{ Cello Practice Interupted }

Hello everyone.  It sure has been a long, busy winter so far.  Christmas seemed to come sooo quickly.  We all had a super time but it was oh-so-busy.  Now that we are into the New Year at school, I got assigned new music for our Spring Orchestra Concert in March.  I was super excited that one of the pieces is "Somewhere Over The Rainbow".  I just love that song.  And, what is really cool is all three grades are going to play it together.  I sure hope the 6th & 7th graders can keep up with us 8th graders!  So, yesterday afternoon I decided to get out my new music and get started.

Just as I was finishing up my third run through, Alden walked in the family room and asked me what I was doing.  "What's it look like, silly?" I shot back.  (I know, I know, it was a bit sassy but I couldn't help myself...it was pretty darned obvious since I was holding a huge cello!) 

He got a big grin and laughed and then sat down beside me on the couch.  "I'm practicing my new music for the Spring concert.....do you recognize the song?"   I held my breath hoping he'd recognize it even though I had only run through it a few times.  "uhhh, well, hummmm.  No, I'm sorry Mia, I don't."

I could tell he felt bad that he didn't so I laughed it off saying it probably sounded more like dying pigs.....to which he busted out laughing and replied, "Yeah, sorta but I wasn't going to say THAT to you!"   We both had a good laugh!

"I know, play it again for me and I'll turn the pages when you tell me to.  I promise not to look at the title and this time I'll listen really hard to see if I recognize it." Alden suggested.

"You're on!" I replied.

 
"Ohhhh, I know it, I know it!  It's from that old movie with the Wizard of Odd!  Ummmm....darn it....oh, oh, oh!  It's Someone Over The Rainbow!!  Right?!?!"  He blurted out.

By this time I was rolling...Wizard of Odd?  Really?  SomeONE Over The Rainbow?  Seriously?

Alden!  You have to be kidding me, right?  Just then his lip quivered and he couldn't fake it any longer.....bwahahaha, he busted out laughing!  "Oh my gosh, you are so funny, Alden!  I thought you were being totally serious dude!"

Alden just winked at me and flashed that smirky little smile that he gets when he's chuffed with himself for fooling someone....he is such a fun guy-friend!  He always brightens my day when he visits the dorm.  All at once he stood up and as he put his scarf on said, "Hey, lets go for a quick walk before it gets dark outside...come on, grab your hat cause it's fairly cold today!"

I was happy for the break from cello practice so I pulled on my beanie and headed out with Alden.  Sarah looked up, "Have fun guys!  Mia, don't be long as we all have to pitch in and get dinner ready and it's a school night so we gotta be on time to bed!"

"No problem Sarah!  We aren't going far!" 

What about you?  Do you have a girl friend or guy friend that always makes your day a better one?  If so, what is it about them that cheers you up?  Are they funny?  Are they a good listener?  I'd love to hear about your friends!  ~Mia ❄

  18 Inch Doll Outfits & 18 Inch Doll Accessories by:

Alden's jeans & Mia's hoodie by Minipparel ~ Etsy®

Alden's fleece pullover by Sew Fun Doll Clothes ~ Etsy®

Alden's knit scarf by Little Froggies ~ Etsy®

Mia's linen shirt by Janie Jumps ~ Etsy®

Mia's orange knit beanie by Bella and Hoot ~ Etsy®

 

{ We're All Still Here! }

Well, as you all know, yesterday was Alien Abduction Day!  I wore my protective foil hat to school and boy did I get some strange looks!  Haha, but at least I was safe.....deep down, I sorta wished aliens had come and taken some of those annoying boys away for at least a few days!  Anywho, when I got home, Frolics was waiting for me in his favorite chair. 

Fortunately we have online textbooks so my backpack isn't terribly heavy.  Even still, I had a TON of homework - mostly algebra - my favorite subject - NOT.  Man, my teachers just LOVE to give us homework...and lots of it! :(  As I set my backpack down to get started on my assignments, Frolics was acting as if he wanted me to follow him to the kitchen.

