Library Time

Two weeks ago on Monday for Family Home Evening we went to the library played in the front yard and then went to Spanish story time. Autumn had so much fun. She is so imaginative and so self entertained. She really doesn't need toys or anything to be happily playing. She and her pretend friends were having races along the sidewalks. Autumn was playing so hard with her pretend friends that she was sweaty when we went in the library.

Prairie is getting quite the little tag along. She is old enough and walking well enough that she wants to do what her sister is doing and is getting better at grabbing stuff back when it is taken from her. It is so fun to have our two girls and watch them develop a relationship together. I sometimes they had less fun together when it was time to go to bed. We are having problems getting them to stop talking to each other and just lay down long enough to stay asleep. Autumn will get creative because she knows she isn't supposed to get out of bed, so she will find toys in her room like this flag that is long enough that when she stands on the end of her bed she can reach Prairie's crib, so they find ways to play with each other. I have also Prairie throwing stuffed animals out of her bed and then Autumn throws them back in and both of them giggling. It is really fun to hear them laughing together. We have three bedrooms and I could always move them to separate bedrooms, but I like them sharing, and I like them laughing and having that bonding time together at night.

Autumn playing with the feather that she found at the library

The race begins and Autumn has to run fast or her "friend" might catch up with her

Here is Autumn winning the race once again against her imaginary friend

Prairie and Papi playing together in the library lawn

Ben and Prairie looking at books together

Prairie LOVES books

Autumn and Prairie playing so well together. They had been back in their bedroom playing together and next thing I know Autumn comes out to the front room pushing Prairie in the stroller, and Prairie thoroughly enjoying it

Harry Potter Book 7

Harry Potter (Prairie), Mad-Eye Moody (Ben), Tonks (Emily) and Dobey (Autumn)

Yesterday we got ready to usher in the 7th book of Harry Potter. Our Library was having a big party with activities, costume contest, etc. For weeks we have been talking about the costumes we were going to wear for the release of book 7. We had so much fun going to the library for the release, we had a such a good time as a family. Autumn was really sad when it was over, and she was really good natured about her costume.

Ben is Mad-Eye Moody and we actually wrapped his one leg with cardboard and then covered the cardboard with wood-grained contact paper to make it look like he had a wood leg with a claw foot. He also had his crazy eye patch that he got from a local party store. I was Nymphadora Tonks, and made my t-shirt which have to have read book 6 to understand.

Autumn crying after we put her skull cap on because we accidentally pulled her hair pretty badly

Autumn was a house elf. she was a skull cap and elf ears and a pillowcase to look like a House elf. Prairie was Harry Potter right after his parents were killed. I made a t-shirt for her that said "I'm a Godric's Hollow kid" because that is where he was living when his parents were killed. Ben found a pair of plastic harry potter glasses with no frames for less than a dollar for Prairie, and she LOVED wearing them. When we put them on she would just do this silly cheesey grin.

Prairie Potter wearing her glasses and eating dinner

Prairie trying on the house elf ears

Autumn as Dobey the hose elf

little Prairie Potter walking around with a wand at the library festivities

Autumn making a wand at the library party

Mad-Eye walking around with young Harry Potter at the library

After we were done with the festivities at the Library, we took our girls home got them ready for bed and my cousin and his wife came over to babysit while Ben and I went to Barnes and Nobles for their festivities and to pick up our book at midnight. We went to Barnes and Nobles an hour before they opened yesterday morning and waited in line to get a wristband to get our book that evening, so we would have to wait as long at night. They had it setup in groups of 50. We weren't in the first group of 50, but in the next group, BB. We picked up a wristband for my sister too.

We did some of the activities at the store met up with my sister Jennie, oops I mean Hermione at the store. Then we waited outside, Jennie and I were reading some more so that we were really ready for book 7. We were really near the line for BB, so we were some of the first to get our books for BB. It was so exciting and so much fun.

We got our books and met outside and Ben got a picture of me and jennie holding our new books. Our receipt said that we paid at 12:10. I was really pleased, we got it so soon. Then a guy approached us and asked if either of us would sell our book for $100, and we both immediately responded no. Then Ben and I walked back to our van and I got hold our book. We had parked behind the store, so we had to pass hundreds of people in line and I could just see them all looking at our book that I was carrying, I felt like a celebrity.

