Breaking Dawn Twist! What did you think?

I'm posting about Breaking Dawn Part 2, but before you read any further please know that this contains SPOILERS. So if you haven't seen the movie yet, don't read this! I don't want to ruin the ending for you.

Also, if you don't like Twilight or Vampires that is perfectly fine. I read the series when I was in college dreaming about becoming an author and I always admired Stephenie Meyer's imagination. So if Twilight isn't your cup of hot chocolate (my preferred beverage), then please don't feel like you have to read this. I've read the books, seen the movies, and been involved with the series for a long time, so I like talking about them.

All right, am I safe to talk about the ending now?

SPOILERS ahead. Sorry, one last warning!

So all that's on my mind is the battle scene! WOW. WOW! Ahem, sorry, I'll try to stay collected here.

I remember seeing the trailer for Breaking Dawn last week when it advertised a "surprise" ending. I thought, how can it be a surprise? We all read the books, we know what happens, right?

Wrong! How very, very wrong I was. The beginning is a little slow, then there's the gathering of the vampires across the world, which by the way, I LOVED the cast.

At the end, everyone lines up to potentially battle the Volturi.  Every vampire and every werewolf is ready to attack, even though the books tell us no battle ever takes place. But then, TWIST. *GASP* Alice tells Aro that it doesn't matter what she shows him, the volturi will fight against them no matter what. Then the mind blowing battle begins...

Every vampire and werewolf faces off. Good verses the Volturi. Good verses evil. The BIG ENDING. The fighting, throwing, and limb tearing leaves you in shock. I kept thinking, this ins't in the book, this isn't in the book, this isn't in the book!

Then the ultimate shocker. Carlisle dies. My jaw dropped and my heart raced. Suddenly the movie theater felt much too warm. The girl next to me started bawling. Even though my husband denies it, I know he was surprised!

Next Jasper dies. Carlisle and Jasper? Come on, they can't die! I felt a little numb at that point, I thought, okay, well then, they just decided to rewrite the whole ending. But the only part that almost made me come to tears was seeing the werewolves fight. When Seth died I was so disappointed. Why did he have to look like a dog?! I'm such a dog person and seeing Seth whimper and die just broke my heart. I had to pull a "it's not real, it's just a movie."

Luckily though, with all the sadness and shock of losing such lovable characters, you also get the satisfaction of seeing Volturi members go down. When Jane (Dakota Fanning) died brutally, the whole movie theater broke out into applause. Then, the ultmiate Volturi death: Aro dies. The face of evil is finally gone!

Still in shock, and wondering why the ending was so different than the book, everything ends. Suddenly a new scene flashes. NONE OF THE BATTLE REALLY TOOK PLACE. It was all in a vision.

Everyone in the audience cheered again. They all took a deep breath (and secretly wiped their eyes). No Cullen or werewolf died! YAY! Everyone realized it was all a vision between Alice and Aro. AMAZING.

But, wait, a vision!? I thought one of the biggest rules of writing was NEVER ever have an epic scene and then flash back and say, never mind, it was all a dream (or a vision). I thought that was against the rules!

It worked though. Everyone was so sad with the battle that it made it that much more marvelous when everyone was still alive. Best of all, we got to see all the vampires fight and use their gifts. An awesome battle scene, plus no one really got hurt? Yes, I believe that qualifies for an epic twist of an ending.

The Twilight series is far from perfect, and there are a lot of scenes I could do without. But lets all admit that the ending of this movie was amazing. At least that's how I felt about it.

I want to hear your thoughts! What did you think? Were you as shocked as I was with the ending?

P.S. I'm sorry if any of the names or events are mixed up or out of order, it was midnight after all.

Kayaking through The Broken Group Islands of Vancouver

I'm sorry it's been a little bit since I last posted. I hope you've been having a great summer and soaking up the sun (responsibly, with sunblock). I actually went camping (am I crazy?) last week on The Broken Group Islands of Vancouver. Kellen and I aren't big campers, but we knew this was a trip we did not want to miss.

The journey was incredible, crazy, beautiful, rough, inspiring, scary, and it was definitely an adventure.

Since we camped on multiple islands, we had to kayak to each location. This was a whole new experience for us. 

The islands are so green and lush with trees, bushes, and plants covered in a blanket of moss. It seriously reminded me of a movie set, particularly of a popular vampire movie series filmed in Washington. Okay, I'll just say it, it reminded me of Twilight--mixed in with enchanted fairy forest, and Mermaid Lagoon from Peter Pan. 

We would go on different hikes and stumble upon waterfalls, Indian statues, and moss covered bridges that led to no where. 

My favorite part was the wildlife. Kayaking through the water and having a whale breach next to you is unreal (and terrifying). Sea lions constantly popped up their heads next to our kayak, the deer were up close and personal, and eagles soared throughout the forest. We loved finding tidepools full of crabs and beautiful, multi-colored starfish--however, we did not love so much finding HUGE slugs climbing on our tent. 

I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to see the broken islands of Vancouver, but it's safe to say I'm probably a little camped out for the rest of the Summer haha. 

What vacations have you taken this summer? Any camping adventures? 

Like a Skyscraper

I’ve had Demi Lavoto’s song Skyscraper stuck in my head for days.I never got sick of it though, and I think it's because it’s such a powerful song. Demi wrote the lyrics after her hardships with rehab and everything that came with it. Her voice seems strained, and you can hear the emotion in every word, but it is so inspiring. The combination is just heart wrenching, and you can feel how vulnerable she is.

Often in writing I really can’t connect to a character until they are stripped down of their pride, power, or success, and are completely vulnerable. It might sound strange, but how are can anyone feel a connection to the protagonist if they don’t have any problems?

Some of the best chapters happen when the main character feels broken, shattered, and defeated. Because it's so breathtakingly beautiful in that one moment when they rise up (and hopefully they do, I’m a sucker for happy endings) and defeat their dragon.

Apply this to Harry Potter, Twilight, or Hunger Games, all of the main characters have moments when they feel they can’t go on. Harry sees his friends and family die in order to save him. In New Moon after Edward leaves, Bella can hardly will herself to live. And Katniss repeatedly stares death in the face as every battle could be her last. Obviously these books are EXTREMELY different, and chances are you probably prefer one over another (Okay, I’m pretty positive you do). But each heroine, protagonist, or warrior has that one moment when they’ve hit rock bottom, and you can feel their pain. They are vulnerable, but that is why you root for them. That is what makes a character's journey so powerful.

What are some of your favorite scenes/chapters from these novels? Or any other novel?