, very organized and professional. She is going to school to be a science teacher, and I could tell just from talking with her this morning that she loves working with the children, loves her job and takes it very seriously. It appears to be very different from the classes Madison was in up to this point. She also said that she has started assessing Madison (which they do as a formality in this class - not sure how often) and that she is very smart. She said that she enjoys being involved in the different math and science activities and thinks she is really going to like being in the class. She didn't cry when I dropped her off this morning, which is a first in a really long time, so that is a good sign! :)

Loving Spring!

I don't have to tell you she's cute. ;) Madison was forcing herself to make the loudest, goofiest laughs and would then run over to me to look at the picture and then back to do it all over again and again. Such a ham! And a little sweetheart. :)

Madi and Gem

Last weekend, Dylan, Madison and I put on our boots (well, not really) and headed to the rodeo. Madison didn't know what to expect - she knew there was going to be a lot of animals though, so the whole way there she kept asking if we were at the zoo yet. As we were walking up to the gate toward all the carnival rides, she could hardly contain herself! She was overflowing with excitement! :) It was too cute! We hadn't had supper and had a pretty long walk to the petting zoo and all the other kiddy stuff so she reminded us quite often of the animals. By the time we got to the pony rides, there was a long line, so you can imagine her patience level at that point! She picked out the pony she wanted to ride while in line though and I think the ride was well worth the wait for her. She ended up getting to ride "Gem", the white pony she had her eye on and was again super excited when she got off. We got to see some other really neat things including newborn calves, piggies, and chicks. Madison thought it was sooo "silly" that the baby piggies were "eating milk from their mommy". :) She just loves babies of all kinds!

After walking around the Farmers Market a bit, we headed inside the stadium to see the rodeo events. We ended up having great seats (right behind the chutes) and really got to see a lot of the action close up. We weren't sure how Madison would react but she LOVED it! During the steer wrestling she was shouting at the cowboy when the steer got away and got really worked up with the bullriding. Even though we kept her out way past her bedtime and even stayed for part of the concert afterwards, she still wasn't ready to go home!

Here are a couple of pictures of our little cowgirl. The first one is blurry but the only one I caught of her big smile.

Of all the toys this little munchkin' has, I am amazed at how much longer a box of dixie cupes keeps her occupied than anything else! Playing with these cups is her favorite thing to do! The other morning, I was able to take a shower and get completely ready without any interruptions, she was perfectly content setting them up, taking them down and setting them up again in different places.

Happy Valentine's Day!

My Valentines!

Dylan is going to kill me...

But this is too funny not to post! Look at those faces!

Doll Night at Chick-fil-a!

A couple of weeks ago when Dylan was out of town for work, Madison and I had dinner at Chick-fil-a for a special "Doll Night"! She got to bring Ariel, who got her hair done, and she got some glitter on her face and her nails painted. She absolutely loves Chick-fil-a! Until Madison came along, I had no idea they had so many fun themed family nights and other family-friendly/Christian events. It's great!

Madi with friends, Jenna and Kailey