I had been preparing for her Harry Potter birthday party for weeks! I previously ordered an invisibility cloak for myself and wanted to make some sort of video scavenger hunt for the party. The Death Eaters stole the Sorting Hat and the kids had to help Harry Potter get it back by collecting the ingredients for a potion. At each "stop" they saw a video clue about what they had to do. (Sophie and cousin Daniel recorded the video clips beforehand. It worked out perfectly because Daniel just happened to be in town, and he even has a British accent!)
The kids first had to enter through Platform 9 3/4. This year I made my own brick wall. I think it turned out really nice. I also made some cute signs out of scrap wood.
Then, they got to get their wands at Ollivander's Wand Shop. Isaac is always entertaining at playing Ollivander's German relative, or whatever it is he claims. I had the living room set up with brick tablecloths on the wall. The kids know if the wand chooses them if it correctly plays music, lifts a feather, moves a truck, or lights a candle.
Instead of being sorted into houses, Dumbledore (Grandpa Dee) informed them that they couldn't be sorted because the sorting hat had been stolen. Harry needed them to to re-pot mandrakes in Herbology with Professor Sprout (Hannah) as an ingredient in the potion. I found some really cute little owl pots on Amazon that they were able to plant a succulent in.
Then they had to get some dragons blood that was locked in Professor Slughorn's chest. But they had to find the correct flying key in order to open the truck. There was a lightning blot drawn on 1 key in invisible ink that they had to find. But when they opened the trunk, a bogart popped out. They had to defeat the bogart before they could get the dragon's blood.
The kids then had to catch the golden snitch in a game of Quidditch to get the bezoar inside. Luke had a hovering drone thing we used that worked fairly well.
Then they had to go make the potion with Professor Snape (Grandpa Barry). Snape showed them a few potions, and then they made their own solution to take home with them. This part could use some more work because the kids weren't as engaged. But it was really nice to have a bunch of family to come help. At first it didn't look like anyone would be able to make it to the party to help, so Isaac was going to have to dress up as every character. He wasn't thrilled about that, so he was glad when he only had to be Ollivander and the bogart (because Steve was too wussy to hide in a cramped trunk).
Then the kids had to go to the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid (Gabe) to vanquish the dementors and get the sorting hat back. I spent a long time making a dementor before the party. The morning on the party, I asked Isaac to go hang the dementor in the forest. He decided it would be better if the dementor was on a pulley system and could fly at the kids. So he spent hours working on it. I was so mad at him about that because I had a million things to set up, and that wasn't part of the plan. We got into a big fight about it because "he wanted to be involved and have input in the party too". I told him that I asked for help for months, and he was never interested until the morning of the party. I didn't have time to waste on that. And it didn't even work well because only the first 3-5 kids even saw the dementor fly. The rest of them came while it was wadded in a heap on the ground and covered in leaves that are now permanently stuck all over it. Argh.
Anyway, after they got the sorting hat back, we went to the Great Hall to have a celebratory feast. I thought it would be fun to set up the dinner at an outdoor pavilion in our HOA grounds by the bird preserve. As we were setting up at this location (which was covered in goose poop that we had to spray off), Isaac got mad at me for going overboard and said it was ridiculous to spend so much time on a birthday party. So he kind of ruined the party for me. I was really looking forward to it, and put in a lot of work, and wanted it to be really fun for Aspen, but he made me feel really bad.
Anyway, this year we just had pizza for dinner instead of me making a big drumstick feast. It was definitely much easier, and the kids ate it better. We still had Butterbeer and Cauldron Cakes for dessert. Hopefully Aspen had a good party and knows how much I love her.
Here are some things about Aspen:
- Aspen is very detail oriented. She is definitely my mini-me, and has a very similar personality to mine. She can be very stubborn, and doesn't like to be told what to do. But she's also super responsible and on top of things. If we want something done well, we ask Aspen. She is the best at cleaning, organizing, and babysitting.
- Aspen is still very athletic. She hasn't been doing a ton of new activities, but is very graceful and strong. She could be great at tumbling, soccer, swimming, or anything she sets her mind to.
- Aspen has been playing the violin for about half a year and doing great. She is really good at practicing, and I really enjoy the one-on-one time we can spend working on violin.
- Considering how difficult of a baby Aspen was, I am constantly blown away by how great of a girl she is. I often feel bad because I put a lot of responsibility on her because she is so capable. But she is my best helper.
- We love Aspen so much! And I hope she had the best 8th birthday.
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