Harry Potter and the Deathly Wait

Like millions of others, I've been totally excited to see this last movie of the Harry Potter epic, Deathly Hallows Part 2. I did my homework before the big night. I reread the last book. I watched Part 1 the movie again. What has become a tradition for a few of the girls in my family is going to the midnight show. Jenna bought the tickets so we were set! In fact she bought them 3 weeks ago because she overheard at the theater that shows were already sold out. So knowing we had out tickets was actually the first part of the Deathly Wait. Sadly, Jenna's camping trip plans changed up a bit and she had to miss out on this one, but Mark has been reading and watching this year as well, so he was able to come with us.
Then I found these t-shirts online and I new we had to have them. I love them. They are colorful, soft, and super fun. And when Jenna gets back from her trip I'm totally wearing it again to see the movie with her. (I hope you are reading this Jenna!)
We decided to get to the theater at 10:30pm in order to get in line and be able to sit together in the theater. We ended up getting there earlier even because we got a call saying the lines were already in the parking lot! The theater had lines roped off outside according to theater number and of course many people were dressed up as the characters. We saw Voldemort, Harry, the Weasley twins, even Hedwig, Harry's owl. All fun to see and make fun of a bit! :)  Even arriving at 10:10pm for our 12:01 show, we were not sure we would be able to sit together. So began the next part of the wait. Around 10:40 managers came out and told us we would be let in shortly and asked everyone to stand up and move up to the doors. Around 11pm other lines were being let in to their theaters, but not us. In fact...it was 12:00 when we were actually let in to our theater. It was like the aftermath of some weird scifi film. The parking lot and front of the theater was quiet, silent. Popcorn, feathers, and other litter was left blowing around. But we were at the end of our wait at last! Not so fast. After getting in, we were NOT able to find  4 seats together, but at least in front of each other. Then we knew in just 1 more minute we would be set! Nope. The manager came out and explained that ALL the theaters were being shown the movie from the same projector so it would take another 15-20 mins  to synch up together. At this point we were just laughing. And tired. The excitement buzz had started to wear off.

But then it started. And it was EPIC. Definitely, definitely worth the deathly wait. Goodbye Harry Potter! Thanks for the ride!

reunion reminiscing

Every 3 years, my husband's side of the family has a family reunion on the farm in Iowa.  It's a time for everyone from all across the country can "come home", catch up, have a beer (or two), and relax with a deep breath. The farm is quiet and peaceful during the day, but as the afternoon moves to evening the kegs get lighter as the bonfire gets bigger! There are many things I love about going to the farm: the sheep! there are always lambs to bottle feed and who can resist that? The rows of corn and beans in the fields. The quiet during the walk through those fields is amazing. No trains, no sirens, no cartoons blaring. Just wind and birds calling. I love how laid back it feels. I love the worn wood of the barns and the dusty lane as we drive up. I love the way the sun looks as it moves over the behind the farm and shines through Lona's small windmill in her flowers. I love that everyone just knows that this is their home.
Friday is the big arrival day. Family come from all over. Some sleep in their giant RV's, some in smaller campers, some on the floor of the house, most in tents. "Albert's Tent City!"  Friday is spent hugging, setting up camp, tending to bonfires, and then roasting hot dogs around that fire. Everyone gets a drink and settles in around the fire, music is playing and everything is good. Saturday is the official reunion day. We always start the day with a big breakfast, followed by the arrival of all the other family who live close enough to just drive in for the day. Food starts getting put out, then the MEN bring out that roast pig that has been on the roaster since the night before. It is definitely a MEN ONLY job, as tradition will have it. Tasting and beer drinking is required. But before the eating comes my absolute FAVORITE part. All in attendance stands around in a circle, we hold hands, and we count off. There is something solemn in the counting. It is hard not to think about those that are not there to count with us this year: Mark's uncle Dale just that week, and his mother, Dorothy have passed on since the last reunion. We have also welcomed new babies that have added to our numbers. This year marks the most in attendance ever, 121 family! Overwhelming for sure. And then we give thanks. That thankfulness to God for family and friends, for getting together and for a concrete visual of the body of your family that is there for you is an emotional thing. A powerful thing. And I'm glad for it!

Diggin' It and Not So Much Diggin' It

Growing up, my mother always, always, always had a garden planted in our yard. And she didn't mess around. Just about every square inch of our yard was covered with flowers and the whole back corner became a huge vegetable garden. The same is true for her now, even with the small yard of her townhouse. She's always given me great advice about what plants I can put in certain places in my own yard. When it was just Mark and I, we didn't really ever grow a vegetable garden. Now with the kids being at that perfect age, I put in a new veg bed last year. It was late to start though and we didn't get much to speak of.
This year was different. I got the bed cleared out, soil turned over, and revamped  my plan as to what I wanted to put where. Adam was excited to try some new things; Lucy just wanted in on it! So now we've got ourselves a nice little vegetable garden that we hope to be able to eat from this year.
Adam chose beans (I bought the bush variety to save space) and brussels sprouts (yes! he really did!) and carrots. Lucy just wanted sunflowers because they look happy. And then she thought we should plant morning glories as well. We also chose a bush cucumber and green peppers. Tomatoes always are fun, but I decided to put them in pots this year. They already have flowers and they are getting bigger. We're diggin' it. It's fun to see our seeds come up, our plants get bigger and taller, our flowers bloom but then....

it's time to WEED.  I'm pretty sure that by now our mosquitoes actually are immune to bug spray and are beginning to thrive on what should in fact kill them. I filled an entire lawn bag with thistle weeds, stray grass, foreign green stuff and more thistle. Apparently our neighbor enjoys filling her bird feeders with thistle seed for the finches. Lovely for the birds, not so much for  my garden.  It is my least favorite part of gardening, but most rewarding after it's all done and the flower beds look beautiful again. But for now...
my aching back, legs, arms. Mosquito bites and all.

