Our Oldest Daughter is Eight.

Eight years ago yesterday, Elizabeth gave birth to Sonora. In some ways, it seems longer than that; in other ways, it feels shorter. Either way, our lives have been enriched by having her in them. One of her major birthday wishes this year was that she get to visit her cousin Kadee in Richland, so that's what we did. We had a party there. It was fun, it was silly, and it was Harry Potter themed (thank you Vanessa and Goodwill for the costumes).

Sonora has read the first four HP books and would very much like to read them all, but Elizabeth and I think it best to have her wait a while, perhaps a couple of years, before letting her read the next few books. Adolescence, I think, will come soon enough without us helping it along. Still, there really is something magical, adventurous, and child-like in the first few HP books. As we drove the two-and-a-half hours home, Sonora and Rowyn watched the first HP movie (one of her birthday presents) for the first time. Sonora couldn't help pumping her fists with excitement when Harry caught the snitch, and she cowered anxiously during some of the frightening scenes (I couldn't see Rowyn in the rearview mirror, so I'm not sure what her reactions were). Elizabeth and I are glad for the sense of adventure, magic, and discovery these and other stories bring into our kids' lives.

Here's a thank you Trudie and Basilios (Trudie's husband) for letting us crash at their house and have a party there. Basilios, Adam, Jocelyn, and Kadee were enthusiastic participants in the Hogwarts revelry, and that helped make the party fun and memorable. Oh, and the cake tasted superb.

Here are some photos:

Bellatrix and Harry: Reconciled at last.

A happy Hermione and Harry

Here we have Severus (with his picnic blanket cape and biting-dinosaur wand), a very serious Sirius, Bellatrix (with more fitting hair than earlier), Hagrid in braids, Harry, Hermione, Rowyn Unicorn-Face, a muggle toddler, a stray pumpkin from Hagrid's garden, and an un-winged dwarf hippogriff.

Elizabeth baked the cake at home and packed it up with our other gear, and then she constructed it at Trudie's house. It was a rich chocolate cake with a whole-cherry filling and a whipped-cream/cream cheese frosting. Delicious. Sonora's wand was a last-minute addition; I ripped it from a sage brush plant behind Trudie's house. I'll make her a better one soon.