The One Year Adventure with the In-Laws!?! PART 2

Okay, "The One Year Adventure with the In-Laws!?! Continues in PART 2:

And what better way to start it than with this pic...

Yes, that is Kathy using binoculars to spy on the neighbors! I love this family:D







The next big deal-yo is the Fourth of July Parade. Definitely a Shurilla family tradition. They have their expectations every year. The dancing Grannies, Clowns on tiny bicycles, the Mountain Men and their Muskets:) It's a pretty sweet parade!

Let the show begin!

Oh yeah! These Grannies sure know how to put on a show!

Kathy and I were discussing the age requirement to join the "Dancing Grannies"

Not soon enough for me:(

Then there's Keaton! The Shurilla's usually have one or two children in the parade.
Keat was...what was he? Oh yeah, he was in Badger Boys:)

I was jumping to high-five the Stilts man or woman:) A bit awkward...

Oh and here are those darn Mountain Men and Women! Those muskets are pretty loud!

And what kind of parade would it be without a clown on a unicycle???

Fun times! Pretty hot outside but we survived:) I couldn't imagine wearing the furs or fireman suits and other costumes in this heat! 

OH, how could I forget the CANDY?!? I am so annoying when it comes to free candy. The family can attest to that:)

Soon thereafter Lars and I celebrated our
5 year wedding anniversary! Wow. What better way to mark this great occasion by finally visiting the Jelly Belly Factory outside of Kenosha, Wisconsin:)

Such a MAGICAL place! 

I don't know if my tummy can handle such yummy goodness:)

We go bye bye on the choo choo.
Yep, it's THE warehouse!

We thought these were AWESOME! They're sugar free jelly belly's but read the warning:
"Consumption may cause stomach discomfort and/or laxative effect"...
It will literally cause your Belly to Flop:D yikes.

YUCK! Why would ANYONE want to try these???
And yet I was the one trying to get a video of kids daring each other to eat the grossest ones:)
They said that the Rotten Egg was THE WORST! I trust their judgement:P 

They are very proud of their history and especially their Jelly Belly art:)

Jelly Belly Factory & Warehouse







The next day we were surprised by a beautiful cake made just for us by the masterful pastry chef, Kathy!

Not sure exactly why I was making this face but I'm sure it has something to do with wanting to eat this delicious cake NOW not later:)

Happy 5 years, Darling! I look forward to LOTS MORE!!! With so many more ADVENTURES!!!

Like YOUTH CONFERENCE!!! Lars and I were asked to help chaperone this year's Milwaukee North Stake Youth Conference 2012 "Arise and Shine Forth". We both had some awesome kids! And a healthy dose of teenage DRAMA!!! Haha, yikes:)

Awe-some spiritual experience at Lapham Peak in the Kettle Moraine State Forest.

                               Yay, for picking up trash:)

                                   And throwing it away!                      And for Four-Square!!!

And for DANCING on a BOAT on LAKE MICHIGAN...?

...Girls...DANCING?

...Boys...DANCING???

Yes, Emily was a dance machine! And I'm sure most people didn't appreciate me trying to take their picture when "dancing", like Chloe :P FUN FUN!!!

This guy's the professional!
He'd get himself into the weirdest spots:)

Their service project was cleaning up the Milwaukee Cemetery. This cemetery has got to be the biggest, most beautiful and old cemetery I've ever seen! I don't have any relatives inside, as far as I know, but I want to come visit this place more often:) So peaceful.

Also, since being home for so long, Lars decided to get a job and help Brother Gabor with his business, Gabor Design Build (GDB). Lots of outdoor maintenance and painting and scrapping and...pretty much anything that needs doing. But Lars did find a little time for...observation:)

One thing you may not know about Lars is that he is very interested in living things: animals, insects, etc. He finds them very interesting. When he was young he wanted to be a veterinarian or biologist but later found out that most of what you would have to do would be to deal with sick animals or just look through a microscope. That didn't appeal to him so he went in another direction.

Next, we drove Chelsea Shurilla back out to school in Provo, Utah. (Apparently we can't get enough of that place:\ First, we stopped at Martin's Cove! Unfortunately only one of us wanted to pull an actual handcart:( I guess we're not THAT "adventurous" :P

The Shurilla clan disturbing a herd of antelope.

Lars and his Father, Larry straggling behind.

Very interesting experience! To think of those people who got stuck in the snow storms and all the trials they went through...It didn't make them turn their back on God but to hold to Him even tighter. What amazing examples!

Then, another high-light of our Utah trip was that Lars got to play a show at The Velour in Provo, Utah. There were quite a few people that came out to support him and to see the family:)

You catch a glance of my good friends, Kelly & Debbie Dockstader in this video:)

 Lots of friends and FUN!!! And of course, GOOD MUSIC!!! 

Good job LARS!!!

SOOOooooooooo now what? After ALL THIS its time to get back to "real life", right. Lars and I decided that our next step would land us in Glasgow, Scotland. Lars applied to and was accepted into The University of Glasgow. A pretty awesome college and campus from what we hear! I mean, look at it. It's HOGWARTS!!!

Due to some visa complications Lars flew out before me. Which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. He was able to secure an apartment, bank accounts, ward connections, food, everything! Allowing his wife to not stress out...as much:) Thank you! And a huge thank you to Ma and Pa Shurilla for allowing us to spend so much time with them. I KNOW I've learned A LOT!!! Love you guys <3

-Spring