Christmas With Grampy

We had a wonderful Christmas at my dad's house.  Here are a couple pics from Christmas morning.

Katherine Wanted Snow

Kat wanted to see snow and she certainly had her wish granted.  We got up to my dad's house in Massachusetts and there was about 18 inches of snow on the ground.  It was the perfect consistency for building snowmen and making snowballs.  Here are a few pics from us playing in the snow.

The Big Apple!

The drive to New York was a dramatic comparision with our drive to Philly.  Picture perfect in every way.  The only slowdown was 15-20 minutes getting through the Lincoln Tunnel.  It has been wonderful thus far in the city.  We got to meet up with our friends that recently moved away from Florida to New York.  Went ice skating in Bryant Park, had a snowball fight in Central Park, visited the fabric mecca Mood Fabrics, and to top it all off a private tour of Sirius Satellite Radio with the Producer of the Busted Halo Show.  Here are a few pics of the highlights.

Making the pilgrimage to Mood Fabrics

Katherine practicing to be on the radio.

Kat with the producer of the Busted Halo Show

Philadelphia

What a long day in the car.  What should have been a nice and easy 7 hour drive turned in to a horrible 9 hour fight with traffic.  Everything was going great until 60 miles or so outside of Washington DC.  Then it all went bad.  Bumper to bumper and stop and go for the next 3 hours.  We were so glad to finally make it to our hotel in Philly.  The cold weather finally hit us with a vengeance.  It was in the teens on Saturday night and warmed up to the high 20's on Sunday morning.  Sunday morning was an amazing time.  We got to visit the Liberty Bell and pretty much got a private tour of Independence Hall.  I am getting goosebumps thinking about being in this historic place.

Surprise for Katherine

Santa delivered a letter to Katherine last night.  He knew that she was going to be away from home for Christmas and surprised her with some spending money for her trip to Philly and New York.

First Stop Fayetteville

After 8 hours of driving we decided that it was time to stop.  We put on around 500 miles today and the gang is having a great time, even Pepper is enjoying the adventure.  No pictures to share tonight.  Tomorrow we will be up early and back on the road.  Tomorrow's destination - Philadelphia

Getting Ready For The Road Trip

Tomorrow we embark on a two week adventure.  We will be heading out on a holiday road trip to visit friends and family in the Northeast.  Katherine has been longing for snow so this year we thought we'd go find some for her.  It is going to be an awesome trip.  Some of the places we will be visiting are Philadelphia, New York City, Mass, Maine, and Washington DC.  Today will be spent tying up all the last minute loose ends and making sure everything we need is packed.  I can't wait run the D700 through it's paces over the next couple weeks.  I will try to post pics of the adventure as it unfolds.  Cheers!

Christmas Lights

We went to the Magic Kingdom on Sunday and got a little more into the Christmas spirit.  Here is Cinderella's castle decorated for Christmas.  Pretty spectacular!

Cruising Around the World

Over the last few days we were blessed with a visit from one of Connie's cousins and his family.  They dropped anchor here in Titusville for a few days.  They are a few months into a 5 year adventure of cruising their boat around the world.  They sold everything they own, bought a big boat and started this adventure.  They have an 8 year old little girl and instantly our daughters hit it off like sisters.  We wish them all the best on living their dream and can't wait to see them all again.  Here are some pictures from their visit.

First Reconciliation

On Saturday Katherine achieved another milestone in the Catholic church.  She made her first reconciliation which is one of the Church's sacraments.  It is the step before making her first communion which will happen in May.  Here are a couple pictures from this wonderful day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  This is one of my favorite holidays of the year.  My life has been so blessed and I am very thankful for everything and everyone in my life.  Please take a few minutes today to reflect on all of your blessings.  Have a wonderful day.  Thanks for everything!!!

Girls Night Out

Kat and Grandma Payan had a wonderful time last Friday night.  They had a girls night out in Cocoa Village.  It started with an elegant dinner at the Black Tulip and then they went to a live production of Peter Pan.  After the show Kat got to meet all of the actors and everyone was impressed with how lovely she looked.

Sculptor Charter School Harvest Festival

This past Saturday I took a bunch of pictures for the Sculptor Charter School yearbook.  Here is a slideshow with some of the highlights.  Enjoy!

Taekwondo Demo

The students and instructors from the Port Saint John Black Belt Academy put on an awesome demo this past weekend.  It was during the Sculptor Charter School Harvest Festival.  This is the taekwondo school where I train.  I put together a cool slideshow of the demo.  Enjoy!

Friday Night Lights

Just another Friday night in Titusville....what were you doing?

Small Business of the Year!!!!!

