Road Trip To FORKS!

One of my bestest BYU buddies, Brandy, came to visit me this past week. She flew in last Wednesday and left Monday afternoon *sigh :( *tear. We had a fun packed week of shopping, eating, playing with Brighton, a wedding reception and what feels like DOZENS of ferry rides, as well as a much anticipated road trip to FORKS, WA, the mecca for Twilighters.

We got up early and tried to catch the ferry, only to end up waiting two hours to get on one. Ugh, if only we could get to Forks in a faster way than taking a ferry. I'm all ferried out for quite some time. But Brighton loved it. We kept her happy in the car by telling her soon we'd be on a boat. Finally aboard, all she could do was say "boat," "water," and "bird" and ask if she could give the birds hugs. She's very loving.

Brandy and I enjoying yet another ferry ride. Yay! We're going to FORKS!

Brighton asking to give the birds some hugs.

After a REALLY long traffic line for a lavender festival, we finally made it to Port Angeles, another important stop on the Twilight map. I seriously don't know where Bella and her friends would have shopped for dresses (all I saw was Walmart and Payless) but we were there nonetheless. Then it was on to Forks, along a windy road where we asked Dale to drive like a Cullen. There's no way we could even get over 45 mph. Edward is awesome for making it home with Bella alive and in such a short amount of time. It took us a few hours.
There was this gorgeous lake that we passed, the name eludes me at the moment. But it was such a wonderful blue color. Even though the drive to Forks was LONG, it was so gorgeous.Brandy and I laughing at each other being silly.

Finally here, after way too many hours to feel comfortable telling you. And I don't even think 3,175 people could live in this city. It's much too small to hold them all.

Right after we took this picture, a tour bus with "Twilight" written on the side, pulled up and unloaded several fans.
Pulling into town, we passed this motel. We just loved what their sign said.

We parked along the side of the main street, Forks Ave, and walked up and down (in like 15 minutes, maybe less).
We saw this giant tree stump declaring Forks the "Logging Capitol of the World." Awesome.

There REALLY is only one main street, just like in the book, and it's lined with shops like this one- gift shops dedicated to Twilight. Brandy and I hope that Stephenie Meyer is getting cut a nice fat royalty check. There's nothing in this town but Twilight stuff.
Check it out- Bella has her very own First Aid Kit for sale in this pharmacy.

A little ways off the main street, we found Carlisle's hospital. It's REALLY small.

Lucky for Bella, her house was just around the corner from the hospital.

Making our way to the other side of Forks Ave, we found Forks High! Go Spartans!

We kept Brighton entertained by giving her leaves. So easy to please at this age.
On our way to the Cullens, we passed by City Hall. Not a major attraction in Twilight, but we figured, since we're here...
The home of the Cullens. (It really is a bed and breakfast, but it's about the only home around that could pass for maybe belonging to the Cullens.)

The Cullens get mail, too!
On our way out of town, Dale decided he wanted to take a picture with Brighton, even though it was mostly a trip for Brandy and I. Thanks for driving Dale, you ROCK! Yay for Forks!

32 Weeks Pregnant!

This was the ONLY one that Dale took that didn't look too horrible. I was wanting to show you Mason's crib (well, Brighton's for the moment), but all you get to see is the blue wall and the bumper; no crib skirt, sorry.

We took this last Monday when I was 32 weeks. So as of today, I'm at 33 weeks! Yay! I had my first horrible night's sleep last night where I just couldn't get comfortable. My skin feels like it's going to rip itself right off of my ribs. I feel huge, yet I look at pictures and I'm really barely even popping out there! I've gained 25 pounds so far. With Brighton I gained a total of 30, the last 5 coming the final couple weeks. We'll see if that happens this time, too.

I had my Dr.'s appointment a few weeks ago as well and we discussed inducing. Our official inducing date is August 28, ten days early, but we're going to do all that we can to get this baby to come a few days before that. Our Dr. is going on vacation the 28th of August and not coming back until September 8th, the day after my due date. I REALLY don't want some other doc delivering my baby, so cross your fingers. And I really don't want Mason to get so big that I can't get him out naturally, so a few weeks early would be nice- Dale's babies (well, I guess just the one, Brighton) have really big heads.

