I feel like I'm suffering from the cruciatus curse!

In case you haven't heard JK Rowling recently announced this new web site. And that's all she did - announce it. It's been like a howler heard around the world. She hasn't giving any hints as to what its about or anything. But, this is from the lady who kept the secret of Harry's destiny for practically a bazillion years when pretty much the entire universe was bugging her to spill the beans, so it's to be expected.

I'm really hoping it's an encyclopedia of the Harry Potter world, a sort of Hogwarts: A History type of thing. Or at least something to that affect.

I've decided JK Rowling is very cruel. We're (and by we, I mean the collective Harry Potter fan community who stuck with Harry until the end) already beside ourselves waiting for the final movie, and then she goes and does something like this! Does she not realize that the anticipation is boiling over inside me like a potion down in Snape's dungeon? She should lose 100 points for this outrageous act.

On the other hand, I feel like I've swallowed a mouthful of Felix Felicis and am in the midst of the luckiest day/summer of my life! The final movie and a new website that promises to be as exciting as the Quidditch World Cup! A bazillion points to JK!

Kar

Beautiful Karlie graduated from high school! I'm so proud of her. (Even though this is a week late, I promise I'm still proud of her.) She'll be heading up to BYU-Idaho in January. (Still far, but 8 hours closer than she is now!) I realize that I don't write very much about Karlie. In fact, to some it may appear as if I only have one sister. But, that is false. It's just that my brown haired sister lives less than 5 minutes away from me and we're going to be living in the same apartment come August. And she calls me and says things like "Kay-Kay I miss you. Come get me," in a very pathetic voice.

We rarely call Karlie, Karlie. She is more commonly know as: Karkey, Kar-Kar, Karlini, Kar, Karkaroff, and basically any other way you can manipulate her name. What can I say, we have weird nicknames for each other. And for every one of those names (except Karkaroff, which Karlie hates, and we reserve for when we want to make her mad) there is a version of it for mine and Kelsie's names. For example: Kakey, Kay-Kay, Kakini, and Kate for me, and Kelkey, Kels-Kels, Kelsini, and Kels for Kelsie. Did you know that my sisters and I all have the same initials? It's true. They're KAS. Katie Anne, Kelsie Alexandra, and Karlie Alane.

Karlie is kinda messy. Which reminds me of this quote by Jane Austen that always makes me think of Kar.

"An artist can never do anything slovenly."

Karlie is also an artist. She is planning on majoring in art and draws on scraps of paper in church.

Karlie is loving. She always comes up to me and hugs me and says "Oh, Kakey."

Karlie is giving. Unlike my brown haired sister, who is stingy. Karlie always shared her Barbie's, Polly Pockets and baby dolls with me, and never hid them under her bed. My mom told me that when she took Karlie shopping for her last birthday when she would pick things up she would always mention how much Kelsie would like that particular item too.

Karlie has blue/green/gray eyes. How is that fair? She is also very tan right now. How is that fair? She gets to look all sun kissed and pretty and I have to look pasty and get a freaking bad sunburn after being in the sun for four hours even with sunscreen slathered on. Not that I'm jealous.

Karlie is funny. She cracks me up. I really don't know where she comes up with the things she says sometimes.

Karlie is a fast reader. Even faster than me. And she's read so many more books than me. I wonder if Dad takes her books away at 11 pm too? I'll have to find out.

Karlie, of all of my siblings, probably looks the most like me. She is very lucky.

Karlie is special. And I couldn't love her more.

I love summer

I think it's a newfound love, or maybe just a greater appreciation. I've always loved summer, but summer here in Provo is so different. It's full of friends, family, books, and sun. But I think this summer will be different because I don't have school looming in the future and I'm able to just relax and enjoy life.

