Trip to Seattle

So, for my holidays at the beginning of August, Claire, Daniel, Tipper and I headed south to sunny Seattle. I can actually say that because, it was actually sunny!!! Gotta love the Northwest in August!! We had a great time and it only rained when we weren't ready to head outside, so, that wa perfect! We got to see Matthew and Claire is in love! No baby is as cute as Matthew. She can't wait to see him at Christmas!!!

Our Tour Guides! They never tired, but I am sure that they were ready for us to head home at the end of the week. It is always good to see family come, and go. Matthew is such an amazing baby, as long as he has food and his wipies he is good to go anywhere! We saw lots of Uncle Aaron too, but he didn't want to participate in any of our craziness and now that Matthew is here, there wasn't room in the car!

Our 1st touring day was spent at the Seattle Science Centre. I didn't have my camera with me, so, if you want to see pics of that you will have to visit http://www.greenbuckets.blogspot.com/. Steph has those pics posted on her blog. Oh, and you can check out super cute Matthew too!!! It was a good day and didn't tire anyone out too much.

There was also some shopping done by us while Steph was at work, a trip to Ivors to feed the seagulls and a midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince at the Imax theatre. Matthew and Steph missed out on that, they just didn't have the stamina that day.

The big trip of the visit, planned waaaaay in advance was to Port Angeles, Forks and La Push. Now, if you are not familiar with the Twilight books by Stephanie Meyer, you will have no idea why this trip was such a big deal. Now, to get to these towns, you have to drive all the way south of Seattle and back up to get around the sound and it takes about 4 hours because the roads are super skinny and super windy. Takes some time!!! But the views are great and there are even giant cedars on the way. In the books, Port Angeles is the "big Center" the characters visit when they want to do some shopping or see a movie. Forks, WA is where they live and La Push is the adjoining Indian Reserve where the Werewolves reside. It was a great day and Claire and I, especially had a good time. I have to admit that I have not seen that many pre-teen girls in one place since the Hillary Duff concert a few years ago. They were everywhere on their own personal pilgrimages to visit the place where Edward and Bella fell in love!! Towns were very accommodating with self guided tours and lots of attractions to take in. You can read more about Port Angeles, WA here and Forks and La Push, WA here .

I have to admit that La Push was my favourite place to visit this trip. I love the ocean and make it a necessary detour whenever I am in Seattle. It just calms my soul and frankly, there was nothing I needed more in August. The kids and I picked rocks to make a door mat out of and hopefully we will get that done over the winter when the snow is blowing.

The following are pictures from Port Angeles

Bella Itallia (please note the name) where Bella and Edward have dinner

Book stores visited by Bella when she visits Port Angeles in the book

The following are pictures taken in Forks, WA the home town of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen

sign when you enter town

The Swan residence where Bella lives with her Father, the police Chief

This is supposed to be the Cullen residence. I was disappointed in this house. Not nearly as beautiful as it is described in the book. I understand that the book is fiction and that they did the best they could, but really, don't you think they should have built an exact replica, out in the woods like the one in the book?!?!?

High school that all the kids attend.

And last on the list of places for us to visit was the La Push Indian Reserve and the ocean. Can't wait to go back. The following are the pics taken on the beach.

Our attempt at a group photo. Note that Claire is absent. She is actually just down beside Matthew! Steph has the shot with Claire at www.greenbuckets.blogspot.com

Claire on a gian piece of driftwood

Claire and Daniel in the ocean. Please note that my crazy Canadian kids were the only ones in the water that day without wetsuits. This is August people!!

And last but not least, Steph and Matthew. This boy is definitely the new love of my sister's life. Just look at what he has done for her face. I miss you both everyday and Aaron too. Take care and we will see you soon!!