some pics long over due

Harry Potter Wands how to

I Saw how to make these on Good Things Utah last week and Since i'm going to the midnight viewing of The Half Blood Prince i thought why not go all out. So these are really simple and i have to admit kinda fun to make. i wish i had more little kids or crazy adults like me to give them to or sell them to becuase they are so fun to make and really simple.

Here's what you need:

-1/2 inch dowel to desired length. (I just bought a few 36'' long dowels for 99cents at walmart. I made my wand to resemble Hermione's so i made it 14'' long However i would just suggest cutting the dowel into equal 12'' wands)

- wood stain or paint- I used woodstain because we have a bunch in our garage i also think it makes a more real effect.

-sand paper- used to make sure you won't get any slivers and to round the top of the wand

-a Peeler (potatoe)- for aging the wand and rounding the tip

- hot glue gun

-Candle Cup 1/2" hole wood peices- (i just found them next to the dowels at roberts for 99cents)

- Krylon 18 kt gold leafing pen ( i got mine at roberts for 3.00 with a half off coupon its to most expensive part of this project, but one will last you for a long time. They cost about $6.00 without a coupon.)

1. cut your dowels or have somewhere like home depot or lowes do it for you.

2. use you peeler to round the top point of the wand and to age the dowel. I just rand it up and down the dowel and left the nics and things to that it made it look more real.

3. attache the wooden candle cup to the handle end of the wand.

4. stain or paint the wand and let dry.

5. use the hot glue gun to make handle designes and whatever else you would like on the wand.

6. use the gold leafing pen and go over the hot glue.

Bam your ready to cast your spells just like harry potter.

I also used some branches from our former pine tree to make some fun wands as well. they turned out good too so you can just use whatever you have around you as well it all works good.

Summer thoughts

1. Becky i totally wish you lived closer. Not only so we could be work out buddies but for so many other reasons.

2. I hate fish.(we have/had a bunch of fish for about 3 months and now all the sudden they all died within 3 days of eachother. and they were in 2 different tanks. I have one left of the original fish and i decided it was ok to go get some 13 cent gold fish to replace them with. but oh my goodness one of them died last night and i only got them that afternoon. oh well)

3. Michael Jackson was a person who everyone loved in some way. I think he was a music icon that few have ever attained or will attain the staus of. Does that mean he lead a perfect life. No because no one does but i think he had a lot more hard times than any of us will ever know and i know he's had a lot more hard times that i have that we do know of. Therefore i shed some tears for the king of pop yesterday, and listened to music in his honor and to just dance. I have always said music speaks to the soul. His music just makes you want to dance. So i say remember the music remember the fun remember the happy times that it fills in our lives. for me i remember halloween parties, dancing as a kid to bad with alvin and the chipmunks, spending summers outside listening to the great beats of michael.

4. My bike seat makes me feel like i've given birth again. Lol. other than that i acutally quite like to bike. I'm having a hard time going back to running right now. I have resolved to ride my bike to the store the library and anywhere else i don't feel threatened by cars. Its really refreshing and actually fun. I like being outside with the wind in my face and getting somewhere and knowing i really got myself there and that i'm doing something better for the world.

5. Triathilon training really isnt' that bad... yet. I'm hoping that by next spring i will be able to do a triathilon. You notice i didn't say compete in i just want to be able to do one. And it actually a sprint one that i'm working on its a 9 mile bike ride, a 5k and i think its a 350 swim. i'm doing well on the biking and running but the swimming might be a bit hard. but i'm hoping that this winter i will be able to get in the pool and learn the correct way to swim.

6. My mother in law is amazing. I am so happy that i have a great relationship with her. She is actually my inspiration for the triathilon training. She has already done two this summer and is going to do her third next month. She is on several rec leagues for different sports and is going to play on our soccer team that starts tomorrow. (i'm scared i've never really played soccer before yikes!!!) She is always willing to do whatever any of her kids need. And she always helps them with anything they have to do. She plays with her kids and all of her kids love to be around her. Kurtis and i love to be over with his parents and family doing thing playing games playing crockett going to dinner whatever it doesn matter. They are our best friends. I told kurtis the other day how glad i was the i get along with his mom and family i can't imagine not liking my in laws and having a hard time spending time with them because they help me with so many thing and inspire me to do so much. I just hope that i can do the same with my kids.

7. I love parks. Kyler has grown to love being outside. And since i'm in training we often go either to the park or to the school and play on the playgrounds. i love that he loves to be outside and it makes me feel like a good mom knowing that i'm taking him out and he is enjoying being outside and playing.

8. I miss floating the river. Of all the things i miss in montana the closeness of accesible water for fun is way way up on my list. I guess i just thought growing up that everywhere had rivers and lakes around them. and its not like they don't have any in utah its just i miss being able to go ten minutes and putting in on the river and floating it swimming, fishing and enjoying it with out a ton of other people there. I miss the lake and even though there are so many people out there still feeling like you were the only ones at the particular spot you were at. I just miss the convenience of the quiet beauty of montana.

9. Fireworks make me homesick. Ok i don't get homesick very often at all. And now my home is in utah but fireworks make me miss home. For the longest time the 4th of july has been my favorite holiday because of the heat the water the beauty and the time with family. I loved4th of july for what it means for this country and the simple symbolism of the fireworks they aren't just pretty they were the price of freedom. and where we see them as pretty they were a thing of fear when the true fireworks happened. I miss being in the firework stand helping people makeing people happy for the goodies they get to celebrate with. I miss lighting the fireworks. i miss the hail that always seemed to come on the 3rd of july. i miss soda and pizza and card games. i miss boating i miss it all. The 4th of july used to be the epidomy of summer for me. it was everything that was fun and exciting happy and it just breathed summer for me. I dont' think i really ever spent the 4th with anyone other than family and maybe that is why i get homesick when the fireworks come out.

10. I love summer.

now that i've gone on and on i will finish with just that i love summer.

Its been so long stupid wifi

Ok so lets see. Not a ton has happened since we got home from Montana. Kyler of course had a bday and a haircut. He looks like a little boy now. He also started throwing tantrums which are driving me nuts. He actually dances with his body now instead of just his hands. Kurtis' bday is tomorrow. He keeps insisting that he doesn't have a birthday and that he doesn't want anything. Which drives me crazy. Just tell me something you want. So he is getting cereal and a massage for his bday. I have been running and just started biking in the last few days. We got a nice bike trailer/stroller so kyler can come along for $60. on ksl. Great buy i was so excited. We actually took a walk over to grandma's house to get kurtis' old bike and ride it home but the back tire needed to be patched so we ended up walking back home. I figure a 4 mile walk = running a mile and a half. Kurtis was in a mud volleyball tourny last friday and we went to a josh graisen? concert on saturday as part of it. it was a nice night out with some friends and without kyler. I just threw my back out again two days ago from pedaling the bike up a hill a little to hard. now i'm kinda laid up. Oh we got pictures taken of kyler for his first b-day and they are so cute but i won't have them on here just yet.
Our wifi has been horrible lately we haven't been able to do anything so we haven't been able to update this for awhile. HOpefully kurtis isnt' going to look at it this so he will see his bday presents. Anyway hope all is well with everyone. Love you all.