One Heck of a Post

Whew! It sure did take me a while to get the energy for this long of a post. I have tons to catch up on from the past 3 weeks. Here it goes...

August 14, 2008 - Brian Regan Concert(This picture shows the kind of seats we had!)

The night before we left on our trip we went to Thanksgiving Point to see Brian Regan! Doug and I just love his comedy and had a blast. We had never been to a concert at the Amphitheater up there and didn't know that 1. it was outdoors, 2. there was no seating. So we failed to bring a blanket, chairs, nothing. The traffic was awful getting into that place and we spent a little too much time enjoying our dinner at Cafe Rio, so by the time we got through the maze and into the theater, there were thousands of people covering the grass and absolutely no where to sit. Thankfully my husband is a conman and was able to sleuth two chairs for us to sit on (and in a crowd that big and people hunting for chairs, I still have no idea how he did it. I really think he may have stole them out from under someone sitting on them. But hey, I was grateful!) Brian Regan was, of course, making us laugh out loud the entire night. Our favorite joke of the night (since Doug served his mission in Macon, Georgia): You can always tell how smart your friends are by reviewing the news headlines with them. "I can't believe that Russia invaded Georgia." "Oh no, really? I hope Bubba's ok there down in Macon!" (spoken in a true redneck voice). Then if another friend says "No stupid, Macon's in Louisiana", and another says "No, I think Bubba got abducted by aliens!" then you really need to get new friends. Needless to say, that was a big hit with Doug and still has us laughing to this day.


August 15 - 24, 2008 - Midwest Vacation
Our vacation to the Midwest was a wonderfully long, fun success! Although I can hardly believe that it's already come and gone. We planned this vacation so long ago that it felt like we waited forever, and now it's over! But we had such a great time and kept ourselves busy 24/7.

Minneapolis, Minnesota was our first of many stops. After quite the layover/problem/hassle in the enormous Denver airport (along with a quick stop at the airport grille for lunch) we made it safe and sound on Friday night. My Uncle John and Aunt Marilynn picked us up at the airport and then continued to cater to us the entire weekend. We drove to their home in the outskirts of Minneapolis, a town called Prior Lake, and got the grand tour. Every time we visit my mom's family we go to Milwaukee and my Uncle John meets us there, so I had never been to his home. Simply put, his house is amazing. His gigantic, perfectly furnished, meticulously decorated mansion sits on a fully landscaped (pond with full grown fish and all) 3 acre lot in the countryside. Our guest room was stocked with colorful towels, Hawaiian lotion, and mints! I felt like I was at a swanky bed and breakfast in Nantucket or something! That night we caught up over pizza and hit the sack early due to our long day of traveling.
John and Marilynn had Saturday all planned out for us beginning with breakfast at Cracker Barrel, to which we drove in style! I got to drive the shiny white Corvette to breakfast and Doug got to drive it back. I hear that Doug was a bit more adventurous testing it's limits than I was, but hey - that's to be expected. We made it back just in time to head to the Minnesota Twins MLB game! I'm the first to admit, baseball games can get tedious and boring, but we were lucky enough to catch a great game. The Twins came back in the 9th inning to beat the Seattle Mariners, which made it a lot of fun. We watched the game in the MetroDome, which is an indoor stadium. The funniest thing was walking out the doors and getting flung forward, just as much as if an over sized, strong man shoved you as hard as he could. I didn't realize the air mechanics involved in keeping the top of the MetroDome up, and was sure surprised when exiting! That night we had a great BLT dinner on the deck and caught a few Olympic events on TV.
(of course we had the lettuce wraps, do you even have to ask?) and thanks to the trusty Sunday proved to be just as event-filled with our first excursion being the Mall of America. I know it's no knew thing, but that thing is huge! With over 520 stores, an amusement park, 4 floors, and over 2.5 million square feet, you could spend hours, no - days, in this place. As you might guess, you can literally find anything you want. And we did. Doug got some new shoes and a Twins hat and I found a hat I liked as well. Following the mall, we ate dinner at PF ChangsGarminNuvi GPS System we made it without so much as a wrong turn! John and Marilynn also introduced us to the crab won tons which is being added to my favorite list. Yum! And unrelated to PF Changs, Marilynn also introduced us to berries 'n cream. Sounds average, I know, but her secret french vanilla coffee creamer does the trick. Doug and I literally have eaten this snack probably close to 10 times since we've been home. Big hit. We are indebted!
We did feel rather sad when we said our goodbyes, but we had a great time. It was so good to spend one-on-one time (ok, two-on-two) time with John and Marilynn. We just don't get to see them very often, so I loved spending time with them. They were such great hosts and made our trip so fun. Thanks you guys!