Bring on Summer!

So pathetic that I haven't blogged anything since Easter! But that's what happens. Easter, then craziness at work and school until school is out. But now we've ended Adam's 1st grade year, Lucy has completed her first year at a real preschool that she loves, and I have finished my 10th year teaching. After spending a very long week in meetings and packing up the classroom for a move downstairs, the kids were very happy to hear that SUMMER HAS NOW BEGUN!  Mark and I were so happy about how they were behaving when I was trying to pack that we took them to dinner and then on to Kung Fu Panda 2. The great thing was this also began Mark's 4 day weekend. We packed this weekend with so much! We took our first visit to Morton Arboretum and spent most of the day in their Children's Garden. So beautiful! See the picture above: Toad Nursery! They are playing with tadpoles, and looking for ones with and without legs. Great day! We also spent a day at Fermilab in their prairie stations. Raptors, prairie hunts, insect sweeps and pond exploring. Sunday brought church and Sunday school, refocusing. Monday was spent at the Brookfield Zoo with great friends. Beautiful weather and so much fun watching the kids play with each other. Today I was able to secure our wonderful & reliable babysitter so the kids could stay home and hang out. and I could enjoy a luncheon with the girls at Laura's house. Megan's home from Brazil (and on her way to India!), Courtney is moving to Wisconsin, Jez brought baby Ruth and baby #2 on the way. So great to see all of Laura's new projects and how lovely her home looks after all her hard work. Just a wonderful summer already after a rough end to the school year. So...bring on summer I say. It has started out perfectly!!

Easter Baskets

Last weekend was the great Easter Basket weekend. Meaning, time for me as a parent to FILL the baskets, time for the kids to EMPTY the baskets, time for Mom to CLEAN UP AFTER the baskets.  After an insane week at home and school, it was Friday night and  I still hadn't shopped for the bunny's treats. Mark saw a commercial for Walgreen's and sends me on my way; saving me an hour just for the driving back and forth to Target or Walmart, as well as the indecision that would come in to play in a bigger store. Problem solved, and I was back in less than an hour and very pleased with my treat purchases. I remember being a kid and finding my own baskets. They were simple metal sand pails filled with jellybeans and chocolate eggs, and of course a chocolate bunny! My siblings and I did not have permanent baskets that we put out each year as we did with Christmas stockings. As we got a little older, Mom added bubbles or chalk, but it remained simple. I'm not sure when Easter Baskets became a huge production. When they became bigger than life, Christmas stockings revisited, commercialized.. I found myself sucked into that last year, and swore to "bring it down a notch" this year. I managed to do that, but barely. The stores don't help me in my quest for simplification!!!  My kids do have Pottery Barn personalized Easter baskets, I confess. But I plan to keep it simple after my first few years of going overboard. Because really in the end....it's all about the jellybeans and the chocolate bunny you eat ears first. :)

Planets are Cool. And Hot.

As is our usual custom, my family has dinner together and breaks down the day. This week both of our kids were looking forward to being back at school after a long Easter weekend. Lucy has been out for over a week due to strep throat and high fever; Adam was just getting a little stir crazy! Adam shared about meal worms and caterpillars joining their classroom, the upcoming Open House at school, his great lunch, and the book fair in the library. Then Lucy started sharing what she was doing at preschool. Oh boy. Keep in mind she is 4 years old....

"We are learning about space this week!  Did you know that there are planets that look like circles in the space? There are 9 planets. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9. See? I can count them on my hands! There are 3 cold planets because they are far, far away from the Sun. There are 3 hot planets because they are very close to the Sun. WE live on the planet called Earth. ALL of the planets are "coooooool" though! (thumbs up) Did you know that stars are not planets? Did you know that the Sun is a star? There is even a planet called Pluto, like Mickey's dog, and it's a cold planet because it's far, far away from the sun. Can I have pudding now?"

I'm pretty sure the rocket ship she made today will not last as long as my memory of her face lighting up as she told me this story. Amazing!

Spring Break

We are back to school on Monday after a week of spring break. Thinking back, spring break has never meant crazy, summer-like beach vacations for me. Traditionally, I always spent spring break working...even in college! Part of me had hoped to be able to go away for a few days with my family, maybe taking in a hotel pool or waterpark, but that was not to be. What WAS to be? Home projects, cleaning and sorting, reorganizing (which means first tearing everything apart), and hanging out. The hanging out part was not totally sitting around really. The kids and I explored Naperville (and Downer's Grove accidentally) and found some great cupcakes at Sugar Monkeys. We spent some time with  my grandma who is about to be 92 years old in May. We baked cookies together and colored. Mark also took a day off to spend with us and we took in Brookfield Zoo. What a great day there! I half expected it to be packed with kids off of school, but it was pleasantly empty and a sunny day. It was a perfect, perfect family day. The last of these days have been spent getting haircuts, scheduling doctor and dentist appointments, and grocery shopping. After all, we're back to school on Monday and that means no more restuarants....spring break is over and it's time to pack lunches and eat dinners at home again!