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)

Trick or Treat!

Yay! Halloween! I love Halloween. Jacob calls it the Devil's Holiday.
This year Kaitlyn wanted to be Lilo and she wanted Zac to be Stitch. Well, Kaitlyn was Lilo, sans the hair (she refused to wear the wig even though she had worn it previously). Zac was not Stitch. He was Captain Adorable! (He had a onesie that said so, all I had to do was make the cape.)

Here they are at Grammie's door! Zac's first "Trick or Treat" moment.

Then we went to Chic-Fil-A for dinner, and to church for Trunk-or-Treat.
Nana was there and helped take Katie around to the games.

Grammie followed Zac around the Cake Walk. He loved walking on the square mats and kept going around-and-around in the circle. He even won a cookie!

This was my favorite costume of the night! Way awesome.... and a little scary for church, but what are ya gonna do? Cool, huh? He's carrying his own head!

My Marshmallow Man

Zac had his first Marshmallow pop. Mmmmmm. This boy loves to eat. It is his first priority.

He has a major sweet tooth and follows anyone around the kitchen grunting. He is a bottomless pit. We've tossed around calling him, "Groceries" because he can pack 'em away!

Hillsborough County Fair

I have lived in Hillsborough County for 21 of my 27 years and I never knew there was Hillsborough County Fair. Who knew? Apparently everyone else.

Once we found out, and we learned that Monday night free for kids and the rides were a fraction of what they normally charge, we made a point to go!

Kaitlyn loved driving!

But her favorite ride by far, was one where she went round-and-round in a worm, while a bird chased them.

I love her expression below!

Zac was happy to be held and watch his big Sissy. Look at those chipmunk teeth! They got there first taste of Elephant Ear that night. Mmmmmmmm.

King of the Mountain!

Zachary's favorite perch is up on the top of his sister's bed! He climbs up and down her bed, over and over again, squealing with delight when he reaches the top corner of her bed.

Here he is blowing raspberries to express his elation in dominating the mountain.

Swaptember

This past year, our family had Lowry Park Zoo Passes. In September, they swap memberships with the Florida Aquarium and the Museum of Science and Industry. We loved exploring both! Here are some pics of our experience at MOSI:

We learned about hurricanes and tornados. They have simulators of these natural disasters and cut-outs of the different types of people who help out during these disasters. One of which is a firefighter.

Katie also got to play a weather girl at the Bay News 9 Action Center.

Zac was strolled around most of the day. He is such a cutie and a completely happy baby when we're on-the-go! But he loves him some buttons! He wanted that camera.

Kaitlyn's favorite place was "Kids-In-Charge". They can run all over the place, exploring and learning. . . and making an unholy mess! Here, she and I built a pyramid.

It was a fun way to exhaust the kids before heading back for nap time! My favorite time of the day.