Quilt Along Progress Report

I sewed some sashing to each of my 70 squares last week and then laid them out randomly to see how they'll look. I still have to sew the rows together and add a white strip between each one and then do the border. But it's coming together (slowly) nicely. I'm still hoping to get this quilt done before little Mason arrives. Pray with me, and wish me luck. There isn't much time left!

Lamp for Mason's Room

BEFORE:

I bought this lamp on sale at Walmart for $5. Not the exact green, but it'll work. I thought the lamp shade needed to be "prettied" up a bit, so I added some of my left orange stripe fabric.

AFTER:

So much better!

The room is coming along nicely, and Brighton's room is coming together a bit more slowly. The style I'm going for is a bit more eclectic, less matchy-matchy than Mason's, so it could be some time before I feel that it's right. Plus, we really can't put too much in there that is going to distract her from learning to sleep in her "big girl" bed. I'll keep you posted with that room as I get closer to finishing it.

Getting Crafty Today!

Yesterday, Dale and I went to Target to look at prices for new sheets for Brighton's new room and a new curtain rod. We didn't find any sheets that I liked, and I'm not gooey eyed over any curtain rods there, so we're keeping our options open.

We did manage to leave with two items that we were NOT looking for: Two bath mats, one brown and one yellow. They were on clearance for $1.48. Dale has made SEVERAL requests that I make plenty of SUPER absorbent burp cloths before little Mason arrives- specifically 12 of them. So we thought, bath mats are pretty good at soaking up water, why not baby vomit?

I cut each one in half and added a fun fabric binding. They're a good size and I'm hoping they'll do the trick. And four of them for $3? You really can't beat that. They also had a magenta one on sale along with the brown and yellow, in case you're interested.

The only thing I'm not super crazy about is the- I don't know what you'd call it- the indented part? But whatever, it's for baby vomit right? It just makes me kind of second guess myself ever using re purposed towels for a gift to someone.

I also managed to get these little babies done during Brighton's nap time. I used the freezer paper stencil technique- LOVE IT! But if I EVER decide to use the "Curlz" font again, please shoot me BEFORE I start with the exacto knife. It literally took me 33 minutes just to cut out those letters for Brighton's shirt and my finger is going to have a blister, I'm sure of it.

Brighton's Booster Seat

We're pushing the "Big Girl Now" thing with Brighton. We've been working on eating off of a plate (and not throwing it on the ground) and using a fork and spoon. Last Friday, we invited Brighton to join us at the table to eat like a "big girl." She's been doing a good job, and likes to call it her "big girl chair."

Having her eat with us had me a bit concerned for our carpet. Our dining area is carpeted- not great for toddlers. Dale and I spent the past couple days discussing what we'd like to do, and we decided I needed to make a little mat to catch all Brighton's little presents for the dog. Please back me up, and tell me you're thinking something vinyl? To protect from liquids? Easy clean-up? Dale wasn't on board with that idea, but I pulled the "If I'm making it, I'm making it how I want it" card.

We went to Joann's and I found this vinyl in the remnants. It was exactly a yard- but because it was a remnant it was 50% off. This is the really nice, heavy duty stuff that's $10/yard and we got it for $5! We got lucky. Well, I couldn't just put some ugly vinyl on the floor- this IS me we're talking about. I added a binding with fabric that had a few colors from the house. So now it's a pretty "drop cloth" that matches our house. Hopefully it will serve another purpose throughout the years.

Finished Crafts

I FINALLY did the valance!

I've been putting it off because I was concerned I couldn't figure out how to get the squares to turn out looking right. Mostly just the one on the far left. I'm not an expert quilter, so putting these squares together was intimidating! But I did it.

They each measure about 12" square, with a layer of batting inside for some form and weight, and I tied them to the rod with orange rope. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

I looked up sailing flags, and the valance spells out M-A-S-O-N. Well, the second one from the left was supposed to hang different and have a triangle cut out, but I didn't want to deal with that. So it sort of spells Mason.

The lighting is really bad, sorry, but you can see (sort of) the blue paint. We finished that this past weekend and it looks so awesome! I'm so happy with the color. And I swear it makes the room seem bigger. Even with all the same furniture in it, it still feels like there's more space. Maybe it's just that there's nothing on the walls yet?

