H_and_P_Feather

Potter Cast in NJ! Check it out...

with Melissa

The Gang

We had such a great time. Thanks for coming out Potter Cast peeps. We loved every minute of it. The highlight of the trip however, was the success we had in finding a Sirius Black tee at Hot Topic.

Now A's HP life is complete! Thank goodness...

Let not your hearts be troubled

YKC!

The Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic family guide

Okay, it is rare that I do this sort of thing, but I read this excerpt from a book regarding HP and I was so excited to read this sentence

"If you’ve grounded your children in their faith, they’ll read the book through with the eyes of their beliefs — the beliefs you’ve instilled in them."

that I linked to the entire article.

I hope you enjoy it! Finally, someone who thinks that it is possible to teach our children critical thinking skills that will allow them to read a FICTIONAL story without going to the DARK SIDE.

-end of rant here!

Let not your hearts be troubled

YKC!

And so begins another great summer play adventure...this year we will be tackling Peter Pan. Today was our first day of rehearsal and we are well on our way to another great show, I do believe. The kids in our group work so hard! I'm proud of them.

I so love the way the Performing arts encourages kids' creativity. My girls get so wrapped up in what they are doing and they love every aspect of a show. They want to help with costumes, staging, set design and acting. Just like me when I was their age...Yet another great family affair! My youngest is now talking about being an editor one day. It is so interesting to me how the Performing arts and creative writing are so intertwined. Imagination rocks!

Maybe I'll even be able to get a couple pictures of them in costume so you can see all the fun. Thinking of you Davison's! We miss you muchly xxoo!

Let not your hearts be troubled

YKC!!



Sorry for the delay...I was dead tired last night after spending a great evening with friends having dinner because one activity per day just isn't enough :) And now - onto some pics




Our partners in crime
Michele, Michele & Gillian
(hope I spelled them all right!)


So we met these three first off and had a great time swapping stories. Michele (white shirt) got to ask JK a question at Radio City last summer and on the night that we were there! What are the odds??? Hers was the one asking "What would Hermione see in the Mirror of Erised?" Have a great time at Prophecy, ladies...I am so jealous!!! Please send me some pics. It was great to meet you.





All the early-birds awaiting


You can't really see all the homemade shirts in this pic but they were super! Things started to get just a little crazy about this time. Lots of talking & laughing; story-sharing and theory-comparing; and tons of picture-taking. It was so much fun. If you weren't here yet, you missed some great fun :)






Emerson and Ben - the reason for all the madness!


The Muggleboys gave a wonderful presentation. They were funny and down-to-earth, all at the same time. It looks like fame has not yet gone to their heads. We all laughed some and groaned some. A really appreciated when Ben told her that she had asked a "great question". Thanks for the memories guys and best of luck in all you do!




Another great family activity. Life is great when you have super people to share it with and the opportunity to meet more along the way...


If anyone wants pics or some of the video that R took at the event, leave me a note and I'll get it out to you.



Let not your hearts be troubled

Looking through the window at Providence Library!!!



Okay, what else do I have to say???!!! Awesome fun begins our HP Summer Madness :) We drove on Sunday, grabbed a hotel and got to the library by 8:30 Monday morning - the bus was scheduled to arrive at 10. There was not a soul to be found which scared the life out of me....even more so when I went to the door and read a little sign that said "reservations for the bus - call this number"!



Setting aside my panic, I assured the girls that it would all work out and so it did! Thanks to these lovely ladies at the Providence library, who got us all set up.








We had a great morning, pouring rain not withstanding! More pictures to follow in subsequent updates - bus pics and character costuming on the horizon. (I didn't want to create a loading nightmare!!!)



Remember there is nothing more fun than spending time with those you love doing something you enjoy...I am so blessed!!!

YKC!

So, do you think if I organize a petition, Warner Bros. would be willing to show the HP movie on my actual Birthday of July 7th, instead of waiting until the 11th? I mean, they seem to be doing all sorts of crazy things with dates these days...

And for all the grownups that have to work, that is kinda a bummer....will there be a midnight showing?! If so, who will be able to go during the middle of a work week?! Sheesh!!!

Hollywood...

Let not your hearts be troubled

Abe Lincoln abounds!

YKC!



So, we had a great Memorial Day Celebration - good friends, good food! Lots and lots of fun. Definately missed were the friends hailing from NC - Mother we missed you - xxoo! Many great recitations of famous American speeches. Kudos to Steph, Oivia and Hope for winning in their respective age categories. Special mention to my personal fav: Abe & Abe! Don't they just look cute?!



