The rest of Kauai

 On Thursday we went tubing down an old sugar plantation irrigation ditch. The water was so so cold, but it was a neat experience.

 This is Mout Wai ale ale.

 Thursday night was our luau, and it was so fun. The food was fantastic and hula dancers did a beautiful job.

 On our last morning we went out early to enjoy the beach at sunrise. What a great vacation!

The north shore

 On the 2nd day of our vacation we traveled up to the north shore and found not one, but two farmers markets en route. It was awesome! I had my first taste of fresh mango and passion fruit. YUM!

 Alot of Kauai is rugged and jungle-like. Jurassic Park was filmed on this island.

 The beautiful beaches were just amazing.

 Enjoying the weather!

 Stopping at to see some taro farms in the valley.

 It was pretty cool to see where the ocean had washed all the sand and dirt away from the roots, but those trees where still standing

 

Below: our view all our third day as we hung out at the hotel. My feet where the only part of me that saw the sun. I was so worried about sunburn that I hunched under any covering I could get. Drew, on the other hand was in the sun any moment he could get, which is why he looked like a lobster by the time we left.



Kauai

 View from our Hotel in Poipu, Kauai

 My most favorite view, from a hammock

 Beautiful grounds of the hotel

 Shipwreck beach



Jan and Feb review

 With February about to end, here is a quick review of what was happening during January and February. Kate and Lily started at their new school and, after a few weeks, have adjusted well. One thing that Kate loves is getting to do some homework on the computer!

 Elise loves to play!

 I cannot keep this girl out of my make-up. Thanks to Elise, there is now a mascara and lip glass stain on my carpet...good thing she is cute!

 Elise's favorite thing in the whole world is to dress herself in Kate and Lily's clothes.

 As many know, Drew still wants a dog (I know, he is crazy), so as a trial, we are dog sitting for the next few weeks... I think in the end he will come around to my way of thinking.

 I often wonder why I don't have more pictures of my children, and then I try to take one. I cannot get them to hold still! They instantly start moving when they see me with a camera!

 Last saturday we took the girls to the Evansville Museum.

It has not changed much since I was a child, but the girls enjoyed it and it turned out to be a pleasant family outing.

december

 December passed in a blur for the Heckerts this year! We were busy moving and visiting with family. Alisha was home for a few weeks from college and had to snap a footie pj picture with Elise.

 The weather was very mild the first of December and we got out and enjoyed it!

 Being a big girl and making her lunch like her sisters!

 Lily's Christmas singing program was great, she was so excited to have us come and listen to her.

 We were also lucky enough to have my sister Elizabeth and her family come and visit. On Christmas Eve we went down to Nashville to see a Shrek Ice show. It was so cool to see all the characters carved in Ice. It was about 9 degrees in the room, so we spend most of the time making the girls keep their gloves on!

 Christmas morning!

Christmas night is snowed like crazy and we built our first snowman at the new house with our friends, the Rathfons. The snow stayed around for days afterwards, which is very unusual for Evansville. Consequently, we also had to buy our first snow shovel.

 

The best present this year was a surprise visit from my sister Melissa and her husband. It was a wonderful time of eating, laughing, and just being together.

Heres to 2 years with the family!

 So Elise ignored all of my advice and turned 2 on Saturday. We had spaghetti and cake, two of Elise's favorite things.. Not one of her favorite things? The candles. Drew had to blow them out for her.

 

 When we asked Elise what she would like for her birthday, she quickly replied shoes, that's my girl! I went online and now all of us girls have matching shoes. You cannot get much cooler than that my friends! Unfortunately, they do not make these in a men's shoe, so Drew was left out.

Elise is a very special girl and has brought great joy into our family. Most of you know that it took 22 months to finally get pregnant with her, and I must say, it was worth the wait! Here are a few fun things about Elise:

 

LOVES: babies, her sisters, cookies, shoes, movies, and bedtime

 

Elise also has quite the vocabulary, some of her more memorable sayings are:

 

"I don't like football" " I love my Mommy/Lily/kate/.Daddy/Grandma/Papa"

 

"Lily/Kate hit me (yes, she can tattle with finesse)"  "Its time to eat!" " Where Daddy?"

 

" I want pancakes." " Daddy going to work out." and "Lets go to the gym!"

 

As you can see, with this lady life is always exciting!!!