Holy cow!!!!  We just found out that our frame shop, Accent Framing just won the Titusville Chamber of Commerce 2008 Small Business of the Year.  This is all because of Connie's hard work and effort.  She has done an amazing job with the business and I am so proud of her.  Please send her a note of congratulations or stop by in person and say hi.

The Photography Network

Joe Buissink, Denis Reggie and Bambi Cantrell are launching the Photography Network.  It's kind of like HGTV or Food Network for photographers.  It looks really great.  Go check it out at: www.thephotographynetwork.tv

Happy Halloween!

The gang is ready to roll..."Trick or Treat!"

My Angel and Devil

Pepper - "El Diablo"

New Website!

If you haven't checked out bobknapik.com in the last day or so you may not have noticed that I launched my new site.  Please check it out and let me know what you think.

Backyard Surprise

We looked out our window yesterday and this is what we saw.  I have heard of a neighbor's dog or cat getting loose but two horses???  There's always a bit of adventure at the Knapik's and this is another example.  Who knows what will show up next?  Hopefully no gators...

Great Time in San Diego!

Had a great time sailing with the gang from PV Powered.  Here's a little slideshow I put together.  Having a little fun with my point and shoot camera.

Lisa and Paul's Engagement Session

Early Voting

I just got back from voting.  I have spent the last few days going over our ballet and studying up on the different amendments and local candidates.  I got inspired seeing the other enthusiastic Americans standing in line to vote early.  It feels good and I think everyone will agree that it is time for a change in this country.  Regardless of who you vote for, please do your civic duty and get out there.  Spend some time getting educated and then go vote.  It is one of the great things about our country and we should never take this priviledge lightly.

Loving my iPhone!

I am coming up on 3 months of owning an iPhone and thought i would give everyone a brief update.  I absolutely love it!  I am a former blackberry user and was very hesitant to go with the iPhone because it meant switching to AT&T from Verizon.  I have been pleasantly surprised that my AT & T service has been acceptable though not quite on par with Verizon in some areas here in Florida.  This little device is a must have item for any parent with school age children.  I use it for so much more than phone and email.  Any time we are travelling in the car, waiting in line, waiting for our food at a restaurant that doesn't have crayons for the little kids I give the iPhone to my daughter and she passes the time happily rather than constantly complaining.  She draws pictures, plays games, listens to her music playlist, etc.  It is also used very often by me to settle debates, look up facts, etc. via wikipedia or other websites.  If typing emails on the touch screen was easier then this could almost replace a notebook computer on business trips.  Bottom line, It's awesome.  It's worth every penny.  Go get one.

Just me and Kat this weekend

So Connie flew up to Massachusetts today to help her mom drive back to Florida.  Her mom has been house sitting for relatives for the last couple months up there and it is time for her to come home.  I think they are going to be back some time on Sunday evening so it's just me and Kat for the next few days.  It should be a blast to have a few daddy/ daughter days in a row however I am sure that i will be exhausted by the time Connie gets back.  Wish me luck!

EPCOT

So after about a 2 year break from visiting Disney World we decided to become annual passholders again.  We went to EPCOT yesterday and had an awesome time.  To our pleasant surprise the annual food and wine festival had just started so we were able to sample some great food from around the world as well as some great beer.  Another cool surprise was that the 80's pop star Sheena Easton was giving free concerts and we were able to hear her sing.  It's pretty cool to hear her 20 something years after she hit it big and her voice sounds exactly like it did back then.

Kat can ride her bike!!!!!!

Some big news in the Knapik house. Kat can now ride her bike without training wheels! Check out the above video and see her riding. It only took her a couple evenings of trying until she nailed it. Congrats Kat! I am so proud of you!!!

Golf Tourney Pics

Here are a few of my favorites from the golf tourney.

See all the pics here.

My partner in crime...

Paul Mette was at the tourney.  He is a 3 time world longest drive champion.  He can hit the ball about 370 yards!

Here's Paul doing a trick shot

Networking on the Green

Had an amazing time today photographing Networking on the Green 2008. the Titusville Chamber of Commerce's annual golf tourney.  Here is a quick shot of yours truly.  I will be posting more pics from today soon.  Also, I will be uploading all the photos to my pictage gallery at:  www.pictage.com/545444  .

Can't keep up!

OK, first an apology for no updates in awhile.  I am finding it harder and harder to keep up with all of the cyberspace locations.  I am trying to update my blog, website, facebook, [b] school, etc. and am failing miserably.  I am also working on a new website and hopefully it will be up and running within the next couple weeks.  Please keep checking back often.  I am covering the Titusville Chamber of Commerce golf tourney tomorrow.  I will try to post a few of the pics after the event.  Cheers!

Pictures from the Taste of Titusville

A nice size crowd.

Dinner time!

Here is Robert with one of his fans.

Robert and Connie

The evil eye..... no more pictures dad!