Monday morning we picked up our rental car and started the 6 hour drive to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I wish I could say that I participated in the actual driving part, but I was just way to enthralled with my book (see last section of post) and so the time flew by really quickly. Aside from stopping at Subway for a quick lunch and being the map girl giving directions (which wasn't hard because although the drive is quite beautiful, there's not much besides fields, fields, and more fields), I didn't do much and we were in Milwaukee before I knew it. My grandparents were kind enough to get us a room in the hotel where they live - The Astor in downtown Milwaukee. After our reunited hugs and hello's, and getting settled into our room, we headed to my Aunt Mara's house for dinner with her family. It was a lot of fun catching up and just spending time with this side of the family that we never get to see. Doug had never met Thomas and the boys, so it was a great opportunity to get together (he met Mara when she came out for the wedding, and my grandparents when they came for my high school graduation). I can't believe how big the boys are getting - Ben is a teenager now, and Sam and Henry are no longer little boys! Mara slaved away for us in the kitchen and made a delicious meal and we ended the night with a bit of Olympics watching.
Tuesday morning Doug, my grandpa, and I walked to the Harley Davidson museum. My mom saw an advertisement for the grand opening of this museum on the Today Show and suggested we go. It turned out to be a big hit. It was so cool to see the first bike Harley made from 1903, all of the early editions, bikes made for the army and postal service, and then all of the crazy tricked out bikes through the decades. We even saw the bike Elvis bought, with the original Bill of Sale and everything! Doug loved it, as you can imagine, and my grandpa was even impressed by how much work had gone into the museum. And impressing my grandpa, the history buff, is not an easy thing to do! The museum was followed by eating at the Milwaukee Public Market (we really need one of these in Utah - quick place to go with tons of vendors offering a huge variety of foods) where we had a delicious lunch. My grandpa then took us to Art Asia, a Milwaukee visit staple, since Doug saw a oriental, intricate bench at my Uncle John's house which was bought there. It's a neat little store with tons of old Chinese furniture - stuff I would buy if I was made of money! We then met my cousin Ben at Discovery World located on the Pier, which has hands-on technology and innovations exhibits. They had things like flight simulators, an aquarium with a fish petting zoo, bed of nails, and a 3D facial scanner. It was fun to be able to try out the different exhibits. The best part? Mara has a family pass so we all got in free! After walking back to the hotel (yes, that whole day was spent walking - like 7 miles total) my grandma, grandpa, Ben, Doug, and I drove out to the Greek restaurant that my grandparents love. Doug and I ventured out on our own after that to try and find the frozen custard joint, Lixx, in Shorewood. And quite surprisingly, we made our way around rather well! I don't think I have to say it, but that night we slept really well.
Wednesday was another busy day. We went to lunch with my grandparents at the Milwaukee Art Museum cafe and then toured the museum with my grandpa. Like my grandpa said, the building itself is more impressive than the things it actually holds! Good thing we rested for a while at the chairs-throughout-time exhibit, because upon exiting the museum we were off again! Doug and I met Tom and Ben across the street to begin our Segway tour! Here is a picture of a Segway in case you haven't seen them. I was not familiar with them until this tour, and so I didn't realize how they ran. Basically, your weight 100% balances the Segway. It is very difficult to fall when riding it - the balance mechanism does not allow for you to fall backward or frontwards. The movement is also 100% controlled my your body. When you lean forward, the machine goes forward. When you lean backwards, the machine reverses. It really is quite amazing and they are SO fun. If they didn't cost so much (around $6000) I would want one for myself! Anyways, we got to ride these little babies all around the lake front while we got a little bit of history of Milwaukee. It was a blast! Following the tour, my grandparents picked us up to go to their favorite little Chinese restaurant (the owners even know them by name!). They had wonderful food and we had a great time. That night, the last one we were in Milwaukee, we went over for another visit with the Kuhlmann's. We wish we could have spent more time with Mara and her family, but we caught her right in the middle of a busy week at work. Leave it to us to plan a trip in the middle of a crazed week! We really had such a great time visiting my family in Milwaukee, and wish we could have stayed even longer to spend more time with them. Thanks to my grandparent's and the Kuhlmann's for all the planning of fun activities while we were there! We were definitely well taken care of on this trip and we are so appreciative! (And Grandpa, we could barely keep up with you!)