Oh, and the last bit of news....I'm now the proud owner of a special "Blue-Ribbon" award winning jello salad recipe! How was I to know that Grandma M, hailing from West Virgina (where Jello Salad is it's own food group!), was going to be one of the judges?!



Hope you had a fun and restful day with those you love!



Let not your hearts be troubled

YKC!

So, amidst all this school stuff and relative hectic living of my life, my dear friend came for a visit all the way from Florida. I had a wonderful time, as did the girls and we spent a lot of time together writing and reading. She was one of my fav editors from college :)

Now, if only the Mister and small tykes (as in age, not size!) could come around the next time, I think everyone would be satisfied! Especially considering that we have proven that grown women with children are not capable of consuming too much alcohol in one sitting without going to bed! LOL We are a sad bunch :)

So, LynnE, I hope that you are doing better in the writing of your material than I am in the reading of it....although I did finally manage to download it directly into the computer so I don't have to be online to read! LOL Baby steps I think...

Let not your hearts be troubled

YKC!



You know, I really think that I'm too old for finals and I should be exempt :) Age has to count for some things!! I've already done this particular life experience and would prefer to pass it by this time...but alas - why can't they just let you take the class and assume that since you are now a grown-up you are capable of learning the material?!



Okay, enough of that!



The trivia answer BTW, which is very late (yes, I know!) is St. Paul. He was the last "official" disciple taught by Christ directly because that is who appeared to him on the road to Damascus. No one gets dinner! LOL



The fanfiction therefore is in a momentary holding pattern - although that is actually the fault of my beta and not currently myself. Nothing like a looming fall class schedule to light a fire under you to actually finish what you have started!!! Thankfully the muse has been cooperative and I've made some headway with the actual story line.



Let not your hearts be troubled

YKC!

I've got one word for you.....

SCHOOL

I'm a little overwealmed, but hey - here's the Catholic trivia for the day: Who was the last actual disciple of Jesus Christ?

If you answer correctly, dinner is on me :)

Answer to be posted tomorrow, along with other stuff if I can manage to unhinge my brain long enough to think. These days I leave the house at 7:30 and return at 10:30 or so...that's over twelve hours of brain freeze!

Let not your hearts be troubled

YKC!



So on Thursday of our fantabulous vacation, we headed down to the Concord area to visit with friends of the family. We had a great visit and got to check out some NASCAR related places! I was in my glory!!!



We first went to DEI or Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. I believe that I am the biggest Dale fan ever to walk the face of the earth....well, probably not, but he was my favorite driver!!! And so, I did truly cry when we went into the showroom. I just couldn't help it. I really do miss him - the sport has never been the same since. I won't get into that rant, but suffice it to say that I'm holding out hope for Joey Logano and will not be watching NASCAR again until he makes his big debut!



Speaking of Joey....he's got an excellent website Joey Logano Racing you should go check out! He's 2 for 2 in his NASCAR West & East division debutes. I'm holding out for him to make a burst onto the Nextel Scene and then I will truly start to watch again.



Thursday evening we went ice skating - yes, ICE skating in North Carolina! We had a blast. I showed off to the girls and they were green with envy as I did fancy spins all over the ice! LOL We went to Extreme Ice where we received the VIP treatment and tour of the facility! Thanks Mr. Tom and Miss Debbie - we had a great stay! And to think we had to go all that way, just to see Sal and Louise! LOL



On Friday we headed back over to Extreme Ice and got to watch Danielle do a little practicing of her own. What a beautiful facility! Good luck Danielle, hope Champions on Ice went great! We were thinking of you!



Next we headed over to Joe Gibbs Racing where we had another VIP tour, visiting both the Nextel and Bush shops. It was great fun! I especially enjoyed waving to all the tourists looking out of the Viewing Window at the Nextel shop....I was down on the shop floor standing between all the cars!!! Way too cool for this lifetime fan :) Got some special pics at the Bush shop with the Girls but those are top secret! Email me directly if you want to see them.



Finally we left our gracious hosts and headed down to see Mother of Eight and her brood near Belmont Abbey! But I told you all about that one already....



Let not your hearts be troubled

YKC!

Okay, so it's been *ages* since I have written.... have you missed me?

Like with everything in my life, when things get underway, they happen very quickly! I'm going to be returning to school for my Master's beginning tomorrow! (see what I mean - not a lot of lag time from one thing to another!)

I will be attending Holy Apostles College, here in CT. I'm really excited about it! I hope to finish in 2 years. We'll see what those two years hold.

