Summer Vacation

Spring Disneyland trip 2007



I spent my 50th birthday at Disneyland last year-at the very end of Disneyland's 50th birthday celebration. I'll be there for my 51st birthday this year!



The three musketeers



Last year's summer Disneyland trip

We're heading out tomorrow for California...Disneyland, of course and the beach. Amy is done with work, junior high starts next week, we take Amy to BYU for orientation next Wednesday, and hopefully work picks up and we get REALLY BUSY. So this is the last hurrah for the summer. David, Loretta, Julie, Ally, Brian, Susan, Tyler, Aubrey, Amy, Maddie, and I are going. We hope Dad joins us at the end of the week. We sure wish Ally, Jimmy, and Sydney were going too. The two grandmas are staying home too.:( We'll put pictures up when we get back!

Long live Harry Potter!

Madison as Professor Trelawny. "See into the beyond!!"

My friend Mary had a fun "book club" activity last night. She invited all her friends, any age, who had read all seven Harry Potter books to a party. Her invitation was so cute. It said: "Calling all Harry Potter readers. Finished the 7th book? Well then, your presence is requested at the (family name) muggle residence, number 632 (street name.) Please bring your books, wands, and other wizarding wheezez you may possess. If you have proper dress robes, please fashion yourself accordingly. It would be wise of you to prepare yourself for book discussion, much like an O.W.L. exam. You are encouraged to bring other wannabe Hogwartians, given they have completed the series. We wouldn't want to spoil it for first years. Games, refreshments, and other merriments provided."
We had a really busy day yesterday-chores, work, school-clothes/-shoes shopping, dinner out with a neighbor, and then the party. We flew in from dinner late, but took time to don our dress robes. Amy wore a cape, wand and lightning bolt, Maddie dressed as Professor Trelawny, and I wore an ugly flowered dress, big brown bow in my hair, and carried a clipboard with "detention list," a scary looking quill, and two kitty cats. Yes, I was the toad-faced Professor Dolores Umbridge. (It was the only costume I figured I could carry off.)
What a good time we had. There were people there from age 10-55 or so and everyone contributed something! We discussed the series with questions the hostess had prepared, drank "butter-beer" (creme soda with butter flavoring,) played Harry Potter trivia, and just enjoyed each other's company and love of reading. I'm so glad I have friends who are so creative and so much fun (Mary and company have a killer Halloween party every year...) I also feel so blessed to be able to live in a place and time where-along with all my many responsibilities-I can also take time for frivolous fun once in a while! Thanks, Mary. Quoting Madison on the way home last night: "That was WAY HECKA FUN!"

Tag! I'm it!

Jobs I've held:
1. Babysitter,Housekeeper, Flower Nursery laborer, Print Shop laborer, Waitress
2. Drug Store cashier
3. 4th Grade Teacher
4. Construction Company President (I can hear you all laughing!!!)

Movies I can watch again and again:
1. It's a Wonderful Life
2. Ever After, Shall We Dance, Pride & Prejudice (A&E version, with Mr. Yummy-Colin Firth!), Sarah-Plain and Tall, Return to Me
3. And...believe it or not, I never seem to tire of "Airforce One," edited version...

Guilty Pleasures
1. Mega Peanut M&Ms
2. TV Shows-24 and Alias
3. Reading fluff once in a while

Places I've lived:
1. AL, WA, FL, NM, CA, UT, NV
2. Madrid, Spain

Shows I enjoy:
1. The Today Show-I get at least ten minutes of it every day I have to iron a shirt!
2. Ellen (Twice a month or so while I fold clothes...Should that go under guilty
pleasures???)
3. Without a Trace (haven't seen it since it moved from Thursday night...)
4. Law and Order reruns

What were likely the first things you thought when you saw your significant other (or best friend) for the first time?
1. Significant other--He has pretty eyes and a cute smile.
2. Best friend--That woman is tall and quiet. A little later-That woman is my favorite teacher in Relief Society.

Places I've been on vacation:
1. Disneyland and Pine Valley
2. Virgin Islands
3. Durango, CO
4. Valley Forge, PN

Favorite foods:
1. Anything Mexican
2. PeiWei's Mongolian Beef
3. Grilled, marinated chicken and roasted potatoes

Websites I visit daily:
1. Yahoo.com news
2. Blogs of my family and friends

Body parts I have injured:
1. Broke my jaw in a bicycle accident.
2. Stepped off a curb on a morning walk and blew out my knee.

Nicknames I've had:
1. Lindy Lou when I was little.
2. Lin by high school boyfriend.
3. Hon-Jeff.
4. Grampa Linda-Little Ally.
5. Gramma Linda.

Who tagged me:
1. Lori H.

Finally! I'm done!

Although I stood in line at the Walmart in Ephraim, Utah at midnight July 21 to buy my (second) copy of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," I just finally finished it two minutes ago! I was determined to watch the four videos, then see the fifth movie at the theatre, then reread the sixth book (which I had only read once last year) and THEN start the seventh book. I had preordered a copy from Amazon with a giftcard I'd earned on my credit card, but as we were driving to Mt. Pleasant for five days the evening of July 20th, we all decided we must time our arrival in Ephraim for midnight so we could buy books...It was actually quite fun, as their Walmart generally closes at midnight, but was staying open for a special event just to sell Harry Potter. When the Duncans came to Fairview to ride ATV's the next day, we had FOUR copies of the book in the motorhome. Grandma Sargeant, Amy, Stephen, and Jacob were reading on and off all day. Since I was only on page 40 0f Book 6 by this time (and still had not seen the fifth movie) I would not allow anyone to speak a word about Book 7 in my presence!!! Jeff, Amy, Ally, and I went to see the movie when we got home and I finally started the last book last week. Because I've been so busy, I've only had time to read a few pages at a time and it has been very frustrating! I started the last exciting section last night and was looking forward to Maddie's orthodontist appointment this morning for half an hour of uninterrupted reading! (I did have to leave the office and sit in the car for a bit while I recovered from my sobbing at one point.) When we got home I had to do my agenda for a presidency meeting, have the meeting, then meet with the missionaries, take Maddie to ballet, and take the girls home...Finally...I sat down and ignored everything else-including fixing dinner for my hard-working husband-and finished the book! Now I can do nothing but think about the series and the incredible ride it has been.
Not even just the story itself, full of adventure, symbolism, hope, and triumph, but the whole Harry Potter experience. My brother-in-law says there is something to be said about not reading the books till the series is done. Now he can read them quickly, one after another, with no waiting to see what's going to happen. Most often, I would agree with him. But for this series I can only quote what Amy wrote on her blog when she finished the book.
"I wouldn't have given up these years for anything! I loved the experiences of growing up with the characters, waiting in line anxiously for the next book, seeing Harry Potter books in the hands of the most unlikely people, buying all things Potter-related, and enjoying the magic created by J.K. Rowling for my generation and all the generations to come. Thanks J.K. Rowling for your creation, thanks to all you fellow Potter fans young and old, and to Harry, Ron, Hermione and all the fabulous and very believable characters of the books, thanks for a wonderful ride. Expecto Patronum!"
It's kind of pathetic when a fifty-year-old woman gets teary-eyed and a lump in her throat over a post about a fictional children's book series, but I totally agree with Amy. I can't believe it's over...but I'm sure glad I was along for the whole experience. Thanks, J.K.. from me too!