Krisee Turns Seven!

Where does the time go? We can't believe that Krisee turned seven on September 3rd. The countdown to the important milestone started months in advance, and the excitement was contagious the week leading up to the birthday. Krisee requested a strawberry, icecream cake and enjoyed receiving presents such as a "girl" bike, furberries, and "twinkle toe" shoes, to name a few. We joined Krisee's class at school on Friday to bring doughnuts and sing "Happy Birthday". Following school that day, the six of us went to Universal Studios until closing time, where we finally tried "Butter Beer", and got the "butter beer" mustaches to prove it! Happy Birthday, Krisee!

First Day of School

Kyle and Krisee had, not only one, but two first days of school this year. On August 23rd, Kyle and Krisee started at MetroWest Elementary School in Orlando. Kamren started the VPK (voluntary pre-kindergarten) program at La Petite Academy in Ocoee. On August 30th, Kyle and Krisee had another first day of school at Keene's Crossing, after finding the home we are going to live in in Florida. This school is half the size of MetroWest at around 600 students, and, therefore, picking up the kids only takes 15 minutes, not 30-45. Kyle had a hard time leaving Ms. Markely at MetroWest but is liking his new teacher Mrs. Crowell. Krisee loves her teacher Mrs. Iqbal. Kamren likes Teacher Maria and reports each day following school whether or not he had a "mad teacher" that day, usually as a result from him not picking up the toys he was playing with. Spelling words, math homework and reading have become part of our daily schedule at the Copeland household.

Dr. Phillips Water Park - August 20, 2010

We went to try Dr. Phillips Water Park in Orlando on August 20th, after hearing about it from a girl in our ward. We stayed for over two hours and played in the fountains and had a picnic. Kyle and Krisee took turns carrying Karter in and out of the fountains. We had a blast!

New Smyrna Beach - August 17, 2010

With only a few days left until the start of school, we piled into the car for another trip to the beach. We were a little more cautious on this trip to New Smyrna Beach on the east coast of Florida, after watching "Shark Week" on animal planet during the previous week. We definitely watched more closely for any suspicious fins in the area. We discovered some differences between the beaches on the east coast of Florida compared to the west coast of Florida. First of all, the water was a little colder - still warm enough to spend hours in but not the 86 degrees it was during the previous two outings. Secondly, cars are allowed to drive on most of the beaches on the east coast of Florida, so you have to make sure your kids don't dart in front of them. Finally, the waves were much bigger, and the kids had a blast being launched into them and riding them as far as they could on their boogie boards. Although sunscreen was applied, Kamren went home with rosy cheeks and Steen had bright red splotches all over his back where he had missed....

Total Trouble - Karter at 13 months

At 13 months, Karter has learned how to enjoy himself - splash in the toilet water, climb onto shelves, unload all items in cupboards, and unroll the toilet paper. Constant supervision is needed, and his parents get reprieve only during nap and bed times! It's a good thing he's so dang cute!

Gator Land - August 12, 2010

We finally saw alligators in Florida, and we saw them how we prefer to see them - CAGED! On Thursday, August 12th, the kids were surprised when we pulled into the parking lot of Gator Land and excited when they found out we were going into the park. We saw alligators of all sizes, shapes and colors. Our favorite was the white alligator. We had a blast watching a reptile show, playing in the water fountains, watching alligators jump for food, watching a man wrestle and alligator, and feeding alligators. During the reptile show, the performer even offerred to feed Karter to the boa constricter. The kids also enjoyed the petting zoo and liked when the goats jumped up on the fence to greet us. Our only complaint - can someone please turn down the heat?!

Clearwater Beach, August 5, 2010

We came better prepared to this day out at the beach. We brought boogie boards, chairs and better snacks. The coolest thing that happened that day was the sighting of two dolphins only five feet away from where we were swimming. We had a couple of casualties: Kamren kept loosing his swim trunks and Karter face-planted it into the sand. Besides that, we haven't gotten over the amazingly-warm water!