Forks, WA: Never thought I would actually go there.

WARNING: If you are a Twilight hater I would not bother reading this one.

I have been sorting through pictures in an attempt to get motivated to catch up on blogging. I would probably do it more frequently if I was not so overwhelmed with how behind I am.

So- first things first: I MUST finish blogging about our trip that we have been back from for 2.5 months now. Finish my Washington trip, then back to Reno for some beautiful Tahoe pics and Cooper's birthday, our trip to Utah and visits with many friends and finally the drive back...Oh my goodness, there is still a lot to catch up on.

...

After our day in Port Angeles, we woke up refreshed and ready to make the BEAUTIFUL drive to Forks and La Push.

This is what a lot of the drive looked like.

And like this.
(It gets even better people.)

And then as we are driving along, this beautiful lake comes into view.

We oohed and ahhhed the entire drive and stopped to take lots of scenic pictures.
Traveling with Robbie & Erin was perfect since they were just as willing to pull over to look at pretty things while whipping out the camera.

You know you are in the Northwest when you see not one, but two Bald Eagles sitting in a tree by the lake.
(This was one of those moments I wished I had a zoom lens.)

Still love my flowers.

The water had a Tahoe-ish look to it. Very clear.

Robbie and Erin with baby Brody living comfortably in Erin's tummy. So crazy to think he has arrived!

Me with my favorite little brother. :)

Robbie was always my bud growing up.

I think I have failed to mention that this is Lake Crescent and it is gorgeous. I would definitely go back to camp in the area.

Crystal clear water.

There will be more scenic pictures to come in La Push so get used to it.

I was feeling rather giddy about this time. I can't believe I am really making a trip to Forks.

So funny.

Forks, Washington.

Population: 3,175.

Forks welcomes ME. Because I am IN Forks.

:)

They have a library so I would be set if Todd decided to be a dentist here.

We started out by driving all ONE street to find all the tourist locations.

Stop 1: Bella's work.

Next up was the grocery store where Bella shopped.

You will see in future pictures, but the whole town does everything they can to use Twilight to their advantage. Notice the posters in the window.

They also advertise on their sign as Twilight Headquarters.

Next stop:

The High School

It looked just as Stephenie Meyer described in the books, unlike the school used in the movies.

Had to get an official picture to prove I was there.

The parking lot where it all began.

I thought this was a cute little bench where I could picture Edward & Bella sitting together.

I pictured this window as the window to the biology room. :)

The administration building where he almost eats her for the second time in one day. :)

Pretty flowers in bloom.

It was such a beautiful sunny day which is why I did not come across any vampires.

The hospital.

Such a cute little thing.

A parking spot for Dr. Cullen in the back where the tourists won't get in the way of real hospital traffic. There was also a sign asking tourists to remember that the hospital was a legit one, and not to come inside for Twilight curiosity purposes.

The City Hall which is also the police station and local jail.

Charlie's hang out.

A police vehicle. We actually some some Twilight fans talking to this guy and asking for photos.

I am not that bad.

While looking for the house they claim inspired the Cullen's house in the book, this is some of the scenery we came across.

Found it!

The front of the "Cullen" residence.

The side.

An excerpt from the book with a description of the house.

You can also see Edward peeking through the window.

A message on the white board out front saying the Cullen family is out of town.

A letter to Twilight fans from the owners of the bed & breakfast.

A box by the front door with souveniers you can purchase.

Now it is over to the main road through town. There are tons of Twilight inspired stores and plenty of normal businesses selling Twilight stuff.

This is the store I bought my sweatshirt from.

They have two Dazzled by Twilight stores. This one offers tours.

We opted out of paying to ride this bus and did our own tour. It was not difficult to navigate Forks.

Dazzled store number 2.

The inside was like walking into a forest.

There was everything you could possibly imagine and more. I couldn't resisit a picture under the gazebo.

Robbie was nice to stay out in the car with Cooper (a big sacrifice on his part, I know :) while Erin and I explored. Erin was nice enough to put up with me while I purchased everything I could get my hands on.

Jacob needed some attention as well.

