H to the Izzy, P to the Pizzy!

We are currently consumed with the 7th Harry Potter book, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'. Last Monday I bought two copies at Target so that Ben and I could read it at the same time. A few nights this week we have sat in bed reading and reading and reading... We even spent about 15 minutes at a Harry Potter party in downtown Naperville where there were thousands of people just hanging out, enjoying some Butterbeer, Polyjuice Potion, pictures with Dumbledore and Severus Snape...and much, much more!

Ben is not as determined as I am to get through the book quickly. I'm at the point of paranoia where I think that someone is going to ruin the ending for me if I don't hurry and read it all. Two friends at work, who's cubicles are right next to me, have read it and want to talk about it...so I need to finish before they let it slip!

Beyond Harry Potter, we do have other things going on in our lives keeping us busy as ever. Tuesday we attended our new Growth Group, which was definitely fun. Also, some friends and family have been in town visiting and there are more to come! Last weekend, Ben's parents came to visit. Ben and his dad golfed almost every day, and his mom and I got to partake in the golfing fun one afternoon too. What a lovely course it was!

This last Wednesday we got to see our friend, Jared Mott, from Nashville. He was with his Youth Group staying at the Hostel International in downtown Chicago. So, we met up with him, had dinner at the hostel, attended the evening chapel service, then headed off with the youth to compete in a scavenger hunt around the city.

Friday, we went down to the city again to see our friends, Jeff and Amber Carlson who were in town from Texas. It was so good to see them and spend time with them talking and laughing. We met at "the Bean" (which the creator prefers to be called "the Cloud") in Millenium Park, then hung out at a Chocolate Cafe on Michigan Ave for quite a while. Dinner was at Gino's East (Chicago style pizza) where we continued to just share stories and crack each other up. As always, it was hard to say goodbye at the end of the night.

Us, with Amber and Jeff Carlson

Yesterday (saturday) was a nice lazy day for me and Ben. We just hung out inside the house all day, reading Harry Potter and watching movies. We actually attempted to watch The Last Mimzy, only because "Dwight" from The Office is in it. What a boring movie, even for little kids! We couldn't make it through the whole thing.

Now, Ben just left for Madison, WI to help his brother, Joel, move to his new place. He'll be back later tonight, so he can rest up for teaching Greek class tomorrow at Wheaton (as a substitute teacher).

In a few weeks, I'll have much more to tell since my parents, little sister, and big sister and brother-in-law will be coming for my birthday weekend! I'm so excited! Then, the weekend after that (Labor day) we have some really good friends coming to visit! We can not wait!

That's it for now. Check out the food blog, too, because I've been updating it once again!