Thursday morning we drove (massive tolls and all) to Chicago. Our first stop was actually to Glenview in order to attend the temple. This temple really looks more like a stake center than a temple, but it's still really beautiful. When then drove (ok, sped) to a Chicago Cubs MLB game! It was so cool to see the old Wrigley Field. It is seriously like a time warp - the old school bleachers, manual score board (no jumbo screen), and relatively small stadium. It's really funny - the homeowners across the street can see the game from their rooftops, so they have added bleachers and sell tickets to the games! Of course, we just had to have a 'Chicago Dog' and had a great time watching the game. We got a kick out of these fans. They went crazy after every play. Literally, every play. It could be the 2nd out in the 4th inning and they cheered as though their 'cubbies' had just won the World Series. And every time the other team would hit a home run (I think it happened 2 times) the ball would literally be out of the park. Then someone on the street would throw the ball back into the stadium, the ball landing on the field! The crowd would then go wild! It was certainly a fun game to go to. They ended up beating the Cincinnati Reds 3-2, and we actually saw a husband and wife look at each other with loving eyes and kiss each other passionately because their team won! Crazy fans...
Our next excursion also included a professional sporting event - an NFL Bears game! Although this turned out to be quite a pricey event (we spent $45 on freakin' parking, for crying out loud - we didn't have a choice - stop judging) we had a blast! It was amazing seeing the professional football field and the enormous soldier stadium, which was built like the old Colosseum. Although the Bears lost, we had such a good time and loved watching the game vs. the 49ers.
We stayed in a Doubletree hotel just outside of Chicago (again more tolls, one that we accidentally missed, drove right through, and panicked, thinking we would receive in the mail a ticket the size of Texas) in a city called Downer's Grove. The hotel was actually very nice with a big bedroom, separate living room, a fridge, and two TV's. A funny story about Doug checking into our hotel: He handed our reservation paper to the lady at the front desk and told her our name in hopes of a quick hand off of the key so we could soon get to bed, it being 12:07 in the morning. She then told him that the hotel was expecting him on August 21 and wondered why we were checking in a day late, that we should have checked in yesterday. The lady was rather snippy with Doug and kind of scolded him for making the check-in difficult on her. He finally said to her rather curtly, "We're 7 minutes late lady! 8 minutes ago was 'yesterday'!" Some people just don't get it.
It was great to sleep in on Friday morning, since we were both exhausted for being on the go constantly for days. Friday was just kind of a day to relax and have fun exploring the city. Unfortunately it's impossible to park in the city for less than the price of a small country, so that hindered the amount of city landmarks we could see. We weren't familiar enough with the Subway system or bus stops to get around easily, so we parked our car and took the heel-toe express. We first had lunch at the ESPN Zone (equipped with the best nachos ever) and had a great time. We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping in downtown Chicago and site seeing. We saw the old Chicago Theater and took a stroll through Millenium Park. We saw the Sears Tower, from a distance that is - it was, frankly, just too far to walk. It was really fun to see the city, but it definitely solidified my decision never to live in a big city. It's way too crowded, expensive, and busy! Later than night we had a relaxing night swimming and me: reading my book, Doug: reading the newspaper. Doug, being the nice husband he is, even ran out and got us some dinner at midnight. We had a great time in Chicago and loved the hotel we stayed in.

