Boys Adventure Day

The boys are more into roller coasters now so we spent a day at Universal'$ I$land$ of Adventure. We all really enjoyed that park! There is a Dr. Suess section for the little ones and big roller coasters like the Hulk for the bigger ones.


















Kamryn and I spent most of the day together and Kevin went on the faster rides with the boys. I did one roller coaster and that was enough for me. We took advantage of the parent/child swap feature for the water ride; we all stood in line and then Kevin & the boys went on while Kamryn and I waited on a nearby bench. When the boys got off the ride, Kevin & I swapped places so the boys and I were able to get right back into the line at the end of the line:) The boys got a kick out of it because that way they could ride the rides twice in a row without the wait. Figures, the boys came off the ride looking dry but I ended up getting drenched!

Kamryn also loves Spiderman. Probably because she has seen the Spiderman movies with her brothers. So she loved seeing him IRL. I absolutely LOVED the 3-D Spiderman ride. So very cool.

There's always been something about teacups

Disney Day

Kamryn and mommy had breakfast at the Castle after the salon appointment. K loved having the Princesses come up to our table so she could have her picture taken with all them. Unfortunately for K though, her favorite princess wasn't at the breakfast. She stayed very loyal to Ariel and wore her mermaid dress. The minute we were done with breakfast, we headed to the Grotto to see Ariel.




















Kamryn loved the rides! The faster the better. Good thing her brothers were good sports about riding them with her!
















My princess in her rain poncho.















She was in awe at the wonderful shows!
















and the parades and fireworks at night!

A Princess for the Day

Kamryn had a fairy tale like morning . . . even though it was raining . . . again.


















Kevin dropped us off at 8am, and we made our way to the Castle for an 8:30 appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. We walked in and they presented Princess Kamryn with her royal invitation to the salon. Her Fairy Godmother-in-Training met us and asked Princess Kamryn which hairstyle was the one of her dreams for the day. Kamryn chose the Fairy-tale Princess look since she a true princess at heart.

This is Kamryn before all the magic took place:



















Here she is getting dolled up. Her Godmother-in-Training asked her if she wanted bangs or no bangs. Well I would have said bangs, but before I knew it, Kamryn answered no bangs and I didn't have the heart to change her wish since this was her day. I am not used to seeing my princess without bangs! It makes her look so much older:(















Another girl came by to do her makeup.





















Kamryn got to choose the rhinestone tiara for her hair and a Mickey-shaped hairpin was put on the back of her hair. Here are the finishing touches of the transformation.




















The magic begins when a pinch of fairy dust is sprinkled in your hair!





Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo, May all your dreams come true!

All done!

Magic Kingdom

We took Kamryn to the Magic Kingdom when we first went down to visit Grandpa & Grandma three years ago. But she was only almost 2 then (thanks to my blog, I know it was Nov. 2006 from my posting - this blog thing is a great journal when the memory fails! So fun to go back and see how little the kids looked then!)

She was in awe then of the rides like It's a Small World.

She was in awe this time of all of the princesses and the faster rides!

We were all in awe at how quickly at night the Castle changed colors! I snapped this shot of it in pink and the next shot I got it was orange!

Cocoa Beach . . . in the rain

We had planned on going to Cocoa Beach one day, which is about a 45 minute drive from Kathleen & Peter's. The skies were cloudy and it was raining in Orlando, but the weather is so weird in Florida in that it can be raining in one town and sunny in the next. So we still followed Kathleen, Peter & Greta to the beach in hopes that it would be clear over there. No such luck that day.

So what do you do when you want to wait out the rain? EAT! We went to a little restaurant (with covered seating) right on the beach. Kamryn stole a few of Peter's steamed clams and actually liked them! She doesn't get those when she's with me.















After lunch we got a bit lucky because the rain actually stopped. The kids were able to run into the waves and Kamryn was thrilled to find a bunch of pretty seashells.



























It was Kamryn's first time being at the beach and she would have loved an entire afternoon there! It was actually Greta's second time being on the beach, that little adventurer that she is! Well, her parents are the adventurous and brave ones. Despite the weather, a fun day of togetherness was had by us all!








































Greta was actually put asleep by the crashing waves. The rain started again so we headed to the Ron Jon surf shop and then headed back to Orlando.

Pool time!

Grandpa & Grandma Dianne have a really nice pool. The kids loved swimming!















Once again, I had Kamryn in swim lessons for a couple of sessions before our trip. At lessons she acted afraid to jump in the pool. Not in Florida!











































Kamryn likes gator float rings!















The kids were in the pool for hours at a time. We had to shoo them out of the pool at 10 pm! I'm sure the neighbors appreciated that.

















Even baby Greta got in the pool one day!

Gatorland

We all went to Gatorland for the first time together. Even the Floridians hadn't been there yet. It was a fun afternoon! It's so cool to see so many gators together (and not on your own property or by your front door like your neighbors did, right Dianne?) and know that you are safe!




























This is a little too close in my opinion!
















Brendan LOVES holding snakes and reptiles. Oh my. He really wants one for a pet. I'd do the dog route way before this!
















Kamryn wasn't so sure!

















A fake gator is more her speed!

Greta's Baptism

How wonderful that we were there to witness Greta's baptism! What a happy day. Kathleen & Peter, you have a beautiful daughter!

Aunt Julie happy to be holding her new niece!

















The result of Aunt Julie's photoshoot in the bedroom back at the house. Got a beautiful smile!

















Grandma Dianne happy to be holding Greta! Lucky her, she gets to hold her more often.



















Brendan and Matt happy to be holding Greta. And they really were happy to hold her. They did awesome with a four month old baby!
































Some of Peter's family also came down to Florida for the baptism. It was so great to see them again. We met them two years ago at the wedding. We met Peter two years ago at the wedding too:) Anyway, Kamryn sure leaves a lasting impression with them I'm sure. (at the wedding she ran up to the alter when Kevin "let her go" during the ceremony. I was the maid of honor and Kamryn was fussing for me. So instead of Kevin leaving the church with her, I know it was his sister's wedding, but he releases her and what else does a two year old do? Run to her mom & pick up her dress as she tries to climb into her arms. So I pick her up. She stood with us at the alter while the happy couple said their vows I believe, right Kath? Hmm, have to watch the video again. Can you tell I've tried to block this from my memory? It's only taken me two years to finally talk about this mishap. It was all Kevin's fault!)

At least this time in church, Kamryn stayed in the pews.

Until the baptism and church service was over.

Then she tried getting in some pictures. See this one???















At the baptism party, Kamryn sure loved hanging with Peter's nieces. She entertained them by putting her hands in the cold icy water where the drinks were staying cool and then "massaging" everyone's legs and feet. (It was very HOT out!) The funny part is that when she was done, she asked for $5.00. One of the girls said she didn't have $5.00 until I told her that pretend money would work just fine. So they pulled out their pretend bills, Kamryn kept massaging, and I believe Kamryn even got a $20;)