I do not have time or a lot of details. I am literally running out the door to go back to the hospital. I just know the power of prayer. I guess I just feel helpless and this is all I know to do. Kinsey is reall really sick and we need major prayers today. PLEASE!!! I will updat elater.

So, let me give background first so this doesn't sound weird. When I used to teach Tae kwon Do there was another higher ranking instructor who taught at the same school I did. I was the only female instructor and it was tough. not everyone was super nice. But, this one guy was. he helped me with my forms and gave me pointers and just an all around nice guy. Don't get the wrong idea. He was just a good friend. joe liked him a lot, too. I have always gotten along better with guys as friends and being married it not all that approprite to have guy friends. but, this guy would hang out with Joe and I and he is just a stand up nice christian guy with no other motives other than being a good friend.
he moved to Texas a few years ago and we tried to keep in touch but we somehow lost touch. but thanks to facebook he found me yesterday. he is in the Army and stationed in Afganastan. I can't tell you how much I hated to hear that. We talked for awhile on Facebook this a.m. Weird, it was nght there. He has gotten hurt. Not seriously and he has recovered. I just got frustrated with the news. All we hear on the news is bad and how much people hate us and whiny whiny people. If I have to hear about the economy one more time...... But, intrest in the soldiers still fighting for us has kind of gone away. I'm guilty of it. But, to see pictures of my friend there jolted me back. I don't care where you stand politically or what you think about the war everyone should be praying or thinking positive thoughts or whatever you do. They are there fighting for us. When we were chatting this a.m. we started talking about protesters and that crazy Cindy Sheehan women (she was the one who's son died in iraq and she turned into a big protester) and I said she is such an idiot and I was glad no one listened to her anymore. he said he felt sorry for her andyes the protesters "bolied his blood" but that's what he was there fighting for. So, we could say what ever we wanted and have that freedom. What a good attitude! I tend to just be bitter. So, i am stepping off my soap box, but I just wanted to share. I am on a mission to send him double stuffed oreos. I used to send care packages to Joe's brother when he was over there. i loved to do it. Something small, but I felt like I should be doing something. i asked my friend what I could send and all he wanted was double stuffed Oreos. We shall see if they make it. He said his family has tried to send him packages and they have never made it. So, I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Cupcakes

Aren't these the cutest? I want them! But, they are $49.99!!!!! So, it's not gonna happen. I do have a birthday next week. But, our trip is probably my Valentine's, Birthday, and Anniversary, and Christmas present and I am NOT complaining. If I never get another gift again, It was worth it!! I feel like I should be giving gifts instead. So many people helped us take this trip. From nice people at work who helped me get out early the night before we left, to a friend who watched our animals, to my sisters who were supportive and didn't make THAT much fun of me for going to Forks, to my parents who took such good care of Bella for us. Thank you, Thank you! I feel very blessed with such good friends and family.
A friend just got these for her daughter and I thought they were adorable. For whatever reason, I love cupcakes. Not just to eat them, but I think they are so cute. It probably has to do with Bella's love of cupcakes and that we have to make them so much due to her allergy.

Day 7

Okay, this is the last post I will make from the Pacific Northwest. We had a full day and we are tired! We woke up early and headed into Seattle. I had an article that I ripped out of a Budget Travel magazine a year ago. I had no plans to come here, but it looked like a neat town. The article was a walking tour of the downtown area. I can't believe I kept up with it. We walked forever. we went to this really cool Japanese store. It was huge and filled with everything from housewares to Sea Urchin. They had a neat food court,too. We ended our walking tour at the Pike's market. It was overwhelming. It was packed. But, a really neat place. the last thing we did was get drinks and a snack at the Athenian in the market. My dad had sugegsted we go there and i am glad we listened. It was my favorite part of the market. Crazy mix of tourist, locals, and fisherman. We sat in a tiny booth next to big windows that looked out over the water. We had yummy Thai food for dinner.
We have had a truly truly amazing trip that I will NEVER forget. Seattle was really neat, but the Forks area is my favorite. The whole area is almost magical with the huge trees and amazing vistas. (that's a Joe word) I was so excited to see where the book was set, but even if there was no twilight I would have been happy to spend a week here. So, I am thankful to the book for pointing us in the right direction. I hope with all the attention it doesn't loose the charm.
Thank you for taking the time to read my posts. It has been fun to share this with everyone.

Day 6

Again, I have to be quick because we are running out the door. Yesterday, we had another great day. We headed out to Mt. Rainier. It was further than we thought, but a nice drive. We stopped at Cabela's, which is a lot like Bass Pro Shop. But, acording to Joe, there is a difference. We spent awhile there. I figured Joe had put up with my Twilight stuff all week, I could sit in a camp chair and let him wonder. We then headed to the mountain. We did not expect all the snow. There was a ton. Most of the park was closed because of the snow, but we got pretty far up the mountain. They had an area just for playing in the snow. I wished Bella was with us because she would have loved it. We spent most of the day at Rainier. It is amazing. We headed back to the city and went to the flagship R.E.I. I know I complained about chain stores in my last post and then we went to two. lol We headed back towards our hotel and found a dollar theatre. We had the best dinner. We shared a huge Gyro chicken salad with Pitas. it was sooooo good. We then saw a movie and headed back to our hotel.

Day 5

I was so sad to leave Forks. It was such an amazing place. There si so much to do and see right around the town. I could have spent days more there. But, we moved on to Seattle. We woke up early on Wed. and headed out to try to find Elk. We had only seen a squirel and a racoon on this trip. We did find some and pretty fast. We headed back to the Hoh Rainforest. The drive out there is beautiful. We walked around for a little bit and headed back into town for breakfast. Again, we had a huge breakfast. The yummiest veggie omlet ever!! We finished up some last minute souvenier shopping and headed out of town. Again, beautiful drive. The drive by Lakce Crescent was unreal. The lake provided a perfect mirror image of the mountains. i know I keep saying the same adjectives, but I can't come up with anything better. We wanted to drive up Hurricane Ridge, but it was closed. We drove as far as we could and got some great pictures. we took a ferry from kingston into the Seattle area. On the ferry I kept telling Joe to look at this neat cloud and he said "honey, that's not a cloud that's Mt. Rainer." beautiful! Our hotel is just a little out of town in an area called Bellevue. thanks to my sister in-law we got a really great rate at a Marriott. (thank you, Kim) This area is a lot like Buckhead. A big change from forks. I am sure I will like Seattle better. I'm not really into chain stores and restraunts and this area is full of them. However, I was very happy about the Barnes and Noble we walked around in last night. So, we are off today to get a better look at Rainer.

Day 4

We had another wonderful day! I will keep this short. We are leaving Forks and heading for Seattle. I am sad about leaving. Forks is just amazing!
Yesterday, we slept in for the first time on the trip. We ate at Sully Burgers for lunch. They have a burger called the "Bella Burger" I decided I was not going to get it just for the name. but, it had everything on it I would want so i got it anyway. it was one of the best burgers I have had. It even came with fake vampire teeth! After that we headed back into LaPush and hiked to Third Beach. it was a long hike out to the beach and then over drift wood. it was beautiful. We walked down the beach to the left and there was a waterfall comming off the cliffs into the ocean. it was just beautiful. We then headed up to the Makah Indian reservation. it's about an hour drive. It is the furtherest North West you can get in the Contential United States. Again, AMAZING!! We got there in time to hike out to a point and watch the sun go down. After that we drove back to Forks and had dinner.