{ A Chesapeake Bay Kinda Day }

Hello everyone!  Isabelle here!  I am so excited to share with you about my recent trip to the Chesapeake Bay for the day with Lanie and Trey.  If you remember, the two of them took a 'bay day' trip last year.....you can read Part I here and Part II here.  Now, when Trey and Lanie got back last year and went on and on and on about how much fun they had, I asked them to pleeeeeeze let me come the next time they go.  Well, two weeks ago they told me to mark my calendar for a very special day and I knew it was a trip to the bay!  So, Oreo and I counted down the days until our 'bay day' arrived.

As soon as we got there, Lanie had to pick out the best place to put her towel and cooler.  I forgot my towel (I know, right?) but sweet Lanie offered to share hers.

Being the outdoor-sie girl that she is, Lanie brought her sun screen.  Ugh, I forgot THAT too!  I guess I was so excited about going that I forgot some of the most important things to take to the beach.  But again, Lanie lent me hers to use...thank goodness, cause even though it was later in the afternoon, I really, really didn't want to get a sunburn and look like a lobster!

Trey caught up to us and plopped himself down on a log next to Lanie's towel.  "Sup girls?" he asked.   "Well, the sky of course, Trey!" Lanie chirped back, followed by a muffled giggle.  At first Trey just sort of stared at her and then looked up to the sky with a puzzled look on his face.  "Good golly, Trey!  It's a joke!" gushed Lanie.  "I, uh.....I knew that!" Trey shot back in the most confident tone he could muster.....but it wasn't convincing, Lanie and I both knew that he really didn't get it at first.  :)

After about an hour had passed, the sun was getting low so I decided to go for a walk along the beaches high tide line.  Lanie said that was the best place to find sea glass.  Even though I walked quite a ways on my own, I didn't find any sea glass or sharks teeth.  This was probably because I had to constantly keep my eyes on Oreo who insisted on not staying with me and running on ahead.  Still, the early evening was absolutely perfect so I was happy even though I didn't find any treasures!

When I got back from my walk, we all spent time talking and just hanging out together.  It was so relaxing and fun.  Oreo finally stayed beside me after I bribed him with a few treats.  Lanie and Trey were sorry I had not found any sea glass or sharks teeth but both agreed it sure was fun just hanging out together on the bay.

Turned out, Oreo wasn't satisfied with one or two treats.....ohhhhh no, he kept coming back for more and more and more.  He might be a silly dog but he sure is smart when it comes to his treats!  And it doesn't help that I am a total sucker for his cuteness, lol.

We spent about another hour chatting and telling jokes.....and I spent it handing out treats to Oreo to get him to stay with me and not run off down the beach.  It was just a perfect, perfect day and I didn't want it to end.  Now that I am back home at the dorm, I really cannot wait to go back.  I sure hope they let me go next year! 

I was wondering; are any of you going to a beach this summer?  Or, maybe you have already been to one!  I'd love to hear what you liked about it!  I know next time I am going to be sure to bring my towel and sunscreen!!!  :)

  18 Inch Doll Outfits & 18 Inch Doll Accessories by:

Lanie is wearing the Floral Swim Outfit by American Girl®

Isabelle is wearing the Boho Beachy swimsuit by American Girl®
Trey's awesome outfit is by Minipparel ~ Etsy®

 

Be sure to visit us on YouTube!!!

{ Throw Back Thursday - Halloween 2014 }

My name is Harper and first, I have to apologize for the silly title to this post...especially since technically it's no longer "Thursday" at the dorm as we are on the east coast!  BUT, I figured it would still be okay since it's still Thursday on the west coast and in Australia and other parts of our big ole world, right?  Super, so glad you all agree!

So, yep, we have been super busy and not had even one extra moment to post about all the stuff that's been going down here at the dorm.  Some of the girls have been in after-school clubs like marching band, orchestra and chorus, practicing for their upcoming Christmas concerts.  Some of us have been busy after school with Edge Club and others, like me, with basket ball.  Boy, fall sure is an exciting and busy time of year!  AND, soon Christmas will be here and we are all super excited about that!

