Baby Bird is 19!

Hard to believe that Mike is already 19. Time flies blah blah blah! I spent some time with my scanner this morning and scanned in (in something like 8 separate passes, which I then lovingly stitched together in Photoshop Elements) the 2-page spread I made of his first birthday (click to see it bigger):



Also, I don't believe I have ever shared his birth announcement on here:



Weren't Fred and I terribly clever (not to mention young looking!) back in the day?

A river runs through it

Sherman Army Airfield, here on post:

Positively Pottered

Harry Potter entered our family in book form sometime during our Hawaii years (1999 to 2001) when Mike received the first volume as a gift. I started to read it aloud to the kids, but my heart wasn't in it (fantasy is totally not my thing), and we never finished it. Shortly thereafter though, Mike's reading skills took off and he dove right into the series, eagerly awaiting each book as it was released and happily reading them to himself.

Fred and I took Mike to see the first movie in South Carolina when it came out in November 2001, but Annabelle was only 6 at the time, and we decided it was much too scary for her. I took Mike to the midnight premiere of one of the books toward the middle of the series when we were in San Antonio (2001 to 2003), and sometime after that Annabelle hopped on the Potter bandwagon as well.

In August 2005 we visited London shortly after Fred's return to Germany from Iraq. One of the "must see" items on our list was J.K. Rowling's home in London, which I had heard was part of the "Little Venice" London Walks tour. Annabelle dressed a Beanie Baby rabbit as Harry Potter, and the kids took turns posing with him on the wall outside the Rowling home:





We dutifully continued taking the kids to the films as they were released, and I remember seeing one in Germany and another in Kentucky. (You can tell how captivated I was by the whole thing, can't you?) But then they got old enough to start going to the movies with friends, and I was spared the experience for the next few films. In 2005, Annabelle went to the release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with her friend Karen while we were visiting Florida in July 2007. She proudly wore her Hogwarts garb:









That was the same month that the final volume, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, came out. In fact, it was released on Mike's birthday, July 21! We were still in DeLand, and we opted to go to the premiere party at the small used bookstore in town rather than venturing forth to Daytona or Orlando. Mike spent the time waiting for the book's release to go over his driver's license manual one more time to make sure he wouldn't have any problem passing his permit test later that same day (doesn't Fred look thrilled?):



We bought 2 copies of that book, and the kids read them nonstop, even at the Boyd family reunion over in Tampa that afternoon. You can see Annabelle's copy in this picture:



We had to stop at a gas station on the drive back to DeLand to buy flashlights so they could keep reading after the sun went down.

Fast forward to this summer! With the anticipation of the release of the final movie, the kids have been plowing through all of the books in a re-reading frenzy. They also have been re-watching all the earlier movies, and Fred and I joined them for the most recent 2, in hopes of having some idea of what's going on in the final movie. I had booked tickets to the midnight IMAX showing at our closest Kansas City theater well over a month ago. Annabelle and I swung by the theater Thursday morning to pick up the tickets on our way to the airport to greet her friend Katherine, who is spending the weekend with us. We were shocked that people were already camped out in line at 10:30 a.m., including this fellow with a Sharpie-drawn tattoo:



Even though Harry Potter has never been my "thing," I couldn't help but feel the teensiest bit excited.

My original plan had been to show up at the theater around 11 p.m., an hour before showtime. After seeing the beginnings of the first lines with over 12 hours to go though, I realized that that was cutting it WAY too close. Fred decided at the last minute that trying to go to a midnight movie on a worknight was craziness, but I was able to get a refund on his ticket. I and Mike, Annabelle, and Katherine took out places in line right at 7:00 p.m.

