A Spontaneous Weekend Getaway!

This past weekend, my parents were going to be camping at Fort Wilderness in Orlando. Jake and I were planning on taking a trip to the Temple and dropping Kaitlyn off with them while we went to a session. Well, things didn't go quite as planned because Friday morning, Jake got an itch to extend our time in Orlando.

So, Jake visited priceline.com and got a really good deal on hotel across the street from Downtown Disney and we spent Saturday toting Kaitlyn around Fort Wilderness and Disney Village.

We started our morning by visiting what used to be the Petting Zoo at Fort Wilderness. However, there are no more sheep, goats and/or other animals... just ponies.

We got there just before opening and Kaitlyn spent a good 10 minutes chasing the ponies around the outer fence.

Once the "Ranch" opened, we followed everyone inside and got in line to ride a pony; but you know how 2 year olds are, there was a tantrum that resulted in no pony ride. On the way out she made sure to give a nearby pony a big hug.

Then, even though it was only 10:30a, we were already sweating! So, we made a b-line for the pool! They had recently renovated it and added a "big kid" slide and a child play area. Kaitlyn liked the kiddie pool the best. She kept jumping in and stomping around in it.

She also liked to crawl around on her hands in the water.

Here is Kaitlyn sliding down the kiddie slide all by herself!

Jacob even snuck her down the big kid slide once before the Lifeguard told him only 1 person was allowed down at a time. This girl is a total adrenaline junkie!

Before we left to go back to our room for a nap, we had a little ice cream snack. Kaitlyn has been obsessed with, "Mouse!" ever since her Nana took her to the Magic Kingdom last Labor Day weekend. She loves everything "Mouse!" She was very excited to eat some "Mouse!"

When we made our way back to the hotel, Kaitlyn was in desperate need of a nap. She had gotten 3 hours less sleep than normal the previous night. She ended up taking a 4 hour nap. That allowed Mommy to relax, shower and take a nap of her own. While Daddy watched the USF vs. FSU game with frustration and ended up taking his own nap before the game even ended.

Once everyone was awake and ready to go, we walked over to Downtown Disney to get some dinner. We lucked out at the Rain Forest Cafe' (we had tried to make reservations but they were totally booked) and we were seated within 25 minutes of our arrival. Kaitlyn liked the animals, but didn't like the simulated thunderstorms.

After dinner, we took a walk through "Pooh Corner" to get to the Merry-Go-Round. Kaitlyn loves this over-sized Dalmation. The photo on the top is from this weekend. The photo on the bottom is from last November. She's gotten so big!

After our visit with Lucky, Daddy and Katie went for a ride! Kaitlyn loves Merry-Go-Rounds!

Then, after some more walking around, we made a pit stop at Ghiradelli's for ice cream! Kaitlyn LOVES ice cream! She couldn't shovel it in fast enough.

After our sweet tooths had been satisfied, we headed back to the hotel just in time to miss out being soaked by the huge storm that made its way through the area.

Summer Recap

Well, I've been totally neglecting our blog... and I'm only doing it now out of sheer guilt. I haven't even been consistently taking pictures of what has been going on this summer. I'm such a loaf. Anyway, here is my recap:

In July, we went to Siesta Key Beach, which just happened to be the perfect beach for Kaitlyn. The parking lot was close to the beach and the first 10 yards of gulf only came up to your calf. She could easily make her way in and out of the water without needing someone hovering over her. There was also a clean public restroom nearby and a reasonably priced snack bar.

Just the girls went: Aunt Bekah, Katie, Aunt Bethany, Nana and myself.

We started to work on potty training. We've given up for the time being, but she knows what is supposed to happen. Obviously, she's been paying attention to others and their pottying habits.

Bekah turned 12 this summer and we all went with her on her first Temple Trip with the Youth.

Later in July, I turned 26 and Bethany made me a really scrumptious chocolate cake. It was so rich!

Kaitlyn, being the observant 2 year old that she is, decided she really likes dipping. It doesn't matter what is being dipped or what it is being dipped into, she wants to dip. "Dip, dip" she says. Oreos and milk are an obvious favorite.

Kaitlyn also started flipping herself over the edge of her crib to get out, so we went ahead and got rid of the retracting gate and now she has a "big girl bed." She isn't consistently staying in bed when we put her down, but she is getting there.

My mom took me on a trip out to Utah with her to go to Temple Square and Education Week. It was a blast and I highly recommend it to anyone who has ever thought about it!

We stayed in Helaman Halls and hiked it up and down campus all week. Needless to say, I was quite out of breath most of the time. By the end of the week, I ended up just spending my day in the Marriott Center listening to Brad Wilcox, Susan Easton Black, David A. Christensen and John Bytheway. Then, I would meander out to the rest of campus in the evening and go to another class or two.

Temple Square was gorgeous! Their plant beds were exploding with blooms! I'd never seen anything like it.

We went to a live session and got to see all of the Brides and wedding parties. There were 50 weddings go on the Friday we went to the Temple. Crazy.

Saturday we went to Welfare Square and DI to see the tour. They have really yummy cheese and chocolate milk samples at the end of the tour. On our way to the Lion House for lunch, we passed a park downtown that was having a Farmer's Market.



Our favorite tent was Pierre's Country Bakery. I could have camped out and ate there all day. Of course, I would have spent a fortune. Mom and I split a strawberry and blueberry tart that was $6. It was melt in your mouth delicious. Everything under their tent made your mouth water just looking at it.

When I got back, a couple days later Aunt Ashley and Cousin Gwen came for a visit. Grammie & Poppa Crosby had rented a beach house on Anna Maria Island and we went for a visit. Too bad my camera wouldn't stop fogging up on the beach.

Then, over Labor Day weekend, we went and rented a townhouse in Haines City at the Regal Palms Resort and Spa. It was nice to get away, relax and hit the Labor Day sales at the outlets. They had a fun pool with a slide, lazy river and zero entry section for the kiddies. We mainly ate and lazed around.

However, Ellen's birthday is coming up, so made sure we celebrated with some yummy cheesecake!
Happy Birthday Ellen!

Well, that was our summer.
Now I'm counting down until the last day of September when I can decorate for Halloween! Muwahahah!