Harry Potter.....the end is here.

So, I got up early this morning (Sat) and bought the final book of the Harry Potter series....boo hoo. Seriously though I have already started it (2 chptrs done) and I can tell it is going to be a tear jerker. Im fairly certain that Harry will die in this final chapter of his wizarding life and this is going to be sad but almost unavoidable. Im sure that may sound lame to most of the grown ups out there but Im telling you....if you havent read the Harry Potter books and you enjoy reading, then you are missing out. Believe me, this is no kiddie tale. It is FANTASTIC! and Im going to miss it thoroughly. I can just about guarantee that anyone with an imagination will get hooked the minute they read the first book. So anyway, I cant wait to get into the book tonight. Denver asked me how long I thought it would take to read the 764 page book....knowing of course that I usually cant put them down once I start them. Considering I have to work next week, I assume I will finish it by tomorrow evening.

We went swimming today at the Fairmont Aquatic Center. I still cant believe I actually went to a public pool in my swimsuit....yikes..... This place is cool though. It has a play center with fairly shallow water, a water slide, a lazy river and lots of fun water spouts and fountains for the kids to play in. They also have a large lap pool.. it was fun. Addison is such a little fish. She LOVES the water and it is all I can do to keep her in my arms. She constantly tries to walk away with the boys and doesnt care one bit to go under the water. I dont think she has cried once since the first time she got in a swimming pool at mom and dads. We came home and ate pizza and then Denver and Alec went golfing.....peace and quiet right now with Addison asleep and Alec gone so he isnt tormenting his little brothers. The other 2 are watching spongebob and thinking about sleeping after their big swim. MMMMMMM.......sounds like a good time to jump into my HarryPotter book :)

Ian starts school in 2 weeks! I cant believe it....he is very excited to be in the First grade now. Of course he will feel that way about every grade since that means he closer to being grown up. Alec goes home on the same day that Ian starts school. Evan doesnt start until the 24th. Which is also when Denver goes back to school. School, school, school......its a great thing though. Im actually thinking about taking some voice lessons. Its a long story but basically there is a man in our ward whose sister teachs voice out of her house. I heard her son sing in church and he had such a beautiful voice and thats how I found out that she trained him and her other 9 children. Seriously, Ive heard from my aunt Debra who sings with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir that this woman has an amazing voice herself. I love to sing but wish that I had a respectable voice so Im thinking I may do it once everyone else starts school. I found a class for 20 month to 2 years in gymnastics so Im thinking of enrolling Addison in that around Christmas time. Since she is too young for dance classes yet. I have to wait until she is 3 for that....but I thought it would be fun for her to learn tumbling too...

So, I got new pictures of my future nephew. I dont have any nephews yet and am very excited to meet this little boy. His name is Soren Addicus Ries (if they dont change it) and personally I think he resembles my brother the most....sorry Alisa....although, there are a couple where I can see Alisa's genes too. He is going to be so cute (and stylish.....) Im thrilled to be an aunt and for the boys to have a cousin even though there is a huge age difference. Anyway here is the picture. Babies are so much fun (and work) and what an amazing process it is to become a parent for the first time. Everything is so new and exciting and scary. I remember being pregnant with Ian and being very frightened that I was going to screw up. Well, I guess I have screwed up once or twice but that is the learning process and eventually I figured out that no matter how hard I tried, I was going to mess up at some point. Thankfully Ian (and the rest of them) are turning out to be great kids with no lasting affects of my inadequacies. I wish my brother and Alisa all best at becoming parents to Soren and hope that they are able to see through their inadequacies enough to enjoy all the ups and downs that come with it.

So these are my thoughts today....Im going to go read now.

Vanessa