Fortunately the line for the IMAX was inside the building. We settled down on the floor to read and otherwise kill time while waiting:



With so many people in costume, the excitement was contagious. Annabelle had her tea leaves read by a fellow movie-goer:



I have to admit that the movie was good. I'm glad I had watched the 2 most recent, because I would have been lost otherwise. Annabelle started crying about halfway through and sobbed pretty steadily until we got to the car afterwards. As soon as we got home (at 3:30 in the morning), she wrote the following, which sums it up pretty well:

Excuse me as I lament the end of my childhood

DEATHLY HALLOWS SPOILERS (but mostly just me getting hysterical)

I actually started out the movie (and got about halfway through) feeling pretty sure that I wouldn’t cry. I mean, I never cry at movies! I’ve gotten a little misty in Edward Scissorhands, but full-fledged sobbing? But then Snape died, and…well, things went down from there. Then there was Fred. Then the Prince’s Tale (OHLAWD THE PRINCE’S TALE), Harry seeing Sirius/Lupin/Mum/Dad, and of course “Not my daughter, you BITCH.” After that, I felt a lot better.

Even the epilogue, I was feeling okay. I mean, it’s cute and all, but I’m gonna be okay…but then they have to play the original John Williams music from the first movie. Like, remember when the trio boarded the Hogwarts Express at the end of the movie and explain that they’re not “really going home” since Hogwarts is home and yada yada yada? With all the second generation people getting on the train with that music, and then Hedwig’s Theme…to put it lightly, I was a mess leaving the theatre. A complete, sobbing, hysterical mess. Kind of all “My skeleton will lie in the theatre forever.”

I know it’s been said so many times, but I really feel like that was the end of my childhood. Yeah, I haven’t been a child-child for several years now, but I grew up with Harry ever since I watched the second movie when it was a new release (and even more so after I first picked up the book in fourth grade). I still remember going to the midnight release of the last book and then spending the entire next day reading. I felt okay at the end of that, knowing there were still three more movies to go. I kind of took it for granted.

I’ve been re-reading the books and re-watching all the movies, and it’s just now occurring to me how, for lack of a better term, magical they are. Just…gah.

Long live Harry Potter<3

It's still so totally not my thing, but I have to admit it has gotten under my skin. I'm feeling very sentimental about the tremendous presence these books and movies have been in our lives over the past 10 years. Ever since we saw the last movie, I've been bugging the kids with my stupid questions: "Who was that chick who was being so mean to Lily in the flashback? Wait, why was everybody so willing to make up with that Malfoy jerk?"

They keep saying, "READ THE BOOKS, MOM!"

I just might do that.

Sad news

My Grandma Grace died yesterday of congestive heart failure. She had been in an out of the hospital several times this year and had been on supplemental oxygen since last spring. She stayed mentally sharp though, and I'm glad I was able to visit with her 3 times since February. Our most recent visit was last month, when we spent some time going through photo albums I took to Florida with me.

Here's a picture of Grandma and Dave from their wedding in January of 2005:



Dave, thank you for taking such good care of Grandma! It takes a special person to keep up with somebody like her, with her busy schedule and her sense of adventure. I'm glad you're part of our family!

What's next? Locusts?

Oh, I have so very, very much to blog! My trip to Florida, buying the new car for Mike, roadtripping back up to Kansas with my mom and stopping by Graceland along the way, not to mention sharing some of the pictures Mike has put up on Facebook of his fun times so far in Dresden. That will have to wait until tomorrow though, because first I have to tell you about this afternoon.

You have to keep in mind that on the afore-mentioned roadtrip, we went right through a part of Alabama that had been devastated by the storms of the previous week. One minute we were cruising along, and the next minute there were helicopters sweeping around in the air and houses blasted to smithereens and giant trailers with pallets of bottled water.

Then the following day we went through Arkansas, most of which is a disaster area thanks to flooding. At one point our 4-lane highway turned into this:



Today Mom and I went out to pick up Annabelle after school and to run a few errands. It had been a cold, rainy morning, but when we left the house the sun was shining, and it was starting to warm up. Then all of a sudden huge gray clouds rolled in from the west, and the sky opened up. I made the decision to blow off the rest of our errands and go straight home. When I got to my neighborhood, however, I found the main street blocked by firetrucks. I tried to go around back to the alley, but there was a firetruck there too. Turns out that a bolt of lightening had struck the chimney of a house down the street from me. Everybody there was fine, but the remains of the chimney were scattered along the alley and on and in their next-door neighbor's car.