So, I picked him up and headed upstairs to the kitchen.  Plus I wanted to make sure that everyone is wearing their hats! Then it hit me - Oh no.....what if they forgot to make them and were already abducted?!  Quick, let's go Frolics!

I ran to the kitchen with Frolics, and could not BELIEVE my eyes! It was like looking at a Reynold's Wrap fashion show of hats!!  "Good gravy, you guys! Those aren't the kind of hats I was talking about!" I exclaimed.

"Don't you like them??" McKenna exclaimed. "I made a fez (because fezzes are cool! :D), Saige made a top hat, Isabelle.....well.....I don't really know what she made..."
"It's a dome!" Isabelle cut in.
"Okay. Isabelle made a dome, Trey made a snapback, and Sarah made a hat that looks just like Mountie Jack's!" McKenna finished.
"Yeah! My hat looks a lot like Mountie Jack's from the AMAAAZING TV show, 'When Calls The Heart'! I did it because he is ALL I can think about! I cannot WAIT until Saturday night! I swear.....if Jack leaves Elizabeth again I'm going to CRY I tell you....cry a major big long river of tears!!!  Give Rosemary to Gowen!"
Sarah is talking about Hallmark's 'When Calls The Heart' - our favorite TV show. The show comes on every Saturday night at 9 p.m. and we are all completely and utterly obsessed with it. Do any of you guys watch it?? We are all crushing on Mountie Jack! He's soooooooooo all that! :)

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye.....I noticed an unprotected doggy head! Oh no! Honey! You aren't wearing a hat!  It's a wonder you are still here with us!

I rushed over to the table and grabbed a wad of foil and quickly smooshed a foil doggy hat out of it. There you go Honey! Now those creepy little extraterrestrial bug-eyed beings won't get you!

So, we all had a good chuckle about everyone's creative take on making their protective foil hats.  We mostly admired Trey's snap back.....who knew he had a creative side?  Boy, we sure didn't!  However, at the end of the day, we all agreed that it must not matter what shape our hats were because none of us was missing so they must have worked.

Well, a belated Happy Alien Abduction Day! Hope your still with us and didn't get abducted!!!

So, whose hat is YOUR favorite and why?  ~Christina ♫ 

18 Inch Doll Outfits & 18 Inch Doll Accessories by:

Trey's jeans Minipparel ~ Etsy 

Trey's Star Wars shirt from Lostinajungle ~ The Beach Shack ~ Etsy  

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

{ Saying Good Bye is Hard to Do! }

Well, the day has come to say goodbye to our sweet friend, Isabelle!  Tomorrow she becomes the official American Girl® "Girl Of The Year" doll for 2014!!  We are super excited for her!

After saying goodbye to the girls in the upstairs bedroom, Isabelle popped down to the downstairs bedroom to say goodbye to the rest of us.  As soon as Isabelle walked in, Faith called out to Isabelle "Hey, did you see that you had a 'big reveal' on the Good Morning America show this morning?"  Faith could tell by the look on Isabelle's face that she didn't believe her so she added, "Yes, yes, you were! It was totally awesome!"

I spoke up....."It was really cool Isabelle.  You should have seen all the little girls' faces when they pulled the box up to reveal you standing there.  And, then what was really cool was this; there were four little girls that had come out dancing as a 'clue' right before you were revealed and after the reveal they gave each of those girls an Isabelle dressed to match each of their outfits!  The little girls were sooooo surprised!" 

 "Oh Saige, I wish I had seen it!  I'll have to watch it on YouTube tomorrow."

"Hey!" Faith spoke up, "I heard that you and the girls upstairs got to take selfies together! I want one with you too!"  Needless to say, Isabelle was totally up for more selfies!

I looked over at Lanie and saw a small tear trickle down her face. "Isabelle...why do you have to leave? Cant you stay???" Isabelle ran over to Lanie and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry, Lanie! I can't stay. There's a little girl out there that's depending on me to be there for her! Maybe I can come back and visit sometime?"  "Yes, you must." Lanie replied trying to hide her tears.

