The Last Harry Potter Party, and It Was A Good One!

We stayed at the pool after swimming today, and the kids splashed and played to their heart's content. Ed even bought them slices of pizza (from the concession stand). Afterwards we stopped at Walmart and stocked up on the school supplies that were on sale. We now have enough crayons, composition books, and pencils to last (with luck) the next school year.

T. and K. got dressed in their costumes and we headed into town for the HP street party around quarter 'til 9:00. They were still setting up tables when we got there, but a nice crowd soon gathered, and it wasn't long before the kids were busy making golden snitches and wands and buying way too much candy from "Honeydukes." K. was particularly entranced by the Potions table, where she couldn't get enough of making exploding potions (vinegar & baking soda & a crumbled tissue, put in a small canister and shaken). We guessed how many Bertie Botts Beans were in a jar, did quizzes demonstrating our HP knowledge, and got Sorted (into Gryffindor). T. and K. both entered the costume contest, T. as Harry, and K. as Ginny Weasley.

The only negative in the evening was the group that gathered at the far end of the street, fairly early in the night, and started yelling about Satan and witches and Hell. They didn't come much past where the end of the street was roped off, so we couldn't hear much of what they were saying (thank goodness), but it was still rather disconcerting. T. wondered what they were yelling about, and I told him they were Death eaters (which was probably a little unfair, since their intentions, however wrongheadedly expressed, are probably good, but it just bugs me that, with all the wrongs running rampant in the world, adults would spend an evening trying to spoil a children's party). Fortunately they tired fairly quickly and spent most of the night standing at the end of the street looking grumpy.

The costumes were judged at around 11:00, and T. won! He was absolutely stunned, and thrilled to his toes. The prize was a thirty dollar gift certificate to the local bookstore (the one that, with the library, sponsored the event), so that was pretty thrilling too. Then I won a Hermione doll for my knowledge of HP trivia (they told me adults were supposed to enter, otherwise I never would have) and so K. got a prize too! We stayed another half hour or so because T. wanted to see if he had won for guessing the right number of jellybeans (he missed by five beans), then, finally, very tired and happy, drove on home. We won't want to get out of bed tomorrow (and T. has a playdate at 11:30), but it was a wonderful evening.