I took these photos with my phone, so they're not the best. This is the scene from the front of the house. You can see the firetrucks, and if you look at the house in the middle of the picture you can see an intact chimney and then one that looks like it disappears into the glare of the sky. No, it's just not quite there anymore:



This is how it looked out back:



And this is what happens if you dump bricks on an SUV:



Enough with the crazy weather already!

And THAT is how you pack a Sentra

I have to admit: There were moments when I didn't think it was all going to fit. But it did wind up fitting in the end, although things were a little tight when we gave Mike's roommate Chris a ride home from dinner:

New member of the family

This is Mike's new car:



We tied the purchase into my trip to Florida to help him pack out of the dorm and get him ready for his upcoming trip to Europe. We went through the USAA buyers' program, and it was about $1000 cheaper in Orlando than in Kansas City.

Mom and I drove it up to Tally to deliver it. Here's Mike driving it for the first time:

Brava, Annabelle!

This will be short and sweet, as I have to get up at 4:30 tomorrow morning to get to the airport for my flight to Florida. We just got home though from the Leavenworth High School academic banquet, which recognized the top 2.5% of the freshman class, the top 5% of the sophomores, the top 10% of the juniors, and the top 15% of the senior class. This is what the top 5% of the class of 2013 looks like (Annabelle is on the far left):



And here's Annabelle with her swag:

Housework

It's been a while since I posted any pictures of the house. As of yesterday, the third floor is done, with the exception of Annabelle's bathroom. Maybe this summer!

When you go up the stairs from the second to third floor, you come out in an open L-shaped loft area. We have taken one part of the loft and used it for storage for games, DVDs, and such:







I keep thinking that it would be a great area to use as a workout room if I could force myself to, you know, work out.

The other part of the loft is what we call the "man cave." This was Fred's post-deployment present to himself, but Annabelle probably uses it the most. We bought a couple of super-comfy loveseats with drink holders:



and a nice, big TV:



Annabelle's room has been done for some time now. Both her room and Mike's are painted a subtle gray. She has chosen to pick up the orange stripe in her bedding to add a splash of color:









Mike's room got pushed to the back burner since he has really stayed in it for only a few weeks since we moved here. We went through this weekend though and put up curtains and hung stuff up on his walls:









Remaining projects are Annabelle's bathroom and the guest room on the second floor, plus I'd like to finish organizing my office. I have made a promise to myself that I will not hang Ceiling Cat up until my office is finished.

Two all-beef patties, special sauce . . .

Make that 12 all-beef patties and you'll be closer to Mike's triumphant feat on Friday night. He became the third person to complete the Quint Quint Double challenge at the Tomahawk Sports Bar. That's 12 burger patties, each with a slice of cheese, plus a pound of fries. Finish it in 30 minutes, and it's free!

Here he is at the beginning of his quest. Note that the burger is held together with a knife that is almost fully embedded in the beast:



Here he is at the 10-minute mark:



He started with a couple of friends, who bailed out at the 7- or 8-burger mark, but Mike marched on to completion at 29 minutes:



When I spoke to him later Friday evening, the high of achievement had worn off and was replaced by some pretty severe intestinal distress. One of his friends drove all over Tallahassee trying to find some syrup of ipecac so that he could "un-eat" the burger, but apparently you can't get that over the counter anymore. He never was able to throw up, but he found that he was comfiest in this position:



Amazingly enough, he woke up Saturday morning feeling great. Ah, youth!

Successful completion of the Quint Quint Double challenge nets the victor bragging rights only and his photo on the restaurant wall. Some of Mike's friends, however, decided that such an epic feat was worthy of a special shirt and so they had this one made for him:

Spring flowers

Who's a pretty girl?

Ginger after a rare trip to the groomer:

Ice cream at work!

Good times at the reference desk:

You never know what you'll find . . .

. . . when you're walking the dog.

Today, for example, when I walked out the back door, I heard the sound of bagpipes wafting through the air. I followed my ears and found a bagpiper (bagpipist?) in the gazebo in the park:





Turns out that he usually practices in the chapel, but the chapel was locked today. He decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and play outside.

Speaking of beautiful weather, as soon as I post this, the weather will take a turn for the worse, but we have been having some gorgeous days lately. Spring has finally sprung!