After book 6 Ben was determined to read book 7 aloud together, because he says he enjoys the books more when he reads them with me. We have really enjoyed so far reading together, we are only worried that we are going to hear something about the book, and we don't want any spoilers.

So that was our Harry Potter friday night.

Mad-Eye and Hermione (Jennie) in the store after midnight in line for the registers

Hermione and Tonks with their books after being offered $100 for the book

Weinheimer Reunion

Janardan, Nick, Kyle, Russ, Emily, Prairie and Laura all done mini golfing

This past week has been pretty packed. My dad came into town for 9 days for the annual Weinheimer reunion at Bear Trap Lodge up in Big Cottonwood canyon near Solitude ski resort. I actually don't have that many pictures from the actually reunion at the cabin, but more pictures from the pre and post activities with my uncle Kyle and cousin Nick.

Autumn refused to take a picture with the rest of us like usual

I thought a fun family activity would be miniature golfing, I thought Autumn would be old enough to enjoy it, I was wrong. She putted one hole and then told me that she was all done. I was able to get her into specific holes where you would drop your ball through a hole and it would come out somewhere else, she thought was pretty cool. Janardan kicked butt like usual.

Ben took the picture, so here is a picture of Ben mini golfing too

I spent a lot of time in the couple of weeks preceding the reunion to make matching outfits for me, my girls and their dolls, and Jennie made her outfit. I spent soooo much time sewing these outfits and I didn't even get a picture of us all wearing them. I guess we will have to wear them again and get a picture taken. We looked pretty stunning.

I was going to take my girls in the hot tub, but we couldn't get it too cool down and 109 was too hot for me let alone my girls, so Jennie took them to the bathtub and they had a lot of fun

Prairie in the past week, like since last tuesday has turned into a walking baby. When my dad first arrived she was still scooting and crawling just as much if not more than walking, now she is almost entirely walking. It makes her seem so much older. I had so much fun taking her to the backyard today because she walked most of the time and didn't get nearly as dirty.

Autumn snuggling with Nick while he played card games

Autumn had a blast at the cabin. I have cousins ranging in age from 24 to 3 years old. Autumn is slightly older than my youngest cousin, and Autumn really like interacting with older kids, so she had a lot of fun. One night I went up to our room to put Prairie to bed and she was hanging out with two of my guy cousins ages 15 and 13, and I think all of them were having a good time. Autumn didn't want to leave the cabin.

Waiting with Jared and Malloree for the rain to let up so that we can go frolfing

Ben and I had good time we both had opportunities to go out and play frisbee golf on a course on the same mountain as solitude ski runs. You actually take the ski lift up and then play the course all the way down the mountain. The day I went we had an incredible time, the day Ben went, no one seemed that enthused because they spent so much time looking for lost frisbees.

Ben, Emily, Nick and Janardan at the Llama fest with our matching t-shirts

When the reunion was over before Kyle and Nick headed back home, me and Nick really wanted to go to the Llama fest. We especially wanted t-shirts. I guess the last thing that Malloree (Kyle's daughter) said to her dad before she left at the airport was to get her a llama fest t-shirt too. So we did the llama fest thing and then finally relaxed until 9:30 everyone except my dad decided to go to a 10:20 showing of Live Free Die Hard, then the reunion time was officially over and I was officially really tired and now really ready to go to bed at good times again.

Kyle, Russ, Autumn and Emily all relaxing at Emily's apartment after all the festivities

I am now furiously trying to finishing rereading all 6 Harry Potter Books for midnight on Friday and getting my costume ready for all the Harry Potter festivities, get ready for pictures later this week on that one.

Cover of the American special edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Portraits

I gave Ben his birthday present early because it would be useful for his new job, but I still wanted to give him something for his birthday. I had a coupon that expired on his birthday to get portraits done at Kiddie Kandids, and you got a 8x12 print out absolutely free. I thought that sounded pretty good so I took the girls in their Argentine soccer jerseys and here are some of the pictures that they took. I was really pleased especially because I got a really nice printout with 4 of the pictures without paying anything.