The Time We Went to Harry Potter World

While in Orlando we visited the most magical theme park on earth. 

HARRY POTTER WORLD!!!

I'm pretty sure I won't be able to put into words how magical it was, but here are some pictures of our fun day there!

Packed with Muggles of course.

We loved just walking around Hogsmeade village and seeing the detail of the shops.

Monster Book of Monsters! It really moved, growled and chomped!

We had lunch at The Three Broomsticks!

Mmmmm Butterbeer. This is what we came for. Just as delicious as I dreamed it to be.

The frozen butterbeer was our favorite! Thick, frothy goodness. Yum!

The inside of the Three Broomsticks was awesome. SO legit.

Got butterbeer?

Honeydukes sweet shoppe!

Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans

"anything off the trolley?"  : )

All aboard the Hogwarts Express!

The majority of our time at Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure was definitely spent in Harry Potter World. But we knew that would be the case. I could have just gone to Harry Potter World and still been happy as a bug in a rug. It was so nice, we went back twice. After getting soaked on some of the water rides we moseyed back into Hogsmeade village to enter Ollivander's wand shop. The actors were totally in character and one lucky visitor was chosen to act out the wand choosing the wizard scene. It was awesome.

Jeff half soaked after going on the Jurassic Park and Dudley Do-Right rides.

Pick a wand, any wand. Or should I say, let the wand pick you!

Hagrid's Hut at the Flight of the Hippogriff ride.

The inside of the castle was so detailed. You get to tour the whole things as you wait in line for the Forbidden Journey ride. Moving portraits, holographic Harry, Ron and Hermione, talking Sorting Hat, Dumbledore's office and attacking dementors. Excellent, just excellent. We didn't get any pictures of the inside because we left our camera bag in the ride lockers. You'll just have to take our word for it that it was totally awesome.

It was so fun to spend a weekend in Florida with family and wizarding magic. 

We're already planning a return trip!

Flying into back into Boston after a wonderful vacation.

The Floridians

Jeff was in Orlando all week for a work conference and I joined him there for a mini vacation! I flew in on the tail end of his trip and stayed with my aunt and uncle who live in St. Cloud and their cute kids! I haven't seen my cousins since I was in Middle School and I'd never even met the younger ones. Karey pulled the kids out of school on friday and we headed to the beach. It was fun to spend some time with them!

Left to right: Thomas, Ben, Ella, Kaitlynn, Larissa, Matthew

Great waves!

This guy rolled up with the surf. 

I could have boogied boarded all day in those warm Florida waves. Jeff would have been proud.

Auntie Karey and me at Melbourne Beach.

A great day at the beach with family I haven't seen in ages! I only wish Jeff could have skipped out of training to join us! We'll definitely have to go back for another visit soon!

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Fall in New England is amazing. I've never seen such vibrant and colorful foliage! It's so beautiful. We decided that we would listen to the saturday sessions of general conference while driving up the coast and taking in the sites. Our friends Dan and Olga (who recently moved to Massachusetts) came with us! We made several stops along the way and had a marvelous afternoon.

There were lots of rocks around this lake that were perfect for skipping.

It's unreal how bright the colors are! Love the orange, red and green together.

As we were driving along we happened upon this awesome old church, and a pumpkin patch!

Naturally we had to stop and look around.

So many pumpkins! This was a patch worthy of the Great Pumpkin. Linus would approve.

Love the red door of the chapel.

After our pumpkin detour we continued on to York Harbor, ME. There is this awesome cove there that we spotted on google maps and wanted to see in person!

Nice enough for a wedding apparently. The bride must have been chilly!

Jeff and Dan chillin on the beach.

We then drove a few miles further north to Sohier Park where we saw a real east coast light house!

Nubble Lighthouse

Another lovely fall day. And good company to boot!

Meet Chuck

Meet the newest member of our little family. . .

We upgraded from our good ol' 1999 Honda Accord to a 2007 Honda Civic with much much much fewer miles. The old car got us across the country one more time, but it was on its last legs. We figured it would be best to find something that could handle New England roads (which, by the way, are awful) without falling apart. We love our little galaxy gray civic.

30 mpg in the city . . . not too shabby. 

We named it Chuck. Possibly the result of this (see below) being our favorite TV show. 

And, we are now officially New Englanders because we have Massachusetts plates. Woot woot!

Happy October!

Feeling grateful for a wonderful, hard working husband who passed all of his CPA exams this summer and is starting his first official day with KPMG! I love you Jeffrey!

Also, forecast today . . . 82 degrees! How's that for October in Boston?!

Let the Seasons Begin

I always look forward to fall. The colors, smells, and food are so intoxicating, and for some reason fall activities are just the best. The air gets crisper and you can finally pull out that cute jacket that's been hanging in the closet all summer. I feel like crafting, which is so unlike me. A spooky or autumn-ish DIY project seems apropos. This month is the gateway to the holiday season. So pull out your fall decorations, make some pumpkin cookies, and watch your favorite Halloween movies.

It's OCTOBER, people.