Luna Lovegood

Dear Lily and Evie,  this post may seem a bit silly at first, but in true "your mother" fashion I have a point, and its a good one.

I have spent the past 4 months immersed in the Harry Potter world.  It has been a blast and such a fun and epic story.  The farther I got into the story, there was one character who just always stood out to me.  That was Luna Lovegood.  She wasn't the star, or one of the epic 3.  She had relatively few scenes all things considered, she was a supporting role.  And yet, I LOVED HER.  I loved her so much that when I had the chance to pick ANY character's wand to own it was hers I wanted.  I could have had Harry Potter's or Hermiones, shoot, I could have owned the Elder Wand, but I wanted Lunas.

Here's why.....

When Luna is introduced she is described much like this picture below. She was eccentric, strange, wore earrings and glasses that were to big for her face.  Her clothes usually had flowers on them and they were all sorts of mismatched.  She was described by many students as Loony Lovegood.  Nobody actually knew her....they just assumed.....and judged.  But Harry chooses to be kind to her and discovers that under all of that eccentricity lies a special being who is simply unfettered by social norms.  She is gentle and kind, aware that she is considered odd, yet completely comfortable in her own skin.

In one of the later books we are introduced to a magical creature called a Thestral. It's described as a type of reptilian horse.  Interesting thing about these creatures is that only people who have witnessed death can actually see them.  To all others they appear invisible.  Harry sees them because he witnessed his mother dying.  None of his immediate friends can see them.....they think he is crazy, but not Luna.  Luna loves the Thestrals, and sees them beautifully clearly because she, like Harry, witnessed her own mother's death.  Their exchange in this scene is so perfectly telling:

Harry asks Luna, "What are they?" and she replies, 

"They are called Thestrals. They're quite gentle, really, 

but people avoid them because they are a bit........different."

Like her, people judge before knowing and assume before caring.  Her beauty radiates through this scene and her simple authentic understanding is something I want you to understand.

The next scene that stands out to me is this one below.  Harry has just witnessed another death of a very important person in his life.  At this point in the story he is being watched, judged, called a liar, and berrated for things he has done.  No one has given him comfort, no one has offered him humanity.  He happens upon Luna as she is walking through the quiet corridors of Hogwarts searching for her things that people have taken and hidden from her.  Here she is being bullied and yet, with a smile on her face she is simply looking around knowing that your stuff comes back in the most unexpected ways.  Harry interrupts her and without hesitation she reaches out to him, grabs his hand and simply tells him, "Harry I'm sorry for your loss, that must have been very hard for you." Her kindness is overwhelming for Harry.  She resumes her search with Harry next to her.  Never once was she deterred by mean people.  She remained true to herself and always kind. 

Luna was a character we all should strive to be a little more like.  She saw the beauty in the mundane.  She saw the hero in the underdog.  She helped Harry solve more than one problem and treated even the lowliest of characters with respect.  She was humble and even amidst war, fear and danger remained ever kind and gentle. Her perspective on the world is what made her great and we could learn a lot from her story.

I love you

Mom

Ticket to Hogwarts

I will admit it.......I was probably one of the last people to jump on the bandwagon and read all of the Harry Potter Series.  4 months ago when I solidified plans with Grandma Lynn to make this trip happen one of the biggest highlights was going to be a trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Now Niki is fully read up and studied on all things Hogwarts.  She had been to the World before, owned a wand and quite honestly grew up with the stories.  There was NO WAY that I was going to show up to Hogwarts clueless about the details.  So I borrowed the big box of books from my girlfriend and set myself a schedule to read over 4000 pages of HP before October.  It was NO easy feat and as I wrestled with the last 3 900 page books, I had to find my IRONMAN determination.  Life has been so busy!  Reading time is hard to find a lot of.

I DID IT....and not only did I finish the books, but with all of Bob's travel, I was able to watch all movies in between editing pictures and Momming.  Nevermind that I watched the last 2 movies on the plane out to Florida.  I showed up prepared and I am SO GLAD I did.

I thoroughly enjoyed my 4 months spent immersed in Hogwarts.  What a great story, what an EPIC adventure.  So much in those books.  So much greatness, and boldness, and fun.  

So Monday of our trip, we headed to Diagon Alley to catch the Hogwart's Express to Hogwarts.  Before heading through the "Wall,"  we stopped for a picture with the Knight Bus.  I was so excited in this picture.....Universal Studios made it all.....even a Grimmauld Place with a peaking Kreacher!  

Upon entering Diagon Alley, our first stop was Ollivander's Wand Shop.  That is the one big thing that I wanted, a wand from Ollivanders.

Before entering the shop for purchasing, we went to a show where we met The Wandmaker himself and watched as a little girl was magically matched with a wand.  Oh how I wish I had been chosen, but then realized I was a 35 year old woman who didn't look nearly as cute!

I bought my interactive wand (Luna's Wand) and we moved along through the town.

YES, there was a fire breathing dragon sitting up top of Gringotts Bank.  It was INCREDIBLE and such a fun part of the story.  That bank was exactly like the movie and housed the amazing Escape from Gringotts ride which was quite honestly my favorite of the day.  So glad I knew the story!

Following the ride Niki and I did a wee bit o magic ourselves using our wands and the interactive map of magic.  Throughout the town there are places where you can actually do a certain spell and something happens.  In this pic we were turning on lights in the tower.....