And I finally finished this little guy. He's been without eyes for the past year now. I figure Brighton is old enough to not eat a giant button- we'll see. So far, so good. And he's supposed to look all crooked- I'm not just a really crappy sewer :). He's from the book, Denyse Schmidt Quilts. Her designs are more funky and modern- not everything is to my taste, but she does do some fun stuff.

Fourth of July- The REAL Party!

We used our sparklers from Sarah and Jason's wedding to entertain Brighton the evening of the Fourth. She enjoyed dancing around them.

Here's Brighton's festive outfit. I was going to freezer paper something on the shirt, but got lazy and never did it. But I did make the skirt! It's from a bandanna in the dollar section at Target. Then I added the white ruffle! Super cute and she liked it too.

Here's B and Daddy watching the sparklers go!

Brighton, dancing to the music? No idea, but she's having fun.

Our neighbor had a ton of these little flags, and so she gave one to B. She had fun waving it around.

Here's proof that I was there too!

Our neighbors were celebrating a birthday- and the Fourth of July. Talk about an insane party. They started letting off fireworks and brought us some candy from their pinatas. We decided it was time to pull up a chair and watch the show.

We even let Brighton have a sucker for a few minutes. Lucky girl. She stayed up until about 9:30 watching the fireworks, and then started to fall asleep in my lap. The fireworks didn't even keep her awake as the neighborhood continued to let them off until midnight!

Morning of the 4th

A good friend of mine that I used to work with got married on Saturday, the 4th of July. It was held at an old historic church in Port Gamble. Dale and I had never been over that way before, so we made sure to arrive an hour early so we could check things out. We had a photo shoot near the water. I'm huge and pregnant, and was in no mood to play model.

But Dale loves to pretend he's Derek Zoolander, so he enjoyed the photo opp.

We went into this store and saw tons of shells from all over the world, weird starfish with zillions of legs (I know, I thought they only had 5!) and stuffed sharks. Pretty cool.

Everything is kept in an old town feel with white picket fences everywhere. It was really a cute little town.

It being the Fourth of July, there were also flags and beautiful red, white and blue flowers everywhere.

Here's the groom (Jason) waiting for Sarah to come out and walk down the aisle. It was officiated by a woman minister, which was interesting, and different. The church was really small and could only hold about 50 people. It was really nice to have such an intimate little wedding. And the reception was held just outside in the yard of the church.

As favors, we were given sparklers- sticking with the whole July 4th theme. Here's me, modeling the beautiful favors. The best man gave a great toast- and when I say great, it was REALLY REALLY great. One thing he DID make a comment about was the fact that they were getting married on "Independence Day." An oxymoron of a day. It was really good.

Here's Sarah on the steps of the church tossing the bouquet. Her own mother caught it! Way to go mom! But I don't think she's hopeful about a wedding in her future... :)

This is not a pretty picture. It is meant to show you my absolute disgust with the wind. We're on the ferry ride home and Dale wanted to go outside and model. I hate the wind! It gets your hair messed up and caught in your lipgloss. It's why I will never own a convertible. I'd never have the top down. I hate my hair blowing around my face. UGH!

Labradoodle Pups

Last Tuesday evening we went over to my friend Heather's house to visit with her little pups. Brighton and Dale hadn't seen them yet, and they're finally at a fun (and safe for Brighton to grab) age to play with.

Brighton was wearing her new dress that I made using this tutorial from MADE. I'd picked up the shirt from the thrift store probably about a year ago and finally decided it need to be made into something quickly. I've tried to make things for friends or Brighton in between baby room stuff just to take a break from it. I think it turned out super cute!

I made this dress with the intentions of having it grow along with Brighton. I made a drawstring waist instead of elastic, and the hem can be let out another two inches as she gets taller. Dale laughed at me and said pretty much "You know you'll never let her keep it that long- you'll decide she needs something new." But I did make it with the INTENTION that it will last her a while, so I at least FEEL good about it.

Brighton was fine to just watch everyone else play with the puppies and get wet kisses.

Aren't they so cute? They're 8 weeks old, so new owners will be coming and taking them home in these next few weeks. So sad! I will miss them!