The past couple days it has felt like summer is finally on its way, despite all of the crazy rain we've been having. And, this summer has the prospect of being EPIC. And these are the reasons why:

1. 7Peaks/Trafalga pass - I haven't bought it yet, but I will
2. Cruise in July with Brooke
3. No school in the fall
4. Provo City Library Summer Reading Program. It started today and I'm freaking excited about it.
5. We have recently discovered how many movies the library has and will be taking full advantage. Brooke, Jess, and I have already enjoyed Emma and Somewhere in Time and are looking forward to Nicholas Nickelby
6. I fully intend to get an awesome tan. Not lifeguarding and swimming status, but just enough to make me look alive through out the winter...
7. TacoTime. A new one just opened up down the street from work and I am obsessed with it. It is seriously my kind of place. They have mexifries (aka tattertots) and a Chicken BLT burrito. How can it get better than that?
8. Fourth of July in Provo. I don't know why, but Provo just knows how to do the Fourth of July.
9. Sandals
10. Shaved Ice stands on every corner
11. Light outside until 9:30
12. HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART II.

Doesn't that have the makings of an awesome summer?

The Secret Garden

Bad news guys. I think I'm about to become as addicted to The Secret Garden as I was with Anne of Green Gables. Well maybe not quite as addicted, but close. 

I rented the DVD of The Secret Garden from the library and watched it last night. Growing up we always watched the 1987 Hallmark version that has Colin Firth as grown up Colin. (Did you realize Colin's name is Colin Craven, which is extremely close to Colin Creevey from Harry Potter? Quite the coincidence. But, I may also just be really weird and the only one who make connections like that.) Anyways, now I'm just itching to read the book again.

At the part in the movie when Mary finds the key to the garden, and sits on the bench as the wind serendipitously blows the vines away from the garden wall and reveals the locked door, I remembered something very important from my childhood.

One year for Christmas, Kelsie, got a copy of The Secret Garden from out grandparents. It came with an awesome key pendant necklace. I thought that was the coolest thing ever. I wanted a key pendant necklace soooo bad. I would always ask Kelsie if I could wear it, and she would always say no. Because Kelsie was a stingy child who wouldn't share her Barbie's and Polly Pockets. I just remember being so jealous of Kelsie's key pendant necklace and nice, new copy of The Secret Garden. Especially because I had to read my Mom's old, falling apart copy.

Summer Reading List

Since I have officially began an eternal summer and I will be finishing Lost tonight (I have ONE episode left!) I thought now would be a good time to compile my preliminary summer reading list. I just saw on Facebook that the theme for the Provo City Library summer reading program is "Up All Night" which I am a huge fan of. Possibly because I often stay up all night reading and then make my way through the next day like a zombie. I really can't be blamed for this behavior. It's all my Dad's fault. He would take my books away at 11:00 so I didn't learn to self-regulate my reading habits. At least that's the story I'm sticking with.

But anyways...here's my summer reading list:

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I've gotta get ready for the final movie!
2. Sense and Sensibility
3. Work and the Glory. I haven't decided if I want to reread the whole series or not, but I figure I'll decide as I'm reading it.
4. Secret Garden
5. Goose Girl and accompanying books that I don't know the names of
6. Mockingjay. Maybe. I want to see if it gets any better the second time around.
7. Undaunted. Actually I just want to finish this one. I still have about 100 pages somewhere in the middle because I NEEDED to know who ended up together at the end and may have skipped ahead...
8. The Healer's Apprentice. I really want to read this book, but I swear its impossible to find. So I may just have to order it from Amazon
9. The FitzOsbournes in Exile. I just saw this one on a library reading list and want to read it really bad. 

And we'll just start with that because my lunch break is over and I could go on forever.

Only one can live...

At open house in 6th grade my family went to the book fair. I've always loved stuff like that, you know, since I'm a problem reader. Well, I got this book there, it was called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Maybe you've heard of it?

I had seen my friends reading it at a class read and feed and thought it looked interesting so I asked my parents for it at the fair. At first my mom was hesitant, but finally gave in but said that my dad had to read it first.

