The Weekly Photo(s)

I have so many fairly valid excuses for not blogging (the play, Utah trip, two weddings-one being my brothers, the play again, guests staying at our house), but still I have been fairly pathetic. 

Here is over a months worth of Weekly Photos:

Should have been posted July 25th:

Swimming with Mema

Should have been posted August 1st:

Elanor lost her 1st tooth!

Harry Potter party!! Rowena Ravenclaw, Prof. Quirrell, Hedwig and Hermione.

Should have been posted August 8th:

We went hiking with friends and family the morning before the last show of As You Like It. Also, that play was super fun to do, and was just really good.

Should have been posted on August 15th:

We went on a trip to Utah to visit friends and family. It was soon much fun. I have missed so many of my friends!

Should have been posted August 22nd:

We finished the library summer reading program!

Should have been posted August 29th:

My brother, Ian, married the lovely Kendal!

Should have been posted this past Monday, the 5th:

Hiking in the Gorge.

Weekly Photos

I am waaaaaaay behind on these. I like to do them, mostly to keep track of photos for my photo book and to encourage myself to take more pictures. So, I am back to doing these. Here is 2 months worth of weekly photos:

Should have been posted July 20th:

I did not take very many pictures this week and I remember that Alice was being difficult this day and just wanted to sleep with me and I was a bit tired and frustrated, but also I love to snuggle her. Motherhood feels like that often, it is hard and tiring and also rewarding, fun and full of love all at the same time.

Should have been posted on July 27th:

Elanor flying a kite down the street.

{I did not take any pictures this week! This is from Tyler's phone. Whoops.}

Should have been posted on August 3rd:

We did a family vacation since Ian got back from his mission. We tried to get a picture of all three grandchildren, but it did not quite work out. I still think this picture is pretty funny!

Should have been posted on August 10th:

 Harry Potter party!

Should have been posted on August 17th:

Said goodbye to Utah, our home of four years and our dear friends.

Should have been posted on August 24th:

We made it to Oregon!

Should have been posted on August 31st:

 Jessica and Cedric came to Oregon to be in and help with the play, "MacBeth" that my mom was directing. We had so much fun with them!

Should have been posted on September 7th:

 Alice's blessing day.

We all had parts in the play "MacBeth".  I was Lady MacDuff , Tyler was King Duncan, Jessica was the Porter/Doctor/Murderer, Ian was Angus/Siward and Elanor was Young MacDuff child/Apparition 2. It was fun to be in a play again, even if it was just a small part. Elanor loved it and had quite a few lines for someone her age and did awesome!

Should have been posted on September 14th:

 Beach day on Labor Day!

I'm all caught up and I will try not to let that happen again!

Harry Potter Party

Becky and I hosted our annual Harry Potter party as usual. However, this year we were both in the process of moving and this was also to be our last time having the party together. We were both rather busy, but thanks to some other friends we were able to pull it together. We had a lovely time doing trivia, munching on Harry Potter themed food, and playing "pin the pig tail on Dudley" ( a great idea from my friend Lori).

Elanor was a merperson from the lake this year. I just used material I already had and I think it turned out pretty good, albeit she does not look fierce. We forgot a spear (at least she did have a rock necklace).

 This picture makes me laugh! Im not sure why she did this pose but at least you can see the green in her hair.

Alice was a mandrake and played the part well.

 I was Professor Sprout (my hat did stick up and have patches, but I don't have a picture with it like that!), and Tyler was Harry.

Tyler did a great job drawing Dudley and the kids really loved playing this game!

I sadly do not have a picture of Becky and I, but we did have a lot go fun and stayed up late with some other die-hard fans playing trivia (we write our own questions). We have had fun over these past three years hosting Harry Potter parties together and I will really miss doing them with her. It was a wonderful thing that the Pitchers moved in above us. Becky is a kindred spirit and I will miss her.

Happy Birthday Old Friend!

If you know anything about me then you know I'm talking about Harry Potter. His birthday was last Thursday and Becky and I threw him a birthday party, of course! I have been celebrating Harry's birthday for years, I know I did it as far back as high school (my whole family is also obsessed), but we could have had parties earlier than that. Many people (who are not Harry Potter people) often question my odd desire to celebrate a fictional person's birthday. 

