Eclipse Madness

Eclipse, baby.  It's...Eclipse!!  So you all probably know by now that I am a Twilight fan.  So when the movies come out, I am the first in line...the morning after the midnight premiere.  I need my sleep, people.  But then Eclipse came out in the middle of summer.  No school for me (well, I am taking an online class that I should be studying for right now--my final exam awaits), no school for my kiddos, nothing to get up for in the morning.  So I decided to brave the midnight madness.  And not just the midnight premiere of Eclipse, but the Twilight Trilogy Marathon Movie Madness Experience!!!  I'm so thankful for my crazy, die-hard fan friends.  Chuck thinks I am an obsessed fan, but my friends make me feel oh-so-normal.  :)  We have so much fun together.  So, I bought the trilogy tickets when they went on sale a month ago, and then I totally wanted to back out.  Waiting in line all day, spending all night at the theater (Twilight started at 7pm, New Moon at 9:30, and then Eclipse at midnight), and losing out on sleep just didn't seem worth it.  But, guess what?  It totally was!

Ashley got in line at 7:15 am for us.  What a girl!!  I took a morning shift waiting in line with her from 9-11am.  Went home, spent some quality time with the kiddos (took them to Chuck E Cheese because I felt guilty for being gone most of the day/night), and then was back at the theater by 3:00pm.  Above: here we are all fresh and ready for the experience: Colleen, Lani, and me. 

Saving seats once we got in the theater was kind of stressful.  Those fans were not happy about the seat saving, and the managers were interrogating people about every empty seat--YIKES!  Luckily we were able to hold on to most of ours, so everyone's friends/family that were joining our group later got a really good seat.  Above: Lynae, Jill, Lani, Tera, Me and Colleen after Twilight.

OK, so why would I pay $20 to see all three movies in one night?  Especially when I own Twilight and New Moon and have watched them both more times than I would like to admit?  Well, it is more fun to see them on the big screen.  Plus, it was fun to see the progression of the movies.  They increase in quality as they go.  And it was fun to go from the end of New Moon--the proposal moment--right into the start of Eclipse and the continuation of the saga.  And the fans at this trilogy experience were phenomenal!  It was SO fun to watch the movies with other avid fans who were screaming, cheering, and laughing along with us.  The atmosphere was THE BEST!  You don't get that at the morning after show.

Here we are at the end of New Moon--almost midnight!!  Can you tell I'm tired?  OK, so about Eclipse.... I LOVED it.  I was looking forward to it so much because I have always been Team Jacob, and I was happy that in this book/movie, he finally gets his chance to really try to steal Bella's heart.  But a crazy thing happened.  For the first time, I felt the Bella/Edward love and I realized that Jacob is going to imprint on someone other than Bella, so they can't be right for each other (YES, I KNOW THESE ARE FICTIONAL CHARACTERS!!).  So I am officially switching over to team Edward (although I am NOT a Rob Pattinson fan, and I am still a loyal Taylor Lautner fan).  Eclipse was so great, because for the first time, I felt a real emotional connection to the characters, and could feel their connection to each other.  Edward & Bella's relationship seemed real and meaningful for the first time to me.  And I loved the moments where Bella had to confront the reality of the life she is choosing to give up (saying goodbye to her mother, graduation day, etc).  I thought it was BY FAR the best movie in the series (so far).  I loved Eclipse.  I can't wait to see it again!