Then Isabelle called for a big group hug with all of us GOTY dolls. "I'm going to miss you guys so much!" Izzy exclaimed. "But don't worry - I will definitely come to visit all of you again!!"

Well, as of 12 o' clock midnight, I will no longer be the Girl Of The Year. Although it makes me a little sad, I'm happy my title will be passed down to such a sweet girl like Isabelle. We all wish she could stay, but we know she can't. Saying goodbye is a hard thing to do! We all wish Isabelle the best of luck as she takes on her new title. Happy New Years Eve everyone!!  ~Saige ♥

{ Happy Thanksgiving Day! }

Hello all and Happy Thanksgiving!  We all were so excited for today to arrive...we love the traditions and the foods and all the fun times together!  We all gathered around the table just before digging in to snap this quick photo to share with you. 

Both McKenna & Christina made a bee-line for the desert table just as soon as this photo was finished being snapped.  Boy, they wasted NO time trying to decide which of the tempting sweets was going to be their first choice.  Christina is always saying; "Life's short, eat dessert first!!".  And, judging by the fact that I caught McKenna eating a piece of Oreo pie before eating turkey, I think Christina has been quite successful at convincing McKenna of this "truth".

As you can see, Saige was missing from the photo as she was busy typing up some of the questions that we have for our soon-to-be-arriving friend, Isabelle.  We're hoping that when she arrives, she is wearing her "lucky shirt" that she has talked often about and her favorite "sling back" shoes.  Isabelle has told Saige that her sling backs are a bright, sparkly gold.....they sound sooo cute! 

We also cannot wait to hear more about her mother's sewing room.  Isabelle said her mom has a very old sewing kit that she keeps in an "old wooden box".  This special box originally belonged to Isabelle's mom's mother.....so it was Isabelle's grandmother's sewing box.  Isn't that the coolest?   Oh, and the other thing we all want to know is why Isabelle calls her mother's sewing machine "Henrietta"?  What a funny name to give a sewing machine!  :)  We're positive there must be a story to this funny little name! 

We only have a few days to finish all the preparations.  The girls have all decided that we should have a little party to celebrate Isabelle's arrival.  So, after we finish cleaning up after Thanksgiving, we need to get started right away setting up for a GOTY 2014 celebration!

Stay tuned!  Good gravy, we are all sooooo excited!!!!!  ~ Cindy ♥

{ Halloween Party 2013 }

Hello faithful readers...Cindy here!  I'm so sorry that I am so far behind in posting pictures of our Halloween party at the dorm.  With school and trying to get the girls to all do their homework and weekly chores...well, let's just say I have been way busy!

Since Halloween fell on a school night, we decided that we'd move our party to the weekend.  Our party was SUPER fun!  All the costumes were so cute.  My sister's was a total scream.....that Christina is such a crazy girl.  :)  So, now for the fun part ~ PICTURES!  Warning, there are a LOT! 

This is at the start of our party.....everybody had just gotten into their costumes and we were all congratulating each other on our superb tastes!

I'm not sure who's idea it was to use a seashell for a jack-o-lantern's nose and pearls for his mouth!  Goodness, they must have been desperately out of ideas!

I, on the other hand, decided that I would carve a pumpkin this year.  I love to make happy faces on my jackos and I love the way this one turned out.  I also am very particular about the stem on my pumpkins when choosing them.....after all, one needs a good handle on his lid, right? 

Here we have Mr. Meatloaf, looking quite spiffy!  He kept pawing at the old timey dog mask taped up to the frig.....like he wanted to wear it or something.  But, I couldn't figure out how to get it to stay on his face.....even with his fairly flat snoot, it wouldn't stay put. 

 Another of the zombie-eyed, shell-nosed pumpkin!  *facepalm*

Finally, the fashionably late Miss Faith arrived in her homemade "Spider Queen" outfit.  Since she looked so debonair, I suggested a sort of "fashion show" for each girl to show off her costume.  Faith volunteered to be first.