{By the way it is really not that odd, many people of my generation (the Harry Potter generation) celebrate his birthday or at least acknowledge it.}

I often just tell those people that I love the books, grew up with them, etc. (plus, it is super fun)---but it is more than that. I got the first book when I was in 4th grade. I then read the next two quickly, then waited a year or so for the fourth book and also waited for subsequent others. I went to the midnight parties at the bookstore and my family usually bought two sets of the book and all six of us had to share (except for the last book--I had just graduated from high school and had my own money and so bought my own book). I grew up with Harry, sometimes he was older, but we eventually caught up and were the same age as the series closed. We both had finished childhood and were now on the brink of adulthood (though clearly Harry had had a lot more life experience). We had done it together. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were and are my friends. The fact that the books and characters matured with me (as in the characters aged, but also the depth of the plot increased as well), made it so these books heledp shape my character as I grew up. They are part of me in an unexplainable way (I have tried to explain it).

And so, as I have said on a yearly basis, thank you Harry. Thank you J.K. Rowling (who has the same birthday). 

Oh, you wanted pictures of the party? Here they are!

I made a snitch cake! Mrs. Weasley made one for Harry on his 17th birthday and I have been wanting to try to make one forever. It is quite huge! I quadrupled my chocolate cake recipe and baked the cake in two large pyrex bowls. I then cut each half circle in half, and put frosting in between each layer and put it all together (so four layers total). I then covered the cake with marshmallow fondant (which I made) and sprayed it gold. I made the feathers out of card stock and glued feathers on them and supported them with skewers.

Tyler was Harry (of course, as he looks just like him!), Elanor is a Swedish Short Snout dragon (4th book) and I am Fleur Delacour (I made the cape, but found the hat and dress on Etsy). 

I made Elanor's dragon costume. The Swedish Short Snout is a silvery blue dragon and I head fun putting this costume together and picking out fabrics.

Travis (Salazar Syltherin), Becky (Helga Hufflepuff), Lauren (Rowena Ravenclaw),  and Tom (Godric Gryffindor)--they are the four founders of Hogwarts. 

We had meat pies again this year, but also delicious frozen butter beer, Every Flavor Beans, mini apple pies and of course the Snitch cake.

Elanor and Micah

More of my cake.

A cute little dragon.

Becky and I did a trivia game again. We love coming up with questions! Ravenclaw won again this year...

 I think these pictures Travis got of us are pretty hilarious.

It was a fun party and thank you to everyone who came!

Until next year!

The Weekly Photo

Harry, Swedish Short Snout Dragon, and Fleur

It was Harry's birthday of course! More pictures tomorrow!

Happy Birthday Harry!

Today is Harry Potter's birthday (and J.K. Rowling's). I can't even describe in words how much this series has meant to me ever since I first opened up "The Sorcerer's Stone" on my 9th birthday. I grew up with these characters and they have become a part of my childhood, teen hood and adulthood. I love these books from the very depths of my soul. Oh, I know I am incredibly cheesy when it comes to Harry Potter and beloved books in general. It is who I am and I love books and I love them hard. It is a very convenient and happy thing that Becky (upstairs neighbor) loves them as much as I do and so of course we threw Harry a birthday party this weekend.

Tyler and I were Harry and Ginny, of course and Elanor was our owl.

We had a lovely time eating Mrs. Weasley's meat pies, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Butter Beer, Harry's favorite, treacle tart, and Hagrid's birthday cake.

 Speaking of Hagrid, look who showed up!

Sorting Hat

Becky (Prof. Sprout) and Grey (he was supposed to be an owl as well--but would not wear his wings)

 Tyler looks exactly how I pictured Harry in the book and not at all like Daniel Radcliffe.

Stupefy!

 Becky and I put together a ton of questions for a trivia game. We had different sections for the questions, for example questions about Hogwarts and another section about the Weasley family. We divided everyone up into three different houses (there were no Slytherins present). Ravenclaws won, of course.

This was such a fun Harry Potter party!

Thank you Harry for being such a large part of my life and making me into a better person. 

Thank you J. K. Rowling for writing these books and creating characters that I would count as my friends (I know them so well, after all).