sunglasses {girls trip to Forks}

I saw the above picture of sunglasses and it made me think about my Mom and sisters. You see we have always had a thing for crazy glasses and when we were traveling to Victoria, B.C. a few months ago we were in need of a couple pair to assist us in our scooter ride because some of the party left theirs behind. Well nothing a little walk to a mall kiosk couldn't do to help us on our endeavors for fun, inexpensive & disposable eyewear. We were laughing so hard at Mom's huge pink glasses but that's what made it even the more entertaining. Everywhere we cruised on our scooters, there was Mom with a helmet and HUGE pink glasses glaring out. The above picture of the 1946 Vogue cover with the glasses then made me think about our boat ride over to Port Angeles as we were making our way back to Oregon. My sister candidly snapped away capturing life in action (in a previous day in college she studied photo journalism). Our little Twilight adventure was about to unfold as we first landed at the port and headed straight to Bella Italiano to partake in the mushroom ravioli (which by the way has been there before the book was written). It was getting dark and with the prospect of an hour drive in front of us we did not fret that there was not a hotel reservation to stay in Forks. After all it was off-season so why would there not be any vacancies. Forks is not exactly a big town but as the night unfolded we soon found out that ever since Stephanie Meyer came to town the lodging industry has been booming...no rooms were available that night....except one little cabin down a dirt road next to the drunken hunters. Oh don't think the hunters weren't nice or anything and didn't invite us to feast upon their words, I mean grub that they had just slayed...we passed. After slumbering through the night with a stuffed bobcat staring down at us, we awoke to find a very overcast day in the Washington forest. It certainly made for a perfect setting to have vampires thrive. So far this place looked exactly how I envisioned it would look after reading the first book (it only took one book for me to give up on the series). Whether one is a fan of Twilight or not Ms. Meyers did a great job of surveying the land and then bringing the story to life. The town has also seemed to embrace its new found fame. I mean seriously, a parking space @ the hospital for Dr. Cullen. Oh and don't worry the town also mocks all of these tourists that come on a hunt in hopes to find Edward or Jacob because we observed it first hand. Our final stop took us to the cliffs and beaches at La Push. We enjoyed the scenery as the sun came out for a nice walk along the shoreline.

A quick synopsis would lead me to end in saying that if you ever decide to go to Forks, DO NOT go alone, for many many reasons..but mostly because it wouldn't be as fun;-). I also predict that there will come a day that the busloads of crazed woman coming to town will start to dwindle as pop culture hops on a different mode of transportation that just may not include vampires anymore. What will that next craze include? I can't wait to find out. Only one request would be that it would be something I could actually get me teeth into...dun dun dum. No seriously I want something that would keep me interested in enough to read the whole series.

P.S. - If you live in the Portland area and see my sisters feel free to give them big hugs..they won't think you are weird or anything. Just tell them that I sent you. My one sister in the denim shirt just had a baby come out of her belly..cute little Anna.

encapsulate

I never want to forget playing hide-and-seek yesterday with the kids because they could not keep themselves from giggling as they hid in showers under cabinets. I especially never want to forget the way their sweet little innocent voices sound as they were so easily pleased. I wonder if they thought I would not find them if I could still hear there cute little voices even though they were out of sight. These kids do something to me that make me want to be better. No doubt that there are many long exhausting days but they are so worth it right now. I wish I could encapsulate so much of what the kids bring into my life at this time. Tomorrow I might want to change my mind..but the beauty of it all is that the good usually always outweighs the bad.

A good ol' fashioned birthday party

It's interesting but I do believe my environment has played a big role in the way I have gone about doing some things in rearing my babies. My Momma was not a big believer in throwing friend parties every year or every other year for that matter. In fact I had one when I turned 6 & 12. The girls turned 6 and wanted a party and guess what they got a party. I pretty much planned the same things that I did at my party for their party..a pinata, pin the tail on the donkey and if we would have made it to another activity it would have been red rover. I started out with big plans with all of the inspiration pictures I had saved to my folders but as time quickly approached I had to keep editing and simplifying. It turned out to be so much fun and I am really glad I had not planned some elaborate party that included crafting or painting glitter nails because when it came down to it the girls had more fun jumping and chasing each other around more than anything. One thing that I observed that warmed my heart was when Maile noticed a little girl that was off by herself. She went over to her and asked her if she was ok and if she was having fun. She then invited her to join the other girls. I guess she really did listen to me the day before when I talked to her and Maren about making sure nobody ever felt left out. Well they are six now and I am really happy to have been able to celebrate another year of our lives together. I sometimes feel like they got the short end of the stick when the boys came. They sort of lost me as their Mom for a little while. I am thankful for those other women that step into my shoes to help in taking care of them and making them feel loved. I am thankful for the sweetness my little M & M's bring into our home.