Tuesday, June 29, 2010

My Florida Getaway... (Katie is BACK)

I am back from the sunshine state!! Safe and sound, even after flying thousands of miles :) It's good to be home...

So, let's get started on all the pics! First, my flight from Denver to Orlando.

Pretty enough for wallpaper right there...
Southwest--they are probably the best airline because they're one of the few who doesn't charge for checking bags--you get two free!
The big old engines. Is it just me, or is it WEIRD that planes can fly!!
Florida :)

My dear dear friends the Stone ladies invited me to Disney with them one day and we went to the Magic Kingdom.
Cinderella's castle from afar... (I took the ferry across the lake).
More views from the ferry. (the next few pics are courtesy of Anna Stone's lovely and expensive camera *wink*)
So I wait for the Stones to arrive and...
Anna totally surprised me! And no, I didn't faint or anything :)
I just hugged. We are childhood friends dating back to when we were both nine or ten! We are a month apart :)
Happiness :)
My first of many roller coasters that day. Anna enthusiastically puts her hands up. I never did get to that point...
Beautiful, even when riding a coaster!
Emily (Anna's younger sister) and I got the very back. This ride was called Thunder Mountain.

Anna is a professional photographer and made this pleasant montage for me :)

During my stay, my grandparents and I drove the nine hours to Charlotte, NC to visit my Grandpa's sister and her husband, Aunt Margo and Uncle Roger!
The four of us had a rollicking time playing Bluff. Gramps was a party pooper.
My second and third cousins came to visit :)
Grandma enjoying her newspaper in my aunt's lovely living room.
My very own bedroom! Sorry, I just like bedrooms :)
Uncle Roger was quite the chef/cook! Strawberry!!!!
Working away in his awesome kitchen...
Their dog, Gracie, was so cute!
YUMMO!
The road trip was so much fun....
No car ride with Grandpa is ever complete without a bit of Dunkin' Donuts. :)
Misty...

The next few shots are of some 36 hours Anna and I spent together just hanging and enjoying our fellowship...
BB, their adorable little doggy.
The first day we went to the beach. Didn't get many pictures there because we were too busy gabbing! :)
The next day we went to a quaint little city nearby called Winter Park and spent the day shopping around! Here we are, fresh-faced and ready for a new day :)
Several of these pics are courtesy of Anna's lovely camera. She liked to take artsy pics.

Anna insisted we visit the Pottery Barn, a shop I truthfully would never have even glanced twice at, but I am so glad she made me go in! It was delightful inside. Wait and see...
Inside we found a likely mirror and took some shots!

I had to take a call so Anna passed the time by taking some pictures of items in the store.
Art.
After Pottery Barn we somehow started trying on clothing in a store where the for sale rack featured clothing for $60 and up! Needless to say, neither of us bought anything. But it was still a blast.
Niiiice.

A sweet park we found in the midst of the town.
A bit of silliness. Nope, I guess we're not "all grown up" yet--even at 21!!

We both adored the Robin Hood movie that came out :) But I must say it was Anna's idea to take this picture! Promise!!!!
Another time we went to visit my Grandmother and Uncle in Tampa. She had a darling cat who did all sorts of neat tricks for us. He liked Gramps :)
My dear grandmother and I.
Uncle Chris!!
He loves his cat, Bullet.

Smiles all 'round...

My cousins the Enright Jrs had us over for Memorial Day! Here Caleb and Grandma share a moment :)
Cousin Cora and her sweet friend Ali.
Caleb and friend Jake.
Kole loves me just to PIECES!! Can't you tell? That kid is the funniest EVER!
Somehow I got involved in a ping pong match.
The cutest ref I've ever seen!
Kole creamed me, needless to say.
But hey, I had fun still!
STRIIIIKE 3!! Yes, I know that's not a baseball bat. Give me a break.
Uncle Michael and Grandma, puzzling out the world's problems :)
Grandma and I met her dear friend, Mrs Rhoden at Denny's one morning for a brunch. Can't go wrong with orange juice. :)
I love them!! I so enjoyed talking to these two godly ladies who gave me so much encouragement. *heart*
*smile*
While I was there, my 14 year old cousin, Cora, graduated from middle school. After the graduation, we all went out to Chili's for dinner! Here we are, awaiting our dinner.
My ABSOLUTELY AMAZING Grandma! I am so blessed to have her...
Kole and Caleb, being boys, soon began to wrestle after we'd waited a while...
Is Caleb a mad fighter, or is Kole a kind older bro who lets him win...? Who can tell? :)
The cutie *hugs*** I miss you Caleb!
The grad with Grandpa and Grandma.
*love you Cora**
In Chili's we made Cora wear a special grad hat. She LOVED it *not* :)
Grandma really did love it :)

A little big for you, buddy!
Works well as a mask though!
One day Cora, Grandma, Grandpa, and I went to Epcot for the day. For those of you who don't know, Epcot has many educational amusements/rides, one of which was a gardening sort of ride. Hey, I enjoyed looking at the amazing plants OTHER PEOPLE had gardened, and all the new technology for gardening is pretty amazing--although it still isn't tempting me to garden myself :)

In France, we tried on hats (for those of you who still don't know, Epcot has many different countries).
In the United States, while we were waiting for the tour to begin, some lovely singers raised the rafters with some good old patriotic tunes!
The epic Epcot ball :)
Check this out. Can you believe some people actually WORSHIP that? So sad... But he does look humorous!!
One of my personal favorites in Epcot--the sodas from all around the world! Israel tasted the best.
BEACH!! Two days before I flew back to Denver, Grandma and I made a day of it at the beach. What a precious time I had with my dear Grandma... Getting rained on and running up to the pavilion with all our stuff (a couple times!). We got our work out that day :) But it was so much fun.
This is me, attempting to get a tan *cough* :)
Finally on my merry way home to Denver! These are the MOUNTAINS which I did sorely miss...


Well that's it, folks! I certainly had a splendid time in Florida... My relatives are so dear to me, and I am so blessed to have them all be sisters and brothers in Christ!

Have a wonderful week.