Breaking Dawn Part 2

Here is the rundown of Breaking Dawn Part 2 events that I participated in with friends.  Let me just say that getting to do all of this was really a blast, and a great way to close out the "era."

Friday, November 9, 2012 - Jimmy Kimmel Live

Some TwilightMoms friends had an extra ticket to Jimmy Kimmel and invited me to go.  The show was taping on Kelly's birthday, and I have to say that he was a good sport about it.  When the gals got the tickets, they didn't know who the guests would be; they assumed guests would include someone from Breaking Dawn since it was Red Carpet weekend.  We scored with getting to see Stephenie Meyer, the author of the series!  It's always been about the books for us TMs, so this was perfect.  The deal was sweetened when I found out who the main guest would be.  You'll see his picture below.

The front of the studio building across from Mann's Chinese Theater

TwilightMoms from all over the country including Texas, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and more.  We got an update on Hurricane Sandy's destruction...kind of unreal talking to people who lived through it.  I knew most of these women already from our activities over the years, and it was SO great to see them all together again.

Full audience shot - We told the guys seating us that we had THE TwilightMom in our group, and that Stephenie usually asks for her at events.  They seated her right down front, and Steph even waved when she came out and saw her.  As Steph left, she gave Lisa a hug which was very sweet.

Daniel Craig - 007 - Main Guest...Yes, I died.

Our cheeks seriously hurt from smiling!  We were seated in the 'premium' seats, and we got some good camera time as you can see.  We were all wearing bedazzled TMs shirts, and it was kind of impressive.

Stephenie Meyer - Twilight Saga Author -  She is just so beautiful.

After the taping, we continued outside for the concert portion and heard a band called, "Boys Love Girls."  The warm up guy told us all before we left that in his ten years of doing the warm up entertainment for the tapings, they had never had an audience as enthusiastic yet respectful.  They were very impressed with us and asked us to come back, so I'm glad we left a good impression.

Some of us stopped at Johnny Rockets for dinner before the gals headed back to tent city.  Many of us had pitched in a few dollars so that Lisa, the TMs owner, could fly out and attend all the Red Carpet events.  She's never been able to and has had to watch everyone else having all the great experiences.  She was in heaven, and we were all very happy for her.

Thursday, November 15, 2012 - Midnight (10PM) Screening for Opening Day

I attended opening night with the local TwilightMoms, several of whom have remained fun friends.  I was impressed by this part of the movie, and I think BD1 and 2 have become my favorites of the movies even though I didn't like the book as much.  They were able to get some things right in the movie which made up for what was missing in the book.

Friday, November 16, 2012 - Official Opening Day

Because opening day usually begins at midnight, I'm always to pooped to attend with my "junkies."  These are my dear friends who met primarily because of Twilight.  I was already good friends with Sheryl and Michelle, but no one was safe from my recommending Twilight.  Once each lady read it, they were hooked and wanted to talk more about it, and the rest is history for us.  The second viewing was even better than the first, and it was so fun to share the experience with my close friends.

What a fun way to end the movie adventure.  Reading the books back in 2008 was wonderful, and following the movie development has been a lot of fun.  For me, none of these fun adventures were ever about the actors in the movies (people have criticized these old ladies for pining after young actors).  It has been about the stories, the books, the author and ultimately, the friends we made along the way.  Many of our lives have been altered by this series.  It can truly be termed a "phenomenon."