Here is a window display for the Cullens. The baby in the bassinet still creeps me out.

A window for the werewolves as well.

There is a street named "Twilight".

A floral shop, advertised as Twilight Central, where B & E like to hang out.

Another sign making sure you don't miss anything with Twilight.

Even the True Value store has Twilight items to draw the tourists' attention.

After having a picnic in the park (where Robbie watched fellow construction workers violate every code in the book and had him ready to march over to their work site to put them in place :) we drove our way to the other side of town (about 3 minutes of driving) and visited the Visitors Center.

They had a lot of Twilight going on...

This is where they park Bella's truck.

I was easily one of the less enthusiastic fans that day. (And most of my friends would not call me unenthusiastic when it comes to Twilight so that is saying something.) This particular group of middle-age women were carrying around faces on a stick of their favorite character and were proudly boasting they had had them for years, before all the lifesize posters started being made.
Over half the population we saw that day were fans.

We also saw this little RV that had the whole Cullen family painted onto the back and a Team Forks on the front. I am pretty sure it was not one of the tour buses. Proabably belonged to the group above.

Thanks Robbie and Erin for making all my dreams come true!

I say that only half jokingly...

Next up is:

La Push

I am hoping to plow through the next few posts.

A New Nephew!

Congratulations Robbie & Erin!

My little brother and Sister-in-Law are first time parents to this sweet little guy. We are so happy for them and think Brody is so adorable! We can't wait to meet him at Christmas.
It makes me excited for the baby in my own expanding-at-a-rapid-rate tummy.

There is nothing like a sweet, cuddly little newborn.

Blogging? What is that?

I have not been in the mood to blog lately.

I still have pictures from our trip which we have now been back from for two months. I still plan on blogging about them if only to preserve them for my own memories.

We have also had a visit from G & G Church, our first trip to the Kentucky State Fair (we have only lived here for SEVEN summers now. It was about time.), Todd's 31st birthday, Fisher's first day of school, Cooper cutting teeth like crazy, running, moving into big boy car seats and oh yeah...there is still that matter of posting pictures of his FIRST birthday.

So much to blog about and no desire to do it so I am going to keep this post short and sweet. One picture of each of the boys and what they have been up to:

This picture about seals the deal for Cooper's favorite things right now.

His blankie, his touch & feel books and his shoes.

He is obsessed with this blanket and refuses to let me wash it. I literally have to stick it in my shirt to take it into the laundry room so that he does not freak out. He loves having books read to him. (Do you know how much it thrills my heart to see how much my boys love to read?!??) His favorites are three touch & feel animal books as shown in the picture. He will grab one and thrust it in our faces and grunt and then proceed to settle himself into our laps to let us know he wants his book read to him. So cute.

And the shoes...He is obsessed with wearing shoes. Especially one at a time. In this picture he is wearing his shoe over his pajamas. Funny kid.

Cooper's personality has sky rocketed to Fisher levels. He is wild and happy and so much fun. He is also a little monster baby who is constantly up to no good. We love him dearly.

And Fisher? Well, he is still just being his exciting little self.

He started pre school again this past Tuesday and is loving it. Soccer starts up on Tuesday which he is also excited for.

His behavior was a little rough there for a while but now that we are
getting back on a schedule and are being more social and active he seems to be doing better.

He is so excited about the baby and loves playing with Cooper although they have entered into the fighting with each other phase. He loves to draw and is consumed by dinosaurs. He loves to read books and especially looks forward to however many pages he has earned that day to have Daddy read to him at night from his dinosaur books before bedtime. We can see his brain constantly at work and just as frequently voices his questions and comments.

I am amazed he is approaching five years old. It blows me away. I tell him constantly he will always be special to me because he was the first baby I ever felt in my tummy and that will always be something we shared. As tiring as he can be at times he is a good kid who wants to please us and we love him to death.

Our lives are truly blessed.

They are even more blessed now that the darn temperatures are starting to drop to livable levels. I went outseide today and felt like I could breathe again! It was a beautiful day with fall in the air. It was probably a tease but I will take a day like that any time I can.