So now, back to my Throwback Thursday topic of Halloween though!  I know you guys are like, geez, Halloween?  Just go with me here, okay?  Now, lots of the girls were away Halloween weekend on a camping trip.  Since there were only four of us at the dorm with nothing to do on the Saturday after Halloween, we decided to throw ourselves a little party.  Hollie and I were the ones to get all the goodies together and decorate the kitchen.  We had loads of fun doing it too!   

We pulled out some of the decorations from last year and added a few more new things we made.  Hollie got to do most of the baking since our normal 'baker-chick', Cindy, was out of town.  :)  So, I got to add my own style to the decorations...I hung up the little paper bats from the ceiling and I really enjoyed throwing confetti all over the tabletop and floor.  Oh, making a mess and calling it a party is sweet! 

Hollie finished setting out the candies and cookies.  She really did do a great job at them.....they were all detailed and really added to the festivities. 

It was getting close to the time for Faith and Trey to arrive and Hollie was still flitting around the table getting everything "just so" when I saw Trey creep into the kitchen.  I knew by that mischievous look in his eyes that he was up to something.  All at once it occurred to me that Hollie had no idea he was standing right behind her.  Before I could utter a word, Trey took a deep breath and screamed at the top of his lungs like someone had just stabbed him in the butt with a knife.  It startled me so much too that I screamed back!

What happened next was one of the funniest things I have seen in a loooong time.....Hollie was so freaked out by Trey's blood-curdling scream that she jumped straight up and at the same time, did a complete 180 degree turn and then, as if that wasn't bad enough, she fell backwards into the table!  At this point I was laughing hysterically and thinking; Oh boy, Trey was soooo gonna get it now!

And just as soon as I had that thought passed through my brain, Hollie jumped at Trey, trying to lay hands on his neck!  In those few moments, Trey started backing up away from Hollie.  Oh, it was sooo dang funny.....I could tell he was genuinely afraid of Hollie!  What a hoot!

At that moment, I knew it was time to step in and save my buddy Trey.  If Hollie could, she'd finish the job and Trey is too good of a basketball buddy to loose him over a prank, so I ran over and squeezed myself in between the two of them.  "Okay, okay - let's all take a couple deep breathes!" I interjected.  

Hollie backed away and started her self-relaxation technique of  breathing "in through the nose, out through the mouth" to calm herself.  Poor thing, Trey totally scared her!  Apparently though, Coconut wasn't scared at all and decided to take advantage of the fact that Trey's Candy bucket had hit the floor.  She was trying desperately to snarf all the candy from Trey's bucket into her own. 

Just then, Faith arrived and saw exactly what that sneaky little Coconut was up to.  I told Trey to go and get some food.  Meanwhile, Faith and I saved Coconut from a guaranteed tummy ache by cleaning up all the spilled candies and putting them back in Trey's bucket.

As I was helping Faith, I could hear Hollie telling Trey about her Mummy Face English Muffin Pizzas.  Shew, thankfully, she had calmed down and wasn't trying to put a choke hold Trey!  That was a close call.

Faith and I returned Trey's bucket to him and told him to keep an eye on Coconut cause now that she'd gotten a whiff of the candy in his bucket, she'd for sure be stalking him and take an opportunity to steal a piece or two.

Faith made her way over to Hollie as they hadn't seen each other all week due to school work and stuff.  Hollie was telling her how she'd made Mummy Dogs out of Crescent Rolls and hot dogs with yellow mustard eyes. 

Since Faith and Hollie were catching up with each other's lives, Trey and I decided to go thorugh our stash from trick-or-treating the night before.  We did some trading of candies which was great as he and I don't like the same stuff so it works out super good to trade with each other.  Needless to say, Miss Coconut was hanging around to see if we left anything on the floor.  Not a chance!

As the afternoon came to a close, we all decided that the party was a great success and we'd have to do it again next year.  Hollie and Faith wanted a photo of themselves together since they are besties and they both had new costumes this year.    

