A Quick Look at Spring

One of my goals now that my kids are back in school is to get caught up with my blog.  So, even though it's September, Spring has Sprung here at Sweet Joys!

In March,

--We watched Ry go off to a trial and work really hard.  We didn't really see him after our trip to Orlando except on Sundays (thank goodness for Sundays!)

--We took my dad to a Jazz game. We had great seats and watched them win in overtime!!

--Lauren graduated from the DARE program (anti-drug campaign at school). Her essay was one of three chosen to be read during the graduation.  Good job, Lauren!

--Played for nearly a week with MomNancy who came up for her birthday.  We always have a great time (and eat a lot of great food) when we are together!

--Enjoyed a visit from Grandpa Joe and Uncle Randy from South Dakota

--My wonderful friend Stephanie moved back to Utah!!!  I can't wait to frequently hang out over lunch!

In April,

--I went with Braiden's cub scout troop to the bowling alley.  So fun to hang out with these cute boys!

--I took a cake decorating class with my mom.  We had a great time and it was a nice get away while Ryan was gone with the trial. This was my first attempt at gum paste flowers...needs work, but not too bad and I really enjoyed it (which is what really counts)

--We went to the zoo with the Bodily family for Spring Break

--We enjoyed a spontaneous weekend up in Park City with Ryan and the kids. It was a great break and much needed "Dad time"

--Attended a mini Burrell Family Reunion (aka Filmy Uni)

--Ry and Katie celebrated their shared birthday at the Spaghetti Factory (of course)

--Soccer season started and we were constantly rained/snowed out

--Katie had fun friends party where they watched movies and played games

--We enjoyed a sugar rush at our annual Easter Egg Hunt (held this year at the lovely Tingey home due to a mini tornado hitting Grandma Geneal's house!)

--We had a wonderful Easter dinner at Grandma Janis' house

--Ryan's trial FINALLY ended!!! We rejoiced BIG TIME when he could finally spend some time at home!!

--Our beloved Expedition broke down and we wouldn't see it again until the end of June!! So sad!

--Ethan made his FIRST EVER soccer goal!!

As you can see, our Spring was filled with joys and trials (of all kinds), but we were reminded that family is truly the most important thing in life!

Florida or Bust (part two)

Ahhh, finally another Florida trip post! This time it's all about Universal Studios.  We had to include this on our agenda because of two words:

HARRY and POTTER

We are huge Potter fans at my house and were so excited to see the new Harry Potter park at Universal.  It did not disappoint!!



The main attraction at the Harry Potter park was the ride inside Hogwarts Castle called Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.  The line weaves all around the castle including the greenhouses, the great hall, a few classrooms, and even Dumbledore's office.  The ride itself was amazing!  We flew with Harry all around Hogwarts, interrupted a Quidditch match, and narrowly escaped a dragon! One of the best rides ever!

Hogsmeade Village was so neat!  My only complaint is that is was way too small. The wand store was seriously no bigger than my home office!  I wish they would have made everything bigger, because it was all so cool!!  The kids bought wands and chocolate frogs.  We also had to try the Butterbeer and Pumpkin Juice.  Both were really good!  WE LOVED HARRY POTTER!!

Of course, we explored the rest of the park as well.  We got completely drenched on the Jurassic Park water ride.  When I say drenched, I mean not an inch of dry skin to be found on any of us!  Good times!

The kids were obviously quite scared of all of the dinosaurs lurking around as shown below....fortunately, we all survived.

This was taken while standing in line for the Jimmy Neutron ride....stupid ride, but we seem to find the joy in even the dumbest things and couldn't stop laughing when it was over (probably because we were so glad to be off!).  We just all had a blast being together, and it didn't really matter what we were doing.  Seriously, one of the best family vacations I've ever been on because we all had so much fun together.

We also stopped to say HI to Scooby.  We love him at our house!

One final picture of two of the cutest chillins on the planet.

We loved our time at Universal and renewed our obsession with all things Harry Potter! Next stop...EPCOT!

Funny Kid Quotes

I've been storing up a few cute quotes for you.....

- Lauren blessing the food: "Please bless this food that it will healthen and strengthen our bodies"

- Braiden's prayer: "Please bless Dad to have a good day at work, also that we can have a good day at school, and bless Mom....(pause)....with whatever she does at home"

- Ethan's New Lagoon-A-Beach lingo: "Put on my sunscream so I can take my tuba on the crazy river"

- New lyrics to the song "Secrets": Instead of "I'm gonna give all my secrets away", it is now, according to Ethan, "I'm gonna give all my sisters away!"

- Ethan in the car: "I'm going to put my drink in the drink folder"

Hilarious!!! I love my kiddos!