Good Bye Harry

Last night Sterling and I went to see the final Harry Potter. It was both exciting and sad. It was perfect that we ended up going opening night because I was at the first showing of the first Harry Potter. I was a senior in high school and my mom let me skip my Human Development class to go buy tickets. I borrowed my friend's Quidditch robe and we all had Harry Potter glasses. It was so exciting. I have good memories of seeing each of the movies.

Many of you have heard my story of going to the the second Harry Potter with Sterling. We had only been out on a few dates and we had been talking about how he hadn't seen Harry Potter yet. So one day as we were walking into our history class I got up my nerve and said "So when are we going to go see Harry Potter?" He said "When are you going to go see Harry Potter?" I felt so stupid I just mumbled "I don't know," and walked away. A week later heaven only knows what possessed me to try again. I called him (and if you know me you know I HATE to call anyone, so that just shows how much I liked him) and asked him to go to the movie with me. We ended up having a really fun time and from then on we were pretty much together. In Sterling's defense he swears to this day that I said "When are you going to go see Harry Potter?" and his answer was showing that he would see it when I saw it.

So last night it came to an end. I cried as I watched my friends from the story die. I bawled when I watched Harry's mother saying good bye to baby Harry, and I nearly lost it when baby Harry cried because he wanted his mom and she wasn't coming back (since becoming a mom that just kills me in movies). But however much I cried it wasn't as bad as the emotional wreck sitting next to me. That was awkward.

Anyway, Harry Potter I will miss you. Thanks for all the good times.

Why Babies are Good

One last post for today.

Last week I read an article about the growing number of couples deciding not to have children. The main gist of the article was that in this economy where people are really struggling to find jobs it just doesn't make sense to have children. This article really got to me. It made me really sad and really annoyed.
I was annoyed because, even though it was an opinion article, it showed only one opinion. For an argument to have any validity I feel like it needs to recognize good points on both sides. Basically the article listed all the reasons why life is better without having kids. You have more money to spend on whatever you want. You have more time for your own interests. You are more flexible. You can come and go pretty much as you please. These are all very true points, and to be honest sometimes I miss the freedom we had just 6 months ago. But now here is the other side.
Having children is a completely unique and indescribable experience. The last 6 months have brought more frustration and more joy into my life than I could have ever imagined. I can't really describe why being a mom makes me so happy. I have less money, less free time and definitely less sleep. Instead I have big toothless smiles, big blue eyes that stare at me in wonder, tiny hands that grip my fingers (and sometimes yank my hair), giggles, cuddles and a million things more. I may never become rich and famous by being a mom, but it's still the very best thing I could ever do.

Grandma Campbell

Right after school got out we went down to Phoenix so Emma could meet my Grandma Campbell. It was really fun. On this trip I learned some very interesting things about my grandma. She is a very spunky woman. My uncle was making fun of her for being a bad driver. He said she couldn't go to California anymore because every time she has gone she's gotten a ticket. She came back with "I only got 2 tickets and I didn't pay either one of them!" I think that's where I got my rebellious streak.
She also told us that she had to move to a different town for high school and she had to get a couple jobs to help pay her room and board. One job was at a doctor's office and one of her duties was to circumcise the baby boys. She was in high school! The called the little tool "The Yeller," for obvious reasons.
Anyway, I love spending time with my grandma because I feel like I learn so much about her each time.

Emma Updates and Exciting Trips

So far our summer has been pretty quiet, but still fun. I'm dreading when Sterling goes back to work. Here are some pictures of Emma and details on all of our thrilling adventures.

It's a little hard to see, but if you look at her eye you will notice a big red mark. No we did not hit her. Right before church she fell asleep on her arm and woke up with this.
For those few days at the end of June when the weather was a bit cooler we got out and hiked on the east side of Pine Valley mountain. I didn't even know there was anything over there, but Sterling had gone backpacking with the scouts. (Did I ever mention that Sterling is the scout master in our ward?) It was really pretty. An although it looks incredibly uncomfortable Emma does enjoy riding in the backpack, or frontpack in this case. We have to tuck a burp cloth in the front because she sucks on the carrier and completely soaks it in a matter of minutes. We took it out for the picture.
This was at the Everett family reunion in Heber. We had a lot of fun, I just wish it could have been longer. It's sad how I look forward to something for so long and then it just flies by. It was a pretty relaxing reunion. We went shopping in Park City. After H&M Gap Outlet is my favorite store in the world, and I must say it really let me down this trip. Luckily Aeropostale pulled through for me.
We had a girls crafting time. We played games including Everett Family Jeopardy. That was probably my favorite part because I got to be the host. It went really well except some people kept forgetting to answer in the form of a question. My second favorite part was listening to my parents tell stories about their parents and grandparents. It was really interesting. The only negative about the whole trip was sharing a room with Emma. I barely slept for 2 nights. The child is so loud.

Emma has been greatly enjoying her Bumbo. Anytime I try to just lay her on the floor she starts lifting her head up like she is doing crunches because she wants to be able to sit up and see what's going on. The Bumbo has been great. She'll just sit in it happily and watch me cook, sew, clean. On Sunday she was getting a little fussy so we sat together on the piano bench and I played for her. I use the term "played" loosely, but she loved. She loves when I sing to her so I thought I'd change it up a bit and add in the piano.
This is my favorite Emma thing. She loves to suck her two middle fingers on her right hand. when I was first starting to feed her baby food she would stop between each bite and put her fingers in her mouth. This led to food getting on her fingers and then everywhere else, so I would pull them out. But Emma is smart. She learned to put her fingers in her mouth then cover it with her left arm. Usually her hand is facing out ready to swat me away. Now, I am super strong and could over power her little baby hands, but it's just so cute.