Lastly, we all got together for a groupie photo - you know, like a selfie but not....a group instead - and even the canine's got in on it! 

  18 Inch Doll Outfits & 18 Inch Doll Accessories by:

Hollie, Faith & Harper's costumes by by American Girl®

Trey's Skeleton costume by dspencer6a0n~ eBay®

Mummy faced English Muffin Pizzas by Pippaloo ~ Etsy®

{ Independence Picnic ~ 2014 }

Hello! I'm Mia and this will be my first ever post!  And, even though my post is almost two months late, I still wanted to share it here on the blog!  Back in the beginning of July, some of us girls at the dorm decided we wanted to have an Independence Day picnic.  We all set about planning the menu; star-shaped sandwiches, fresh veggies, cheese cubes, cupcakes, cookies, ice cream and bomb pops!  We set the date and texted a couple of our friends with the info.  We were all so excited when the day arrived!

Trey had invited his best friend Alden and he was the first to arrive.....Trey says he always on time.....something about a saying he has; "If you're early, you're on time. If you're on time, you're late.  If you're late, you're left behind!".  Yikes, I'd always be left behind according to Alden!  He's a really nice guy though and we had lots of time to chat before everyone else arrived.

I had not noticed that my tub of cherry tomatoes had tipped over cause I was totally into what Alden was saying.....this was not a good thing cause even though I hadn't noticed it, Honey most certainly had!  By the time I heard his snarfing noises, 6 or 7 of my yummy tomatoes were gone!  I didn't know that Honey liked veggies as much as I did! 

 

Not long after honey had his little appetizer, Trey, Christina and Faith arrived!  O.M.Gosh, they looked super cute!  I loved their outfits.  They both told me that they had bought a new outfits for today.  They both have really good fashion sense.  I'd take their hand-me-downs any day of the week!

 

Even Trey dressed for the occasion but then, he's kinda fussy about what he wears.  Most boys aren't but he always looks so swag.

 

We all gathered around the table.  "Oh Mia, you did such an awesome job of getting everything set up!" Faith exclaimed.  "It looks soooo yummy, too!"  I was really happy to hear Faith's compliment cause I had worked really hard to get it all on the table.  They guys sat right down and started to eat.....no shock there, right?  

I told Christina about Honey's little snack prior to them getting there and she decided to try and distract Honey while we started eating.  She was showing him a pine cone she found over under the trees and for now, he seemed content.  However, it seems that Meatloaf took over where Honey left off......he was trying to be really stealth in sniffing at my tomatoes too!  Little toot!  I'm glad that I made sure the lid was snapped down tight.  I wasn't loosing any more of my delicious tomatoes to these sneaky canines in the crowd!

Hollie arrived about 20 mins later and whispered to us girls that at the last minute, she invited her cousin, Charity.  She asked us to make her feel really welcome cause she is kinda shy.  "Well, of course we will, Hollie!" exclaimed Faith.  "You know how I love meeting new friends!  Tell us, what is she like?"  Hollie told us that Charity has an identical twin sister named Patience.  Charity is the quiet one of the two sisters.  But even though she is quiet, she is a very caring girl that loves to do volunteer work with her sister and the other kids from their school.  They both go to a small Christian School and are in 7th grade.  Charity has a little dog named Sugar that she takes everywhere with her.  A dog?  Another dog?!?!  Oh boy, I immediately thought of my poor tomatoes.....at this point, I was convinced that ALL dogs craved cherry tomatoes!  PLUS, Hollie had brought her 'small but mighty' Boo, who was now running around and barking with Honey and Meatloaf.  Yep, my tomatoes were surely doomed.

Pretty soon Charity arrived and Hollie ran to meet her.  "Hey everybody!  Come meet my cousin, Charity!"  Boy, I was struck by her gorgeous hair!  I love my red hair but hers was even more red than mine and it had beautiful long, soft curls.  Ohhh, she was sooo pretty!  And to think that there are TWO of them!  Her dog really was little.....it fit in a tote she was carrying over her shoulder.  It was so cute with it's little head sticking out of the tote. 