Next, I gave the camera to Faith and asked her to take a picture of my sister, Christina and I.  Can you tell what Christina is?  She announced herself as "The Worlds Worst Fashion Disaster".  There was no question about it.....as confirmed by the fact that her outfit gave me an immediate migraine!

Unfortunately, someone called my name right when Faith finished saying "1-2-3-Smile!".  On hindsight, I am sure it was planned in advance.....as you'll see by the next picture below...that crazy Christina had a silly plan.    

Look what I found when I took the camera from Faith and turned around!  OH MY HEAVENS!  We all absolutely DIED laughing!  Christina always makes us laugh!

After we all picked ourselves up off the floor, it was our sweet Hope's turn and needless to say, Mr. Meatloaf had to be in it with her.  Aren't they just the cutest together? 

Following Hope was our super cute Lanie!  She dressed as a Virginia Tech Hokies Fan!  This came very easy to her since she is wild about the Hokies!

And finishing up on the runway was Sarah.  She dressed as a princess.  Sarah doesn't wear pink very often at all but we all thought it was actually a good color on her and she looked so frilly and fancy!

After a LOT of good food and laughter, we finished the evening with a Conga Line and went all around the dorm.....what a blast we had! 

Now, you might be wondering where McKenna and Saige are?  First of all, yes they were invited to the party but they both decided not to come.  You see, a letter arrived in the mail the morning of the party and it was from a very special young lady.....I thought they had won the lottery the way they reacted to the letter.  Turns out, it was from their friend, Isabelle.  Once I heard this, I understood their excitement.  Isabelle is to be given the prestigious title of Girl Of The Year for 2014 and she was not due to come to the dorm until January 1st but apparently the letter indicated that she is going to be coming early for a visit and this sent McKenna and Saige into a flurry of activity!  More on that in my next post.....

{ My New Fall Sweater Outfit }

Hello to all.  My name is Sarah and this is my first post here.  I have been so busy with school I have not had the chance to share.  I'm looking forward to sharing more in the future!

Last weekend I went camping with my family and was sooo looking forward to lovely, crisp fall weather.  Unfortunately, it rained ALL weekend long.  Total bummer.  Since I love reading, I did get to read quite a few chapters of a new book I took with me.  I believe a good book is always the perfect solution to a rainy day, or two, or three.

Right before leaving, I received a package in the mail with a brand new outfit I ordered.  It is so perfect for Fall!  I love the earthy colors of fall.  They all seem to remind me of autumnal foods though; hot apple cider, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkins; deep red apples.  Oh boy, I'm getting hungry now!  Anywhoo, we decided to go for a walk in the woods since the sun had finally popped out from all the clouds.  And, all though it was silly, I decided to wear my new outfit.  I asked my family take some photos of me in it while we walked.  I love the way it looks on me......it makes me feel really pretty.  Isn't it funny how some outfits do that?  I don't often feel that way but this one really does make me feel especially pretty!

While we were walking down one of the paths, I spotted the cutest little toadstool right in the middle of the path.  It was sooo adorable!  I wanted to pick it up but since I have read that you really shouldn't touch them unless you know if it's safe or not, I decided to just bend down for a closer look.  

Next I saw some really brightly colored berries around the bottom of a tree and decided to climb through the thick ferns and brush to investigate it further. 

When I got close I saw that it was some sort of pod that opened up to reveal the most beautiful persimmon-orange colored seeds...I was so amazed at the colors!  Aren't' they beautiful??



So, in the end, despite all the rain, it was a good weekend of reading and exploring the beauty of nature that is often right in front of us and yet we miss it.  Set aside some time this fall to take a walk and really notice all the amazing little things that grow along the path! 

18 Inch Doll Outfits & 18 Inch Doll Accessories by:

Sweater dress & Hat by Debonair Designs ~ Etsy 
Chocolate brown skinny cords by The Vintage Doll Trunk ~ Etsy