July Happenings

Rob has always been so good about getting down on the kids' level and playing with them.

This month we got to be a host family for a group of girls from Utah Valley Children's Choir. The group was doing a mission tour in the East singing about Christ's ministry. We attended their concert in the evening, which was fantastic, and then we brought them home for a sleepover. They had to leave early in the morning so they didn't stay long, but the kids thought it was fun to have some teenage girls in the house.

We took a family trip to Ralleigh for an overnighter so Rob could rack up some hotel points. We took the kids miniature golfing and to the arcades. It turned out to be a fun, spontaneous weekend.

Isaac really liked driving the arcade sports car.

Time to shift gears.

There was all sorts of fun at the hotel room. The older kids love jumping from bed to bed, but Isaac was obsessed with the never ending tissues. He'd pull one out and magically another would appear. They just kept coming....

and coming...

and coming. Don't worry. We tipped the cleaning lady!

Fun with the remote control car.

Helping dad wash the car. 

Chocolate smoothie pop.

I've been making these chocolate peanut butter banana smoothies in our blender. I add cocoa powder, almond milk, bananas, peanut butter, spinach, flax and sometimes avocado. They're sweetened with a couple dates and the kids love them. They don't even know how healthy they are.  They'll drink it up or eat them as smoothies pops.

Addie and the Harry Potter Birthday

Addie turns 9!

(Notice how I'm calling her Addie, now. We decided that for Isaac's sake we'd switch back to calling her Addie since Addilyn is harder to say.)

As per tradition, we let the kids pick out their birthday breakfast and serve it to them in bed. This year Addie asked for an Egg/Sausage McMuffin (bleh!)

Alex and Maycie got Addie her own sewing kit.

 Mom and dad got Addie a new bike since she had grown out of her old one.

She wasn't quite used to it yet because right after this turn she took a big spill and got major road rash on her elbows and knees. She was brave, though.

For the last several months all that Addie could talk about was the Harry Potter birthday party she was going to have. Though I spent hours and hours and more money than usual preparing it was worth it. It was a really fun theme to base a party around.

White owls delivered the Hogwarts acceptance letter.

Welcome to Platform 9 3/4, Hogwarts Express!

I sponged brick onto a brown curtain and hung it above the door so the kids could run through the train station brick wall.

 Then the kids all had a turn with the Sorting Hat and were placed into their houses, Gryffindor or Slytherin. As it turned out, most the boys ended up in Slytherin and the girls in Gryffindor so just divided that way. They all put on their house badge.

 Next, came the welcome feast. Professor Dumbledore paid a visit and warned the students of some peculiar happenings at Hogwarts. Rob was a sport dressing up, as he usually hates that kind of thing. Though I don't have a picture, I was dressed as Professor McGonnagal. 

After the welcome feast the students selected their wands from Ollivander's Wand Shop.

First on the class schedule was Care of Magical Creatures.

The kids had to search for hidden creatures around the yard, all which had different point values. The more rare the creature, the higher the point value. 

Next class was Transfiguration. The kids had to "transfigure" a blob of clay into the object that they selected and get their house members to guess what it was before the other house. Think Pictionary with clay.

Potions was probably the favorite class. The kids had to mix different magical ingredients to make their potion react. Troll pus (orange dish soap), distilled swamp water (green vinegar), dragon's blood (blue water) and powdered mandrake root (baking soda).

Success!

Quidditch practice came next. The different house teams had to run a relay with a broom, fetch a golden snitch and throw the snitch through a hoop.

The final class was Defense Against the Dark Arts. 

Though a dragon full of candy isn't very dangerous, the kids sure had fun.

After classes the kids got to visit Honeydukes Sweet Shop complete with Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans....

chocolate frogs and chocolate covered wands...

butterbeer (cream soda)....

golden snitch truffles and cloud 9 cakes....

Cheers! The boys are cheering because they won the house cup.

The girls are cheering because they out number the boys.

Make a wish.

Present time.

Duke finished off the theme party with a Hogwarts Lego set.