Here we were making an umbrella rain......

\

Here we were trying to make a bird fly out of its cage (I need more practice here)....

And here we were down in Knockturn Alley working to make the heads stop singing annoying little songs!

In these two, Niki and I were practicing "Aguamenti!" which makes water jump out of the fountain and spray people.  So fun!

Nikki and I steered into this and were told by a few of the smaller kids that we needed to "wait our turn."  Rules, Rules.....  We had a blast playing in Diagon Alley.

Next stop was Hogwarts and we got had to take the Hogwarts Express.  I made it through the wall the first time and ended up on platform 9 3/4.  It was all so magical and besides the enormous crowds of people you felt like you were there and part of the story.

We arrived in Hogsmeade and meandered our way up through the snowy buildings to find the school.

And it was everything it should be!  Hogwarts complete with amazing ride, classrooms, Dumbledore's office, the greenhouse and the hallways.  What an amazing day and I cannot WAIT to go back when my girls are older!

We spent the rest of our day catching some of the big roller coasters in Universal Studios.  It was hard to leave Hogwarts, but the Jurassic Park Ride, The Hulk Ride, and King Kong made up for it.  We finished the day on a water ride.  Disney water rides get you sprinkled, Universal rides get you SOAKED.  We were drenched.  After that ride we cashed in, went out for some not pizza food and called it an early night.  What a trip it had been.........and we aren't kids anymore!

One for  the record books.  Having adventures and making memories!

Ladies Take Disney

Guys....I LOVE Disney.  I do.  It really is a good thing that I do not reside in any Disney based state because it would be a second home.  Its magical and the absolute epitome of escapism.  I cannot tell you how excited I was to be headed out on this adult only ladies trip to Disney.  If you have never done Disney WITHOUT kids.....trust me....you are missing stuff!

Grandma Lynn pulled out all the stops to make this weekend super magical.  We stayed at the beautiful, peaceful and spectacular Animal Kingdom Lodge and even our shower wall captured the magic!

I arrived on Thursday and that evening we experienced the African cuisine of Jiko.  What a wonderful evening.  We drank wine, talked and savored every bite.  Our dinner lasted 3 hours!  Could not have been better.

Friday was a chill morning followed by a little workout and a massage.  Lynn and I had an amazing morning........man it was good.

We picked Niki up at the airport, strapped on our Disney Magic Bands and headed to the Magic Kingdom for the Not So Scary Halloween Party!

I cannot remember going to Disney in October and the Fall decorations were spectacular.  The entire park was filled with costumes, color, and fun.  We rode all the big rides and then headed over to Belle's castle for a fancy schmancy dinner with the Beast.

We got ourselves a glass of wine and immersed ourselves in Beauty and the Beast.....

We even tried the Grey Stuff!  It was delicious!

As it started to get dark the party started!  Candy everywhere, Halloween shows and the spooktakular "Boo to YOU!" parade.

BOO TO YOU, and BOO TO YOU, and BOO TO YOU......HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  Its been on repeat in my head....

We had a blast and closed down the park at midnight with the ever impressive Disney Fireworks!  They nail it....every time!

We raced home and slept fast because our next day was Animal Kingdom.  We had to be there right when the park opened to race ourselves over to Pandora so that we could ride a Banshee!  After the wild success of Avatar, Disney added the amazing world of Pandora and it is THE SPOT.  Lines can be upwards of 4 hours!  So we hauled ourselves over to the entrance and managed to have only a 45 minute wait.  YES!

Last June Lily and Grandpa rode a Banshee and she hasn't stopped talking about it since.  IT WAS INCREDIBLE.

It was a 3-D ride on an Avatar Banshee and it was amazing. It literally breathed under your legs......it was intense......and thrilling.....and almost tear inspiring.  Highlight of my trip for sure.  I stepped off that ride going, WOW technology is amazing....and HOLY MOSES......my daughter is a bad ass!  That was crazy intense and she rode it!  Go Lily!

We spent the rest of the day exploring the kingdom, riding around Everest a few times, watching shows, dancing (so fun) and getting wet on the Kali River Rapids.

We also got to be honorary bugs......that's always fun!

Our day was amazing, but long, and once again we closed the park down.

Day 3 was Epcot and a chance to participate in the Food and Wine Festival.  I really looked forward to Epcot because it isn't really a big place for little kids.  You normally do Epcot for a couple hours and then jump parks, but not this time!

Niki and I rode Mission Space and then we added Grandma to the Dinosaur ride (dude that was scary), and the test track (that was cool!).  The last 2 rides I had never been on so it was fun to do something for the first time!

Then......we ate.  Our entire afternoon and evening can be summed up with, we were either eating or drinking.  The whole DAY!

If you ever want to know what gluttony feels like.....I CAN TELL YOU!  We set out to attempt to eat at all countries including the added ones and MAN........we ate too much.  By the end of the night we were all so uncomfortable and the thought of food was becoming sickening.  So much food.

We made it through all the countries, but just couldn't finish the extra added booths......we admitted our victory....and defeat and practically rolled to our bus and plopped into bed.

The Food and Wine Festival was a blast and I still contend that we should have stopped eating in France when we had the spectacularly amazing Creme Brulee!