Thursday, June 25, 2009

Knives, Spoons, and.....FORKS!



I know this is the cheesiest title ever, but Adam was so funny on our drive to Forks.  He says all of a sudden, "Wait!  We are going to Forks and at home we eat with Forks!  Is that so cool Mommy?"  Yes Adam, yes it is.

Adam, Tyler, Gina (my sister-in-law), Jennie (my lil sis), and I were all able to take a drive through the Olympic Peninsula yesterday.  It was such a wonderful trip and we had a blast!  Being Twilight fans we of course had to go to Forks which is where the books take place.

It is about a 3.5 hour drive so we left at 6am.  On the way we saw....The Y Motel!  In the early 90's my parents took us on a family vacation to the Olympic RainForest.  We stayed at this Motel and have been joking about it ever since.  It was the WORST motel ever!  Not suprisingly it is closed now.... We were so excited to see it.

Then it was on to Forks!  This is the now famous sign that greets you upon entering.


Adam was SOOOOO excited!  Apparently 3 is not too young to love Twilight (don't judge me! haha).

Outside the Chamber of Commerce is Bella's truck...She doesn't need it anymore now that she is a Cullen.


We went on a nature loop and were able to find the awesome Twilight themed GeoCache that my Aunt and Uncle created.  I was impressed with how many people had done it. Very Cool!

Gina thinks she is a vampire and can climb trees....

At the Chamber of Commerce they give you a map with all the book locations.  It was so fun to drive around town and see what an impact Stephenie Meyer has made on this little town in the middle of nowhere.  They are so proud of their town and welcome any Twilight fans.

This is the Swan residence.  Unfortunately Charlie wasn't home.

Even the hospital has a reserved spot for Carlisle.
This is where Charlie and Bella like to eat with locals.  They now serve Twilight themed food.  We however ate at Subway where they serve a Twilight Sub.


Forks High School was of course on the map!  


Dazzled by Twilight is a store that sells everything Twilight.  My mom and aunts actually sell vinyl to this store.  We were there on a Wednesday morning and it was packed!  I'm talking shoulder to shoulder.  There were some pretty cute things there.


We couldn't come to Forks without attempting to see the Cullens, so it was off to the Cullen's home.


Unfortunately they weren't home.  It looks like they turn their house into a Bed and Breakfast when away.

There was however a very sullen Edward Cullen glaring out the window.  

This is after he bit me....I was a newborn.

Charlie's work was right around the corner at the Police Department.  All seemed calm.  It looks like they haven't been having any mysterious deaths lately.

Gina did however get arrested.....

LaPush was our next stop.  They also love Twilight Fans, but are not as touristy about it.

The Quileute tribe is very strict about their No Vampire Policy (and Pepsi). 

We did see the Wolf pack!


LaPush was pretty run down but the beach was beautiful!

It's LaPush!

I couldn't get over how gorgeous the forest was.  I could just imagine Vampires and Werewolves in them.  Adam kept saying he saw Edward running in the trees.  He's funny!

We decided to do a little hike down to 2nd Beach.  It was almost 2 miles roundtrip through the Rainforest.....and I mean RAIN forest!  It was raining pretty hard but what can you expect?  I put Tyler in the front pack and he kept throwing his head back and letting the rain go down his face with a big smile.  He loves the rain.  It was very cute.

This is Gina pretending to be Edward. "You're like a drug to me.  My own personal brand of heroin."

The trees were just amazing.  I have never seen anything like it.  Even if you don't like Twilight, this is a great place to visit!

After the hike down we were greeted by one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen (and I have seen some great beaches).  

Jennie was slightly excited I think.

Can't you just picture Bella diving off those cliffs in the background?  Gina was looking for Jacob the whole time.

I was happy with my little werewolf cub.

There were a bunch of logs that we had to climb over to get from the trail to the ocean.  It was so pretty.

After La Push we decided to go to Volterra......

Just kidding, but it does look like it huh?

We went home up through Port Angeles (doing a whole loop around the Puget Sound that day).  This is the theater of course that Bella, Mike and Jacob went to the night Jacob started to turn into a wolf.

There was also the Italian Restaraunt that Bella and Edward went to on their first date.

We finished off a long but amazing day with a ride back to Seattle on the Ferry.  

Adam and Tyler loved it and I have to admit that I thought it was pretty fun, too.

There was no rain and the view was beautiful.

Jennie and I did however turn into Vampires.....


That's what happens when you GET BIT!

The Cutest Little Fishies at the Aquarium



This week I have been able to visit all our friends and family in Washington.  We have had a blast, even though Mario had to stay home and work.  Since we have been here I've helped my Mom and Aunts with their craft sale, attended one of my best friends weddings, gone to the Aquarium, and taken a day trip to the Olympic Peninsula.  I have lots to blog but I'll start with the Seattle Aquarium.

I love Seattle!  Everything about it.  The Puget Sound is incredible and always feels like home.


We enjoyed eating lunch looking out over the water.  It was so cold but felt so Seattle!

My boys and I, my sister Jennie, and my sister-in-law Gina met my cousins Jacki and Heather and their boys to go to the Seattle Aquarium.  That is 5 little boys under the age of 4!  They loved seeing all the fish.

Nemo, Marlin, and Dory were the most popular by far!



This is my cousin Heather and her cute little baby, Brooks.  I hadn't seen her in so long so it was awesome!

Tyler and Cory were so adorable looking at the fish together.

This is my cousin/bff Jacki and her adorable little boys.  

Adam and Connor are best buddies and held hands through a lot of the aquarium.  So cute!


It was such a fun day downtown!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Are All Red Heads this Awesome?

Yesterday was my brother, Adrian's, Birthday! He is pretty much amazing and I love him a ton. Adrian is one of the most selfless people I have ever known. He never complains and is ALWAYS fun to be around. He is a fantastic artist and is like a walking almanac. We have never fought and have always been the best of friends. I am so happy that he is getting married to an amazing girl next month!

He's pretty much an internationally known male model.....

He comes up with the most fun things to do....



He's an amazing uncle.....



and an even better brother!








We love you Adrian!!! Happy Birthday!