Hollie introduced all of us to Charity and it didn't take long before we were all having the best time talking about school, friends, family and yes, we did talk a little bit about boys.....but not too much, I promise!  The day came to an end way too fast and we promised to face time each other often since not all of us have texting.  By the time I packed up the left-overs, there wasn't much left.  BUT, I am proud to say that, YES, my tomatoes survived the furry guests and were only enjoyed but us humans, lol!   

Even though it was a while ago, did you have a picnic for Independence Day?  Or, did you do something completely different?  What kind of foods did you enjoy?  Did your furry friends try to eat your food? Hahaha! ~Mia ☮

18 Inch Doll Outfits & 18 Inch Doll Accessories by:

Hollie's & Mia's outfits by GillyGals ~ Etsy®

Faith's & Christina's outfits by JanieJumps ~ Etsy®

Charity's dress & tote set by EverythingNice4Dolls ~ Etsy®

Trey's & Alden's outfits by Minipparel ~ Etsy®

{ Deadwood } Part II

So, picking up where I left off......

Alden and I headed towards the train station and on the way took advantage of some cool photo-ops.  This one was pretty close to the station.

Before getting in line for the train ride, Alden wanted a photo of him by the train tracks with the train in the background.  Only problem was, it was behind the NO TRESPASSING sign!  But Alden said he had asked permission earlier and they gave him the OK to do it.  Still, I was a bit nervous because of the background on the place.....you know, they have like ammo stockpiles and real live guns and all.  I felt much better once Alden slipped back under the sign!

We were the first to get to the station and Alden was super excited to be first in line.  He was already scoping out what seat he wanted and what photos he wanted.  As the train rounded the corner pulling into the station, Alden could hardly contain himself!

 

 Next thing I know he is motioning me to jump on the FRONT of the engine!  I was like; "Dude, that's a BIG engine, are you sure it's okay?"  Alden assured me that the engineer gave him permission before he left for his lunch break and so off we went through the gate and climbed up on the front.  I gotta admit, it was pretty sweet to be able to get this close the engine - it was HUGE!  I could hear and feel this old Iron Horse chuffing and clanking as it idled waiting for passengers.  It was super cool and I can see why Alden loves these things so much! 

Next thing I know.....Alden is off again!  Dang this guy moves fast!  This time he had run on ahead of me and was motioning to climb up into the engineer's window.  Oh snap!  He'd better have gotten permission for this!!!  Since it was pretty high up, I didn't look around much as I was keeping my eyes fixed on the ground!  Not Alden though.....unlike his ride on the carousel, he was throwing his hands up in the air and yelling; "All aboard!  All aboard!!"  Go figure.

Next the train whistle sounds and Alden busted a move to get to his seat.  The train chugged out of the station and headed into the woods.  Alden was just sitting back chillin' now and seemed to be in his own little world.  So, I did the same and started looking around for the rumored aliens. 

What I saw next is really, really hard to describe!  It was big and I mean BIG!!  Like HUGE-MONGOUSLY big!  It had lots of big, red, googly eyes and lots of creepy green legs.....and a really BIG nasty mouth!  I was at least twice as big as me and could have sucked me down without even swallowing.....eeeewwwww!   Oh, and it had long antennas too!  Ick!!  I was just praying the ole Iron Horse didn't break down......I don't know what I would have done!  I turned to show Alden but he alien was gone in a flash.  Alden's reaction to me seeing an alien was to give me the stink eye......which clearly told me he didn't believe me.  He said I was just makin' it all up cause of what we had heard earlier.  But I know what I saw and I was not gonna ride that train again.....no freakin' way!

Thankfully, it was too long before the we pulled back into the station.....and I was super glad to be out of those woods!  When we came to a stop, Alden wanted to go to the back where the caboose was.  I took a few deep breaths and tried to forget what I had seen.  I caught up with Alden and we climbed into the caboose.  That was fun and we both hung out the windows and waved at all the other peeps gettin' off the train.  They looked at us like we were two poor boys from the local nut house but what do we care.....we're never gonna see them again, right?  Plus, it was fun.....we laughed and laughed at their funny looks!  Just another crazy day in the life of Trey & Alden.  We tend to get those kinds of looks when we're hangin' out together, lol.