Saturday morning we got an early start for our day's adventures. We drove the 3.5 hours from Chicago to Nauvoo, Illinois to see some early church history sites. I had been to Nauvoo once before, when my family went to see the open house of the Nauvoo temple. However, Doug had never been there and it was really fun for him to explore (fun for me too - I was a teenager when we went before and let's face it - touring church history sites wasn't on the top of my list). After lunch at the small-town establishment Grandpa John's Diner, we started out touring the old homes of early church members including Joseph and Emma Smith, Brigham Young, Sidney Rigdon, and Heber C. Kimball. It was really cool to tour the Mansion House, Joseph and Emma's 2nd home in Nauvoo. In this home was an original dresser, mirror, stair rail, and front step from when the Smith's lived there in the early 1800's. To think that we stood on the same step where so many early church 'greats' stood! It was just too cool. We also visited the Smith Family Cemetery where most of the immediate family is buried. The story of Joseph and Hyrum's burial was really interesting: The night the Prophet and his brother were martyred they were brought back to the Mansion house and hid in the basement. The caskets were filled with rocks and given back to the Sheriff for burial. This was done in caution because there was still a warrant out for the Prophet in Missouri - dead or alive, a reward would be given. Late in the night the Smith family had their own little service for the two men and taken to be hid in the basement of the Smith family house (Joseph and Emma's first house, and then occupied by Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack). The bodies stayed there for 7 months to ensure their safety. They were then buried underneath a shed in the backyard of the Smith parent's home, along the Mississippi river. This was to be a temporary burial until they were sure the bodies would be safe in a proper burial. With the removal of the Saints from Nauvoo, the death of Joseph Smith III, and the demolition of the old shed, the exact spot of the burial was unknown and the bodies were lost for 80 years. Finally the Church hired out the excavation project in order to find the bodies. Joseph and Hyrum's body was found, along with Emma's just feet away, and all three were given a proper burial. Their gravesite is now located inside the Smith family cemetery, actually just a few feet away from their original burial. Interesting, eh?
We also visited the Red Brick Store that Joseph and Emma ran just down the road from their home. The upstairs of this building is where the early men of the church met for Priesthood meetings, and also where the Relief Society was formed. Also, downstairs is the original desk of Sidney Rigdon, placed right next to a window where Saints would deliver chickens and such for tithing. So cool! It really was neat to see how the city was laid out...it really helps to understand more of the workings in Nauvoo.
In fear that we would miss the last tour through Carthage Jail, we drove as quickly as possible to Carthage, which is about 20 miles from Nauvoo. We caught a tour beginning just as we got there and heard the story surrounding the Prophet's murder. It was amazing to see the room where the Prophet and Hyrum were killed and see the door with an original hole where a bullet entered. It was certainly a very spiritual experience to hear the happenings at that jail and to see the structure. Quite the experience.
We then hurriedly drove back to Nauvoo in order to attend the temple, and made it just in time, might I add. It was such a beautiful temple and so cool to know that it was built in the exact specifications as the original. It was just neat to know that early members of the church attended the temple in the exact location where we were! And the spot was definitely inspired - the hill it sits atop gives an amazing view of the city and river. We came out of the temple just as the sun was setting and had the most amazing view. I was so glad we decided to make time to go to the temple while we were in Nauvoo - it was such an amazing experience.
After the temple we drove another hour and a half to Macon, Missouri, which is where our hotel was for the night. Macon is a small town in the middle of miles and miles of nothing in Missouri. So, naturally, we were expecting a run-down, hopefully clean, hotel. However, we were pleasantly surprised with the hotel. The Comfort Inn was very updated, clean, and decorated in a rustic lodge fashion. The best part about staying in a small-town hotel is the home town service. Everyone was incredibly pleasant and the breakfast in the morning was homemade, delicious, and free - which is pretty much unheard of these days!
Again, we started out early on Sunday morning in order to visit numerous church history sites before we had to catch our plane home. Our first stop was Adam-Ondi-Ahman in northern Missouri - in the middle of NOWHERE. It really was incredible to be standing where it all began in the Garden of Eden, and where it will all end at the 2nd coming. The Church owns so many acres of land surrounding Adam-Ondi-Ahman. But then again, if millions of people need to gather there, I guess there needs to be a lot of room! It was neat to read that Joseph Smith actually prophesied that Nephites had been in that valley and had built an altar thousands of years ago. We were definitely glad we decided to detour a bit and make it to 'Di-Ahman.'
We didn't think we could get much more in the middle of nowhere, but in fact we did when venturing out to Haun's Mill. We were so far off the beaten path, actually driving on dirt roads for part of the time, that more than once we wondered if we were lost. Finally we saw a hand-written sign pointing us in the direction and then a printed Haun's Mill sign a few miles later. Honestly, we were incredibly disappointed. For driving so far out of the way we expected a little more of a monument. The Community of Christ (formally known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) owns this land and hasn't done much with it. There is simply a sign (which was shot multiple times with bullets) marking the territory and an old stone in the ground telling the very basic story. It's not that I expected a fireworks display or anything, but I hoped for a better kept site marking this historic, tragic event in the early days of the Church.
Our next stop was Far West, Missouri. We were able to see the original cornerstones of the temple the Saints planned to build while in Far West. The temple was never completed, but the Church has placed a monument on the grounds explaining the importance of the city and the history when the Saints arrived. Right now Doug and I are reading the 3rd Work and the Glory together, which takes place in Far West. It's interesting to see the dynamic between what the city was: a town bustling with Saints with cabins and buildings being erected everywhere, and now: very few structures and not even a 50th of the population of 150 years ago. When the early members of the church moved out, it seemed like no one ever moved back in!
From Far West we went to Liberty, Missouri in order to visit the Liberty Jail Visitor's Center. The church has built a replica of the jail on the grounds where the original stood. They constructed a building around the jail which is the visitor's center. We were in a rush to see the jail in order to make it to the next sites, so we ran in asking if we could see the jail. Generally they do not let people go without a tour guide, and the whole thing takes about 45 minutes. We told the senior missionary that we didn't have 45 minutes and he asked our hurry. We explained and he asked from where we were visiting. When we answered he was in shock and told us that his wife grew up in Spanish Fork! We then got the family-like treatment. He personally showed us the jail and helped us understand the importance. That is where Joseph Smith had his most trying moments as the Prophet. He was imprisoned on false accusations of treason. The conditions were awful - they were in the basement of the jail with no light and were fed food that the chickens had already gone through. However, this provided the most humbling of experiences for Joseph and it is here that he received sections 121-123 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Again, very glad we stoped to see this amazing church history site.
Although rushed, we stopped in Independence, Missouri at the LDS Visitor's Center. We took the quick version of the tour and saw the dedicated temple lot in Zion. It's really an interesting location - just across the street from the conference center and temple for the Community of Christ. It's quite the spectacle!
From Independence we rushed to the airport. Let me emphasize the word rush. We were flying. We so almost missed our flight. Thanks to the rental car people who were so nice they drove us to our gate instead of making us wait for the shuttle, we did get there just in time. You should have seen us running to check-in (delayed with an overweight piece of luggage - somehow Doug got rid of 19 pounds, shuffling around and only throwing away a can of hairspray and shaving cream, in a matter of about 30 seconds, while being glared at by the angry airline lady) and quickly get through security. We literally exhaled a sigh of relief when sitting in our seats on the plane. My parents were kind enough to pick us up from the airport (we had James drop us off) and take us to get a bit to eat. Amidst the crazy traveling we hadn't had anything to eat, and KFC tasted quite good. Even though it was crazy running from place to place and driving 1350 miles from Minneapolis to Kansas City, we had SUCH a good time. You gotta love vacations!


