He Did It!

Jake passed the Florida Bar Exam!

Hallelujah!

Within a five day period, we went from being completely nauseated at the thought of even having to check his results, to being completely elated at his swearing-in ceremony. It was a beautiful and blessed day! At least for our family it was. I don't think the majority of the people attending the Hillsborough County Courthouse were as happy to be in court as we were that Friday.

Below is a picture of Jake being sworn-in.


He was one of many...

taking his oath before a dozen or so judges.

To celebrate his victory, he used his BarBri study aides as kindling at the next Boy Scout campout.

King/Dicks Genes

Kaitlyn looks completely different than me or my siblings... or Jake and his siblings for that matter. But she does take after her Grammie. Although Grammie looked differently than Kaitlyn did at her age, she definitely favors that branch of the family. This theory was further confirmed when we met Grace this weekend.

Grace is Jake's cousin, or second cousin. I don't know how all of that works, but Anna is Jake's cousin, and Grace is Anna's daughter. They enjoyed playing with one another while visiting Grandma and Grandpa King. Grandpa showed the girls how to make their own cup of orange juice.

Now, I have grown up in Florida for the majority of my life and had never done this. But if you have a pocket knife and an orange tree, you'll never taste juice fresher than this!

Grandpa slices some of the peel off of the orange before cutting out a small, mouth-sized hole.

Then you gently squeeze the sides until the juice pools up into the small hole. Then you drink. Then repeat, until the deliciousness is no more.

And so they sat, squeezing and sippin', until we had to leave due to tantrums.

Catching Up

As you might imagine, a lot has happened in our family since Halloween 2010. Here are some of the highlights (in reverse chronological order...watch us get younger!):

Ft. Wilderness - March 2011

Last month we met the Riebows during their annual Ft. Wilderness camping trip. Per usual, Katie & Zac just wanted to stay in the water...


Christmas 2010

We did lots of fun things at Christmas time. Some were successful, like the Christmas Tree lighting in downtown Plant City with Grammie, Aunt Ashley & Cousin Gwen...


Others were not...

If Gwen had a thought bubble here, it would read: "This kid is crazy. Doesn't he know we're sitting on the lap of the guy bringing the presents?"

Grammie get me outta here!

All better!

Disney Trip - December 2010

We waited until the last minute to use our Give-A-Day, Get-A-Day Disney tickets, but it was worth the wait. The weather was beautiful and the crowds weren't too bad.

Katie met her favorite princess, Ariel, almost immediately after we walked into the Magic Kingdom. Few things leave Katie speechless, but this encounter certainly did.

Imagine our surprise when we ran into two of Katie's other favorite Disney characters immediately after Ariel! Katie loves Woody & Jesse!

We have ourselves an adrenaline junkie...Thunder Mountain Railroad was a favorite.

Gotta help Buzz! (Notice Papa Riebow in the background...he's taking his Star Command responsibilities a little TOO seriously, no?)

Someone needed Daddy to carry them to the Monorail at the end of the day

Zac's Birthday

Zac turned one year old on November 29. Time really has been flying by.

Enough with the singing...I want that cupcake!

Delicious!

Thanksgiving Cruise 2010

We left from Miami on the Carnival Liberty, bound for Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Grammie and Papa Crosby kept Zac for us, so Katie had Mommy and Daddy all to herself.

Permanent fixture on Matt & Ellen's cabin door

Looking at this picture one would assume Katie is having a wonderful time at Camp Carnival. If you made this assumption, you would be wrong. This would be Katie's one and only visit to Camp Carnival during the cruise because she "no like Camp Carnival." So, the destination meant for fun and adventure (and parental sanity) became the place we threatened to put Katie should she misbehave. I know, we're horrible.

Katie's two favorite pastimes on the ship: 1) Swimming AND

2) Sliding down the slide!

Guess which one was her favorite?

Look what the crazy uncles found in Cozumel

Viva Mexico!

Hangin' out with the stingrays @ Stingray City in Grand Cayman. We really loved our Grand Cayman experience. We had an amazing guide who knew his stuff and showed us a great time.

Papa Riebow liked zipping around on the jet ski

Starfish Beach

Guess how Starfish Beach got its name?

Don't ask

Our chariot

Faster!

Returning from a wonderful lunch place on the beach. Goodbye Grand Cayman! We'll miss you!

Beautiful view of Ocho Rios, Jamaica from our balcony...and that is where we should have stayed. Our experience in Jamaica was the complete opposite of our experience in Grand Cayman. Definitely not planning on making a return trip.

Dancing with my little girl after dinner on the last night.

Water slide...I think we'll miss you most of all (I know Katie will)