Harry Potter Festival

Question: What's better than reading Harry Potter books?  

Answer:  Attending a Harry Potter Festival with almost 10,000 fellow HP fans!

A couple of weeks ago, we drove to Roanoke for the city's first annual Harry Potter Festival.  We gave Luke festival tickets for his birthday, and we were excited to see what the day would bring.  Luke wore his Harry Potter costume and fit right in with the many, many other HP characters that filled the streets of downtown Roanoke for the festival.  

First, we attended a Quidditch match at the high school.  The two oldest Quidditch teams in the country competed (and yes, this is a real thing!).  Although there were no wizards flying around on brooms, the game was fast paced and exciting, and there was even a real live golden snitch!  We all enjoyed watching the Quidditch tournament, and had front row seats to see all the action:

 

Next, we ventured to the main festival area, which contained rows of vendors selling Harry Potter souvenirs, decorated booths, and food trucks with special treats.  Our favorites were the Butterbeer cupcakes- Yum!

She surely looks fierce!

Many of the buildings downtown transformed into familiar places from the HP books, and the City Market building became the famous Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  Festival goers lined up to take their turn with the sorting hat.  This clever, enchanted object actually speaks, and sorts young wizards and witches into their proper Hogwarts houses.   Leah was named a Gryffindor and was thrilled!   

The Taubman Museum of Art had music and crafts for children, and the kids made wands, played in the Art Venture interactive gallery, and explored the different stations there.  I didn't take a single picture here... I guess we were having too much fun!

Next, we stumbled upon the highlight of the day: the downtown Pinball Museum, which had turned into Azkaban (the island prison for dangerous witches and wizards).  The museum had a hefty admission fee, and markets itself as "an interactive museum dedicated to the science and history of pinball".  In all actuality, it is a GIANT room filled with over 50 pinball machines made from the 1930's to 2014, and admission allows visitors to play unlimited pinball games on all of the machines.   We had decided just to take a peek, but somehow we were allowed into the museum for free (due to me asking if our NC science museum membership would be considered for reciprocity): 

I bet J.K. Rowling would love seeing Harry Potter play pinball!

Once we were inside the Pinball museum, the rest of the Harry Potter festival was history!  I couldn't tear my gang away from the dozens of pinball machines, and even Daddy was in his element: 

  It actually was perfect timing, because by this point in the afternoon, the festival was very crowded and we were done trying to weave our way through wall to wall people in the streets.  The Pinball Museum was such a serendipitous find, and a great finale to our day of Harry Potter themed fun!  

Life Lately: May Edition

It's my very favorite time of year.  May is gorgeous in the south.  We are outside all the time... it's not too hot or buggy yet... and there are so many fun outdoor activities that we enjoy.  This weekend was full of adorable events, including a birthday party on a nearby farm.  It was the perfect day, and the farm was bucolic and lovely.  The kids played lawn games, petted animals, and went on a hayride:

Each child went horseback riding as part of the party, too, and this was a huge highlight for L&L:

There was fried chicken, watermelon, and lemonade... country music, gingham, and picnic tables... and cowboy hats and bandanas for all.  What a great way to spend an afternoon with friends, enjoying life's simple pleasures!

This weekend also included the Go Far Fun Run and 5K that the kids have been training for at their school this spring.  Over 200 students and parents from Oak Ridge Elementary participated in the event (there were 3,500+ total runners among the various schools and organizations!), and it was Luke and Leah's first official race.  We ran with many other families who are friends of ours, and this was such a wonderful community event, with teachers who served as dedicated coaches, parents who ran with the children weekly and were role models, and peers who encouraged each other to be active and achieve their goals. 

Look who is holding the flag!  

Oak Ridge Elementary Fun Run participants!

Peanut and I did the 1 mile Fun Run, and Leah ran the whole thing!  She was cute and funny, and kept telling me, "Mommy, DROP BACK!  I don't NEED YOU!" 

Giving a high five to her fans!  

The boys ran the 5K, and Luke amazed us with his race results and perseverance.  He finished the race in under 30 minutes (and beat my 5K time from my race a few years ago!).  We are so proud of our Bubbie! 

Coming down the home stretch!

Oak Ridge Elementary 5K Team

Luke's best friend, Aiden, also ran in the race, and I snapped an adorable picture of these two buddies at the starting line:

After the race, there were treats and medals for our runners.  It was such a positive experience that Luke is already asking to run another race with Mark in the fall!

We had just enough time to come home, eat lunch, and shower before we scooted off to Luke's piano recital on Saturday afternoon.  He played 6 pieces in the recital (!!) and Luke's teacher does a wonderful job making her students feel like rock stars during their performances.  They played on a gorgeous 7-foot Steinway, and the stage had beautiful lighting and effects.  The recital was live streamed so that friends and family all over the country/world could watch, and Luke was amazing.  His recital selections included 2 Star Wars anthems, a classical music piece, a medley of pentascales from Chopin, Bach, & Handel, and a popular kids' song.  

Luke's favorite part of each recital is the food reception afterward.  Aiden also was in the same recital (which is the icing on the cake!), and these 2 runners sure clean up well, don't they?

We've also had a lot of luck fishing over the past few weekends, which seems fitting to share in this blog post about our May activities.  I post fishing pictures every spring, but the lake is my favorite thing in our neighborhood and it remains an important part of our "cute country" life.  Here are some of our recent catches:

Mimi and Leah with her large mouthed bass!

And Daddy's teeny tiny fish...

I kind of adore this Daddy/Daughter photo...

We kindly tell Mark that his fish just "look small" because he is so big and tall:

See, there's proof that even I am "outdoorsy"!  Just don't ask me to actually touch the fish once I catch it....

Love this little boy!

This is the life!

Precious pink bows.

That's a little recap of Life Lately.  Happy May to everyone! 

Birthday Celebrations

Luke's birthday celebrations ended up being pieced together this year due to Tummy Trouble 2017, but I am pretty sure that he came out ahead, as his family parties spanned the course of several weeks and included gifts and treats each time!  Grandpa was here over Spring Break and took care of Winnie while we were at LegoLand, so Luke began his birthday festivities then, and even helped to pick out his special gift of a HUGE Pokemon boxed set and bonus trading cards:

Luke has also been asking for a drone, and this was the expression on his face when he realized that Grandpa got him one for his birthday!  

Priceless!

Grandpa also surprised Luke with a cake, and it was a great kick off to Luke's birthday month!

The day after Luke's birthday, he was feeling well enough to open some presents, and Winnie made sure to assume her role as "assistant" to the birthday boy, sitting right under his chair:

HP fans will appreciate this golden snitch for Luke's next Quidditch match! 

There were lots of Harry Potter presents this year!

Never enough Pokemon cards!

Nine candles for our big boy!

Bean and Poppy came last weekend with another pile of birthday presents for Luke, including this very special one!   Luke has outgrown his bike, and has upgraded to this fancy 10+ speed bike with hand brakes!

Luke's birthday dinner request was to go to Red Lobster.  He must have seen a commercial/ad for Lobster Fest and this concept amazed him.  We were finally able to reschedule Luke's celebratory dinner for Friday night, and it did not disappoint!  Luke ordered the "Ultimate Feast", which includes 2 types of shrimp, snow crab legs, and lobster.  In true Luke fashion, he tackled that plate with gusto, and this photo gives you an idea of how much food this little boy can consume in one sitting!  

It was a great month of birthday fun, and one that we will surely not forget!