Last stop.....the observation platform!  This was fun but now it was my turn.  I told Alden it was time for us to go and check out the cannon.  They weren't gonna actually fire it until later on the evening but I wanted to get up close to it before they packed with gun powder. 

Oh boy, the cannon was super cool and it was really big too!  I wasn't sure what to expect but I was really stoked to find out that it was in fact, a real cannon and not just a fake one.  It took a lot of effort but finally we climbed to the top passing the fuse on the way.  The wheels were super big too - I guess that means the cannon itself was waaaay heavy!  Alden dared me to stick my head over the end and look down the barrel......um, hello?  I like to have fun but I am not that stupid!

All in all, we had a great time and I still cannot believe that I ran into Alden in this little place out in the middle of nowhere.  But, I sure am glad that I did.....we had a super fun "guys" day out!  Just like we always do.  Sad, but I doubt we'll ever return to this little place.  But hey, if you are in the neighbor hood of Bear Grass, NC, you need to make a pit stop and check this place out.  Just watch out for aliens if you decide to ride the train!

I hope you peeps have enjoyed reading about our day as much as we did!  ~Trey ✌

18 Inch Doll Outfits & 18 Inch Doll Accessories by:

Trey's shorts & Tee by  Minipparel ~ Etsy®

Trey's navy tennis shoes from seller; simplethings4now on eBay®

Alden's Bermuda shorts & Tee by Minipparel ~ Etsy®

{ Deadwood } Part I

Sup peeps!!  I am so stoked to share my adventure with you!  As you most likely know by now from the girls, we had to leave the Outer Banks of N.C. and head inland for a few days to avoid those hurricane force winds that Arthur was sharing up and down the coast.  So, we ended up at this really small (and kinda boring) campground out in the middle of nowhere.....seriously, I'm not jokin', it was like in the middle of a soybean field!  BUT, right across the road from the campground was this place called DEADWOOD.  Yep, you read it right.  Now, when I first saw the sign as we pulled in to the campground, I thought to myself; oh yeah, that place sounds happenin' (extreme sarcasm) and wrote it off as B-O-R-I-N-G.  The next morning I got up and figured what the heck; I'd go and check it out.....I mean what's to lose other than a few precious hours watching the soybeans grow, right?

So, it turns out that this place has been around for a while and is known in the area for having western themed dinner shows and a little amusement park.  I liked the idea of being amused so I decided to go on in.  I walked down this long bridge into a kind of courtyard place area and all of a sudden, I heard someone call my name; "Trey!!"  Kinda freaked me out to tell ya the truth.  I looked around thinking there must be another dude named Trey (lucky dude, right?) and then I saw my best buddy, Alden, over by the train ride waving wildly to get my attention!  I was totally stoked!  Now, I wouldn't be bored at all! 

"Dude, whatcha doin' out here in the middle of freakin' nowhere?" I asked.  Alden explained that he too had to stop his vaca at the beach to get out of the way of Arthur.  He and I both could not believe how lucky we were to have both ended up at the very same campground!  He was actually excited to visit DEADWOOD cause he'd heard about this place on TV.  Boy, he had me there. TV? You gotta explain this one to me real slow.....

So, turns out the owner was featured on a show called 'Doomsday Preppers' that was on the NatGeo channel a while back.  The Wild West amusement park is used as a front for the family's end-of-the-world preparations.  Cowabunga dude, I did not see that coming!  Alden, being the sorta guy he is, went into great detail about their guns and a real live cannon that they shoot!  I for sure wanted to see the cannon blast.

Alden really wanted to ride the train but the engineer wasn't around.  Alden had already purchased enough tickets to ride the train twice but said he'd give me one so we could ride together.  Awesome.  But we had to wait for the engineer to return so in the mean time, we decided to explore the place. 