And so began my obsession with Harry Potter. At times it has reached unhealthy proportions.

I think pretty much everybody knows I love Harry Potter, but I don't think they realize HOW much I know about it. I try to keep that on the DL. Because every once in a while when I slip up and people realized all the random facts and information I know about Harry Potter, I get really weird looks.

Anyways, to add to my weirdness, or coolness-depending on how you look at it-I saw the trailer for the very last Harry Potter movie today. And I got chills. I didn't even watch it with the sound (because I forgot my headphones today and the computers at work don't have speakers) and I got chills.

I'm such a weirdo.

But when the protective enchantments on Hogwarts start breaking apart and you know Voldemort and the Death Eaters are invading the school I just couldn't help it!

I've grown up with Harry Potter. I was 11 when I read the first book and 17 when the last one came out, so even though I wasn't trying to save wizarding-kind I could relate to Harry because we were the same age. And it seems so fitting that the final movie would come out the same summer I graduate from college. It's like we're passing into adulthood together, Harry and I.

Watch the trailer and tell me you don't get chills.

UPDATE: I just watched it again, but with sound. And it is AWESOME!!! I'm so freaking excited! Definitely got chills the second time around.

I've been sick so my brain is a little fuzzy

Here's a list of what I've been doing

1. watch Mighty Morphing Power Rangers: The Movie

This movie is a classic. I even had to watch it on VHS. Now let me tell you, I use to be a big Power Ranger's fan. Just look at this...

Yep, I had Pink Power Ranger footie pajamas. Talk about legit.

Even though I apparently was a fan since birth, Power Rangers just could not compete with Barbie. For example, when I was 5 and had my tonsils out my dad gave me the choice between Power Ranger Trading Coins or Shaving Ken (my parents had to bribe me for stuff like this. Once I got silky Princess Jasmine pajamas for being good and getting my blood drawn). I remember it being a hard choice, but Shaving Ken won.

Just look at him, how could he not win? He had real hair and clothes! My only other Ken had plastic blonde hair and a pink swim suit. Plus it was just not fair to all my Barbie's that they had to compete over only one Ken. And let me tell you, I am way more sympathetic to them now because I know exactly what it's like...

2. Finished 5 books

I was sick, plus all the books I had on hold at the Library came in. And I just can't help it that I have to find out what happens! Plus my dad isn't here to take my book away at 11 o'clock at night so that I'll go to sleep.

3. Made caramel brownies and chicken tortilla soup

Caramel brownies changed my life the first time Brooke made them for me, and I was really craving them. The chicken tortilla soup was really yummy too. I just finished the last of it for lunch.

4. Played Super Nintendo

Apparently this was an old school weekend. I suck at most video games, so I lost a lot, but it was way fun.

I'm a problem reader

I read a quote today that I loved. It was by Emilie Buchwald and it said,

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents."

I have loved books ever since I can remember. I am almost always reading a book and have read almost every day since the second grade.

My parents call me a problem reader. Which to be fair, my whole family is full of problem readers. It must be a genetic condition. All growing I continually got in trouble for reading too much. It was common to hear "Put the book down!" in my house. I also got my book taken away several times because I wouldn't stop reading it.

While we were growing up my parents read to my siblings and I all the time. My mom read series of books to the whole family, and every day we would listen to a chapter or two. She read us The Work and The Glory, Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites, Harry Potter (I was notorious for getting these books taken away. My dad would come in at 11 at night and take it away from me), Little House on the Prairie (I wanted to BE Laura Ingalls Wilder. I also totally checked this series out from the BYU library and read it), and countless others. My mom started reading the Little House series to me when I started kindergarten, and then I listened to it again when Kelsie started kindergarten and then again when Karlie started kindergarten. That's probably why I love the Little House books so much.

I saw my parents reading often when I was growing up too. Parents are the ones who introduce us to books and show us the fun in escaping to new and exciting worlds. Emilie Buchwald really had it right when she said children get a love of reading from their parents.