Harry Potter...no spoilers here!

Before everyone starts to freak out and not read my post because nobody wants anything in the final book revealed to them, it's okay...there will be no details of the book expressed in this post. But I wanted to take a moment to reflect on my experience with Harry over the last 7+ years. I watched an interview with J.K. Rowling where she was saying how difficult it was to write the last book because Harry has been with her through all her success over the last number of years and how she will miss the escape to that world. I thought it was a little cheesy when I saw it, but when I picked up the book and opened the front flap of the dust jacket and read "We now present the seventh and final installment in the epic tale of Harry Potter" I have to admit I got a little weepy. I realized I had started reading Harry Potter when I was still in college and have read it throughout 5 years of marriage. Suffice it to say, Harry Potter has been with me through a lot too.

A friend and I went to go see the movie for the 5th Harry Potter book the same night that the book was going to be released. We didn't do this by choice, it was just a coincidence, but as we walked through Barnes and Noble before the movie started, I couldn't believe all of the people that were in the store. About half were dressed up in Harry Potter garb, and old ladies were dressed up in witches hats. We couldn't believe people would hang around a bookstore for hours until midnight only to get the book and go home and probably fall asleep after read one chapter. And then we ran into three families from the ward. As we were sitting in the theater before the previews began I said to my friend "Ya know, if people are going to go crazy about something, it should be a book. It's better than going crazy over Lindsey Lohan or Paris Hilton right?"

I was able to pick up my copy the next day while doing my weekly grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. I read the book in three days while my child destroyed our apartment. I cried off and on in the last 1/3 of the book, and when Clark saw me, he just kept coming over to me and saying "uh-oh". So what I want to know for all you Harry Potter readers out there is, did you cry? Or am I a psycho? Or both? ;-)

So whether you like or loathe Harry Potter, everyone would have to agree that if there is one thing J.K. Rowling should be praised for, it would be that she wrote something that brought a love of reading to child and adult alike. Tanner said that when he was in the airport on the way home from Tampa, it seemed everywhere he looked people where reading Harry Potter. When was the last time you saw that happen, other than when the last Harry Potter book came out?

THE BAR: Part II

"I don't know"

That's pretty much all I have received in response to my numerous questions all at different angles to Tanner about how he felt about the Bar exam. He felt good about some parts, not so great about others. So well just have to see, but for now we are glad it's over and glad we are busy preparing for our move to Orlando so we can forget about it for now.

THE BAR

The time has come.

Tanner leaves tomorrow morning to fly to Tampa to take the Florida Bar exam on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

It has been two months of grueling study and preparation, and we are ALL glad it will be over this week.

I don't normally like to solicit things from my blog, but any prayers offered on his behalf over the next few days would be greatly appreciated.

Unfortunately he won't find out the results until sometime late October, but hopefully he won't worry about it too much. I am very excited to have my husband 24/7 for the whole month of August before he starts work the beginning of September.
We are moving in a week and a half and are excited to turn the page and start a new chapter in our lives. Go Tanner!

Birthday Week

So my sister Tricia called me to see if I would be willing to watch her kids the first week of July while her and Dan took a much needed vacation. She said she would understand if I didn't want to do it because it would mean that I would be away from my husband for the 4th of July and my birthday. However, let me take a moment to explain the way our life has pretty much been for the last two months. Tanner wakes up and leaves the house by 6:30am, returns around 6pm. Eats dinner with us, and either continues to study or zones out doing something else. I'm sure a lot of you might be thinking, uh yeah, that is how it is when your husband has a full time job! And I realize that, but there is something that is different about this whole bar study thing...he breathes, sleeps, and eats it. And while some of you may be thinking that your husbands also breathes, sleeps, and eats their job, Tanner isn't really like that. He likes his down time and his relax time, and stressy is not one of the words I would ever use to describe him. But the bar exam IS the culmination of the entire law school experience, and he does have to pass in order to actually be a 'practicing' lawyer. He has been doing a great job studying, and I really feel badly for him. When I mentioned that Tricia had asked if I would watch her kids for the week, he said that it might be a good idea. He felt badly that it was during my birthday, but luckily, I have never been a huge birthday fan in general, so I wasn't heartbroken.

So off I went to Tricia's for the week. K, first of all, 5 kids under the age of 6 (and a half! ;-) is a little crazy, but the older three, Courtney, Carter, and Jonah can pretty much take care of themselves. I would just have to break up the occasional disagreement and make sure they were all fed. Having Clark (20 months) and Bella (12 months) was a little more dicey, which was compounded by the fact that Clark went from having zero siblings to have 4. He especially didn't like it when I would pass him on the stairs carrying Bella. I knew he was thinking "Why does SHE get to be held? And I have to get up these mammoth things all by myself! You used to carry me ya know!" Some things were easier than expected and some things were harder. But we had fun, and that's all that matters. I did want to make sure that we had an especially good time on the 4th of July. I printed off American flags for them all to color. We had a water balloon fight in the back yard, and I even hauled them all into downtown Charlotte for fireworks in the park. I made brownies for myself, lit the candles for myself, but the kids sang so cute for me and Jonah blew out my candles (on accident...or maybe not). Then we had root beer floats. Before you think too good of me, I have to admit that I was exhausted, and the next day I was a bit of a raunch since we had to clean up and get ready to go to Florida. But it didn't matter, after a day like we had, I could pretty much do no wrong in their eyes.

Some of my favorite and not so favorite sayings from the week were:

Courtney: "Chez, you are like a real baker!"

Carter: (yelling from upstairs) "Chez!! Jonah pooped in his underwear!"

Jonah: saying something completely unintelligible.
Me: Jonah, you need to speak more clearly, I can't understand you.
Jonah: I SAID I want cookie crisp for breakfast (in completely perfect English).

Carter: "I want my dessert RIGHT NOW!"
Me: "Is that how you talk to me?"
Carter: "Chez, may I please have my dessert now"
Me: "of course you can!"
Carter: "Thank you Chez"

Courtney: "Carter, come here so I can smash this balloon on your head!"
Carter: "OKAY CORK!"

Courtney to Carter: "Carter, you color every other stripe red and leave the other one white. There are 13 because there were 13 original colonies." (that girl is seriously smart).