We headed over to the carousel ride and jumped on the horses!  I threw my hands up in the air and yelled; "Yeeeeeehaw!!"  Heck, at that very  moment, I felt like Hop-a-long Cassidy or.....better yet, The Lone Ranger.  Ha ha, then the thought it me - Alden could be Tonto!  What a riot.  At this point, I couldn't help but notice that Alden was holding rather tightly to the bar.....almost like he was scared of falling off.  Some Tonto he'd make!  I am pretty sure the real Tonto rode his horse bareback and he most certainly didn't have a metal bar to hold on to!

After a few times around, Alden seemed comfortable enough to at least throw one hand up.....and when it did, he yelled out really loudly; "High Ho, Mr. Ed!!"  At this, I nearly fell of my horse.  Mr. Ed?  Seriously?  "Dude! The Lone Ranger did NOT ride Mr. Ed!!!".  He didn't reply.  I just put it down to his totally random sense of humor.  He is always saying the craziest, most random things that totally crack me up!

After a dozen times around the carousel, we headed over to the rock-climbing wall....saaa-weet!  Before I could even grab a rock, Alden was scaling the stinkin' wall!  Now, that like totally threw me.  He was afraid to ride the carousel horse but he can climb a rock wall with nothin' but a little rock to old on to?!?!?!  Somethin's wrong with my buddy Alden.

By this time I really wanted to take a break but ohhhh, noooo.  Not happenin' yet.  Alden was up the orange ringed ladder and yelling "Last one to the top has a rotten leg!!"  Now, I have to admit, as soon as I realized what he said, I immediately looked around and prayed that nobody overheard him.  Whew, thank God no one else was even remotely close to us!  "Dude! It's not a rotten leg, it's a rotten egg!!"  To which he replied "Where?"  Oh, for cryin' out loud.....really?  So, I caught up to him and convinced him that I really, really needed to go and chill-ax.  

As we made our way back to the courtyard, we came across this heavy dude with no hand, two broken ankles and a creepy scar across his face.  Not sure why he was holding a flowery lantern?  It didn't match his outfit at all.  Captain Hook was a pirate, not a cowboy, right?  Maybe he was yodeling?  I dunno but he was definitely lackin' in the swag department.  Frankly, he left us speechless but since we were tourists, we thought the least we could do was have a photo op with him.  Not sure what more we can say about this poor guy other than he'd make a good character in one of those creepy doll movies.

Back in the courtyard area we found a super cool water well that had some nice shade...perfect for a chill-axin' moment....or two, or ten or heck, even twenty.  We talked about how it must have been hard livin' back in the olden times when you had to go and "fetch" water for drinkin' and washin' and all kinds of water-needin' chores.  We both agreed we were really glad we weren't actually born waaaay back then. 

After a nice long break, I was starting to feel like explorin' again.  We started looking around to see what else we could get into.  Alden was getting antsy to ride the train.  He absolutely loves riding trains and I just knew that until we did that, he was not gonna stop talking about it.....plus I have to admit, it did sound like a load of fun.  Apparently, the word around town is they had "aliens" back in them woods!  Who knew that aliens had landed and were living in the middle of "Nowhere, NC". 

And, just as I was about to suggest going back over to the train station to see if Mr. Engineer man had returned, both Alden and I heard a loud "All Aboard - Awwwl Aboard!!!!"  Whoa, that was great timing!

Stay tuned for the rest of my story!  There is much more  to share.....it's just that I gotta catch some much needed Z's.....like right now.  ~Trey ✌ 

P.S. If you want to know more about Alden, check him out on the "Meet the Guys" page!

18 Inch Doll Outfits & 18 Inch Doll Accessories by:

Trey's shorts & Tee by  Minipparel ~ Etsy®

Trey's navy tennis shoes from seller; simplethings4now on eBay®

Alden's Bermuda shorts & Tee by Minipparel ~ Etsy® 

Alden's shoes are 2003 Grey Sneakers by American Girl®