August 24, 2008 - Olympics Closing Ceremonies
This year I got into the Olympics more than I have in past years. Michael Phelps, of course, was amazing and it was cool to watch him make history with the 8 Golds. It was also a lot of fun to watch the girl's beach volleyball take gold, as well as the men's court volleyball. And what is up with that Jamaican Bolt guy? Dang, he's quick! Being the girl that I am, I loved watching Nastia Lukin and Shawn Johnson win Gold's as well. The US ended up with 36 Gold medals, 38 silver, and 36 bronze, for a total of 110 - more than any other country. China had more Gold medals, but with the Olympics being held in Beijing, what do you expect? Now...on to London for 2012 Summer Olympics!

August 26, 2008 - 2nd Anniversary & Birthday Celebrations

















Today we celebrated our 2 year anniversary! I really can't believe we have already been married for 2 years. Then again, a lot has happened and changed since our wedding day, which has made the first 2 years a lot of fun. We bought our condo in Eagle Mountain, built our new house in Spanish Fork, I've changed jobs, Doug has pursued his cabinetry business, and I graduated from BYU. And who could forget Doug's brush-with-death accident on our honeymoon? Two years has brought us a long way! I'm so grateful for Doug and the life we have together and look forward to many more anniversaries!
We just happen to share our anniversary with our neice, Brooklyn's, birthday. She turned 1 year old today and it has been so fun to see how smart she is and how much she. And the most entertaining thing today was watching her go at her personal birthday cake. As you can see, she rather enjoyed it! Our sister-in-law, Kensie's, birthday was on August 21 and we celebrated it tonight as well. In the picture above you can see Kensie was wearing our present - we got her a pink Cubs hat from Chicago and Brooklyn a pink Cubs outfit. Happy Birthday you guys!


