it all ends

The final Harry Potter movie opens today, but for some of us it started very early in the morning.  

I started reading Harry Potter to Ben years ago before he could read, and since then he has read and re-read the books so many times they are literally falling apart at the seams.  He looooves Harry Potter and was so excited to see this last movie.  

I was talking to my friend, Tami, a few weeks ago, and we decided to buy tickets to one of the midnight movies and take Ben and her son, Ben's friend Josh.  We met early, got wands, t-shirts and dinner, and then headed to the pre-movie party.  It might have gone better if Josh hadn't been at scout camp that whole day plus the day before, and if Ben hadn't been doing...

this...

 ...and this all day long!  (Look how much snow is left in them there hills!!  Crazy!)

 But they both tried hard to get through it the best they could.  They rode the "hippogriff,"

 and met Professor Trewlawney,

 some death eaters,

 and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Professor Dumbledore, and even Harry; 

 drank butterbeer,

 and had a crash course on Care of Magical Creatures. 

 The costumes we saw were so fun, including this group as Hogwarts Castle.

 Ben went to the car around 10:30pm to have a quick 30 minute nap to help cheer him up, which it did.  Our movie started at 12:40am, and it did not disappoint.  We all loved it, but it's also kind of sad knowing that it's the last movie in the series.  J.K. Rowling is absolutely brilliant!  

 As if Ben hasn't had enough of Harry Potter, he's going to see it again this afternoon with his Uncle Dakon, who is taking all the nieces and nephews who wanted to go (the nieces politely declined).  Maybe I can get a little more shut-eye then.  But I doubt it.