Needless to say, I haven't finished with my trip updates so I will try to get those taken care of real quick!

Let not your hearts be troubled

Current Mood:

excited

YKC!



Sorry to take so long to update, but I've been inundated with HP trailer activities and emergency book-buying extravaganzas! LOL



The following day in Virginia we went to the Botanical Gardens just outside Richmond. I'm not taking the time to find the link because really, it was just a bunch of flowers - but the facility had a kids scavenger hunt and the girls all participated and each received a button in the end. It was nice.



We went to their tea room for tea around 3 pm only it ended up being a restaurant - I was highly disappointed by that! If it really was a tea house, I would have put up the link! n LOL



Then we headed out to the good-ole Commissary at which I compared prices and then decided that I would be the one to cook a nice dinner as a thank you for putting us up for a few days. We had a great Chicken bruschetta dish. It was good! It's nice to actually cook once in a while.



Otherwise we hung out and watched a neat movie called The Lake House And that summarizes our 3rd day!



Let not your hearts be troubled

YKC!



So - backing up again - on the 2nd day of our vacation we landed in Chester, Virginia. Chester is a very hospitable place just south of Richmond and just north of Ft. Lee. We had an easy drive of it, listening to XM radio (they have a station devoted just to Christian Pop music! Awesome. #32 - The Message) & reading aloud from HP #3 (the oldest's favorite).



Upon arrival, we headed out to Old Blandford Church Trust me when I tell you that you have *never* seen stained glass windows until you have seen the Tiffany windows in this church. Please check the link! You will be happy you did!



After that, we headed over to St. Petersburg National Battlefield and read about the siege on St. Petersburg. I daresay that my oldest is becoming more like her mom - reading all those little plaques and asking lots of great questions...or she was pulling my leg! Her sister however, was having too much fun running around with her girlfriend! We had a nice walk and headed on out just as it was clouding up.



Pizza for dinner and great company. The beginning of a great trip! :)



Let not your hearts be troubled

YKC!



Yes, I do realize that I have skipped posts #2 and #3, but we must always make our pregnant friends happy :)



Okay, so I have to skip ahead a bit to talk about my stay in NC! The 2nd place I stayed was just around the corner from Belmont Abbey College - talk about beautiful!!! Both the campus and my friend's house!



Before I get into that however, I do have to prod my dear friend, Mother of Eight - hereafter known as Mother, to see if she actually read my reply to her comment - did ya???? Huh??? Huh???? did ya??????



I think not! LOL And for that reason I will summarize what I so eleoquantly wrote there: perhaps you should consider a job as a Private Investigator. I am very certain that #1 of 8 will one day be concerned with your stealth capacity to find things on the Internet :) Yikes! I know I am! LOL



So let's see, what to say about this part of the trip.....



I think I ate more food during those three days than I have in the past three months! Mother & #2 of 8 made sure that we were well fed. Loved the Salmon....and what was that recipe for that dressing you were craving anyway??? And here's a burning question that I've been considering since I left - since you made the stew on the stove and not in a crockpot did you have it cooking on low all morning?? I can't imagine you leaving the house with an appliance running!



I had a fun time going to the Homeschool Conference that the college was hosting for the weekend. I bought some great t-shirts from two guys that a have a great website CATgear as in CATholic Gear. I got to visit with my long lost friend KP.....gads, I miss her bunches too! Spent more money buying books for the ladies from Bethlehem Books. Nice to find some really great quality children's literature.



Finally I really must express my disappointment that there was absolutely NO chant at the Sunday Mass! :( I guess I got all fired up because I thought all monks did chant....perhaps next time! (And I think there will be a next time since the ladies are all now looking to Belmont Abbey as their #1 choice for college)



I think that covers it. Oh, wait...one more question -

Got Monks?

Let not your hearts be troubled

P.S.(Tell Dad of 8 that I am using this journal entry for advertising!)

YKC!

Here's the fastest vacation post ever done! LOL

Left after a fantastic evening of entertainment by Daughter #2's Monthly drama club at the Bushnell in Hartford (talk about swanky!) What an awesome job everyone did!!!! Kudos to Erinrhys for an outstanding performance. Love ya - xxoo!

If you are interested in a great educational and FUN program, check out Performing Arts Youth Collective for their summer & fall schedule. Well worth every cent!

Headed down south and stopped at a Hampton Inn just at the end of the NJ Tpke. First night, great sleep.....nothing else to report....other than eating breakfast with a group of Army soldiers that Daughter #2 insisted must know her friend's Dad! It's a big Army, honey :)

Let not your hearts be troubled