August 29, 2008 - Doug Timp Hike








Doug's family has gotten this idea in their head that they like to hike! Now I'm all for the occasional trek to the Y, but hiking to the top of Mt. Timpanogos at midnight isn't at the top of my list. But these crazies did it! Doug, Wes, James, Jill, Steve, and Jessica left at 11:00 pm, to begin their hike at midnight, in order to be at the top to see the sun rise. After hearing how gruesome it really is, I was really glad that I decided to opt out. It was a 10 hour hike total - 6 up and 4 down. When they got to the top it was absolutely freezing. Like, December cold. James was the only one who forced himself to go the absolute top (yes, that boy does have something to prove), while the rest settled for the glacier/pond that was 3/4 of the way up. Despite the rough hike, they said the view was awesome and they were all glad they did it!










While Doug's family was bustin' their butts up a mountain, I had a girls night with my sister :) Allison slept over and we filled our night with game playing. 200 Friends question cards and a few rounds of Scattergories later we called it a night. Allison was the first official person to stay in the Carlson guest room - what a monumental night!


August 29 - September 1, 2008 - Labor Day Weekend
Our Labor Day weekend was nothing extraordinary, but it was so nice to have the time off work and just relax. Saturday was filled with my reading and Doug's sleeping after his all-night hike, followed by dinner at my parent's house. Sunday I substitute taught a primary class (sometime I feel like I fit in better in primary than relief society!) and we had the traditional Sunday dinner at my parent's. The Johnson dinner pattern was followed again on Monday with a steak and salmon BBQ. Nice and relaxing - the way we like it!


And last, but CERTAINLY not least, I have entered the world of vampires. I have been hearing people talk about the Twilight books for who knows how long, and never had the urge to read them. In fact, about 6 months ago I even got the first book from the library, read the first chapter, got bored, and returned it. If I only knew!! Since everyone has made such a huge deal of these books I decided to give it one more go. I figured even if the books sucked it would keep me busy enough while I was on the airplane. Little did I know how it would suck me in! I finished all 4 books in record time and loved every minute of it. I guess I am now what you would call a "Twilighter."
WARNING: THESE REVIEWS CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS! PLEASE RESIST THE URGE TO READ ON IF YOU HAVE NOT READ/FINISHED THE BOOKS!

Probably my favorite book of the bunch. It was just so fun to learn everything about the vampires and experience the new situations with Bella. Although I can't vouch for a quick start (you really need to get passed the first couple of chapters before it becomes even remotely interesting) the book was really compelling. Bella's infatuation with Edward and the dangerous, impossible love between the two make this book really fun to read. Who knew - a book about vampires?


This was my least favorite of the series, but I believe that's mainly due to the fact that Edward was absent during 3/4 of the book. And what can I say...I'm a huge Edward fan. (I know he was just trying to protect her, but, like Bella, I can't bear to have him gone!) However, this was essential to the story in order to introduce Jacob and his special "powers." It also gave us a chance to see the grieving Bella and truly understand her feelings, love, and devotion to Edward.
The ending, with it's intense race-against-the-clock scene, saved the book and made it a really good read.

I really liked this 3rd book of the Twilight series. Granted, I don't understand the things Bella goes through in order to pursue Jacob, and I couldn't help but feel anger towards her when she kissed Jacob! Hello, you have just spent the last year in utter despair due to Edward - don't mess it up chicky! Luckily Edward is the all-too-perfect vampire who instantly forgives her! The dynamic between Edward and Jacob, both in love with Bella, was very humorous at times and really interesting to read. I especially loved the fight scene at the end against Victoria and her newborns. All's well that ends well!

Despite the controversy and heavy criticism given by some, I really liked this book. With so much anticipation for this book, and such an enormous audience, there are bound to be some who like it and some who don't. Yes, there are some things that were weird: 1. Bella carrying a somewhat devil child who is killing her 2. Jacob imprinting on Renesmee 3. Bella drinking blood and liking it. And some things that were down right frustrating: 1. Bella wanting to be such a martyr 2. J. Jenks not being more interesting. But then there are things that I just loved: 1. Bella becoming a vampire 2. Bella maintaining her friendship with Jacob and her relationship with her dad 3. Bella having a cool vampire super power 4. Edward and Bella having their happily ever after. I have to say, I loved it!

Midnight Sun - I was really looking forward to reading Edward's version of the story in Midnight Sun. Unfortunately some dishonest punk leaked the first 12 chapters on the internet and therefore the author is putting this project "on hold indefinitely." Talk about disappointment.