harry potter hangover.

7:27 was the beginning of the end. 

before we left, we got our ink on.
i endured a fair amount of teasing
after telling them i hadn't taken off the plastic liner the first time i tried.
{yes, i read skimmed the instructions, and yes, that part was in bold...}
round two proved to be successful and off we went.

after filling up with gas, buying two boxes of mike and ike's
water bottles and chips and salsa{?} at the gas station,
we headed to walgreens to redbox deathly hallows part one.
while there we added starburst and red vines to our contraband candy.
we were finally ready to go.
lined up outside the theater, we saw them.
waiting.
robes, glasses, wands, dark marks and ties.
gryffindor's, hufflepuff's, slytherin's and ravenclaw's.
 bellatrix's, weasley's, harry's and muggles.

we didn't have access to fish and chips,
so we settled on five guys instead.
some high school boys got really excited when they saw our tattoos
and we started chatting about the movie.
where they were going to see it, if they were dressing up, who they would be.
the one with curly blonde hair said he wanted to make a wand
out of a drumstick but didn't have time.
i looked at my watch, said it was still early
told him to get whittling.
he did.
they asked to take a picture of my dark mark
and we gave him our last extra.
as we walked back to the car dan said,
"did you see that big man with the tattoos in there?
when i was in line he looked at me and said,
'it's so good. the end is so emotional.'
harry potter brings people together.
 i wouldn't have talked to half of the people in there
 if it weren't for harry potter."
and i knew he was right.

as soon as i laid out the blanket, my lemonade spilled all over. 

it spread across the asphalt and soaked the corners and middle.

i had to hang it on an orange post and caution tape in order to dry it.

we sat. we ate. we discussed. we people watched.

there was a girl who tried to do a back bend in line and almost fell.

wtffffff?

after dinner the boys went to throw away the trash and grab the laptop.

we huddled around the laptop and watched as part one unfolded.

not having headphones meant not being able to hear.

then i suggested we turn on the subtitles.

about half-way through, beth came.

by this point, the line was constantly being scooted up {for no reason}

so we decided to stand and watch.

it killed my neck but it was worth every minute.

i regret not taking many pictures.
i feel like such a momentous occasion should have been documented better.
but, this is the shirt i wore.
please note, this photograph is not my shirt.
{mine would never be that wrinkled}.
i had to borrow it because i didn't get a good picture of me in mine.
too excited to pose.
you know how it goes. 

i bawled. 

at least four times.

as we drove home,

we talked about being able to share the story with our children. 

it reminded me of what ayley said and i smiled. 

the magic will never die.

it will live within us forever.

#longlivepotter.