BFF Adventures: Halloween

"Grammy" (aka my mom) had a spooky fun Costume Party for the BFFs with all kinds of ghoulish things!

First Grammy had party favors for everyone...

...What could it be?

"Oh how cute! Halloween Beany Babies!" The girls belted out.

After opening their party favors the girls milled around snacking and chatting.

"Hey whose ready to play some games?" Emily asked.

"Me! I am! Oh yes please! I can't wait!" the girls cheered.

"Can we bob for apples first?" asked Felicity.

"Sure!" said Grammy.

"You can do it Felicity!"

"You've almost got it!"

"Get it, bite it!"

"Hey this is a lot harder than it looks!"

Finally after multiple tries she latched on to one with a dripping wet face!

The girls each took their turn then they were ready for the next game...

...Candy Corn Toss!

After being spun around and blind folded the girls had to try to throw candy corn into a bucket. It was a silly game... but very fun :)

"Over here, Molly, this way." encouraged DeeDee.

"Psst... Emily lets tell ghost stories in the dark!" suggested Caroline quietly.

"Great idea!"

Grammy found a flashlight and turned the lights out as the girls huddled up together with their new Halloween Beany Babies.

"This is scary!" said DeeDee.

"Yes, but it's all in good fun," consoled Emily. "Would you like to give it a go first?"

"All right," said DeeDee as she put the flashlight to her face. "It was a dark and cold night long ago..." 

...The girls listened closely and held their stuffed animals tightly. DeeDee continued her story and it got scarier and creepier. DeeDee has a hard time remembering the punch line of jokes and likewise couldn't think of a good ending to her ghost story so she pasted the flashlight to Felicity so she could create the ending. 

Buuuut... As soon as Felicity put the flashlight to her face it cast a terrifying shadow above her glasses and made all the girls scream in fright! Not being able to see her own face, Felicity didn't know what had happened and quickly ran to flip on the lights to see what the girls were screaming at. Her state of confusion and shock only broke the girls' screams into ridiculous laughter as they tried to explain how creepy she looked.

"Lordy-bee," said Grammy, "how about we do something less spooky, I don't want you girls up all night with bad dreams." To be honest the girls were relieved to be changing activities.

"We could look at this Halloween Kitty book Lissy gave us," said Molly.

"Yeah!" InkPot was also excited about that idea and perked right up.

Once the sun had finally set and the moon was glowing bright over the autumn trees the girls went out trick-or-treating with their jack o'lantern buckets.

"TRICK-OR-TREAT!!!!!"

Happy Halloween from all of us Ghouls!

P.S. What are you and your dolls being for Halloween?

If you'd like to see my Halloween photos from last year click here and here.

Kirsten Goes to Silver Dollar City

 My family has been going to Silver Dollar City all my life and even before I was born.

Silver Dollar City is an amusement park that is like walking back in time to the mid-1800s.
They have all kinds of rides and cool shops and stuff to see.

Mom and I took Kirsten this last time we went and, being a pioneer girl from 1854, she fit right in to the theme of the park!

This is our favorite time of the year to visit Silver Dollar City because the weather is perfect, the leaves are beautiful, their decorations are so cute, and it's their arts and crafts festival so there are lots of artist and craftsmen demonstrating and selling their handmade items.

Kirsten loved seeing all the things that are from her time period, like this mail carriage.

One of Mom's favorite things is watching the glass blowers. They make such beautiful pieces and they sell them there. It's amazing to watch each red hot piece transform as they mold and sculpt it with such ease.

Here we have something both my dad and boyfriend love watching... boys. Although I do have to agree this water mill wheel is pretty cool.

After our first day we checked into our hotel room and got comfy cozy in our jammies.... 

 ...making sure we got good sleep for another big day at the park tomorrow.

 My favorite thing about Silver Dollar City is how authentic everything is. I always feel like I truly have gone back in time. For instance, I love this little original log cabin. Kirsten thought it look similar to her family's home.

At some point someone actually did live here and they even have it set up still so you can go in and see their sweet humble home.

My most favorite thing is the one room school house. They have a teacher there and she gives lessons about the history of our country's flag. She also taught us how to make a "Betsy Ross Star" (you can see a photo at the end of this post).

Here are Kirsten and I... The teacher said I could sit at her desk because I actually am a teacher too.

They are so many cool things in this tiny school! I could stay in there all day and listen to that teacher and pretend I'm a little pioneer girl.

These are real slate boards at each desk and they let you write or draw on them!

This little school house model was made by a young man that works at the park and it was a gift to the teacher.

They also have fun things at Silver Dollar City like a petting zoo. I loved that big huge rabbit; it's almost as big as those pigs! 

This shot is taken from a porch that over looks the Ozark Mountains, which are breathtaking this time of year. It also over looks an outdoor theatre.

We love to sit on the rocking chairs on the porch and eat the most delicious apple dumplings and just take in all the splendor around us.

After a full second day at the park we headed home but not before catching one more photo opportunity :) 

Kirsten is so beautiful and photogenic!!

We packed up my little slug bug and Kirsten cuddled up with Sari and her new quilted kitten that was handmade with scraps by a quilter and the park. She decided Scrapper was a good name for her kitty. 

When we got home the rest of the girls were putting up the Halloween decorations and playing dress up with last years costumes (you can see more pictures of their costumes here). However they were very excited to hear all about Kirsten's trip!

They gathered around in the living room and Kirsten shared her experiences with them and proudly showed her "Betsy Ross Star" we made and introduced "Scrapper" to MissyMeowMeow.

Mom, Kirsten, and I had such a fun trip to Silver Dollar City!

 Do you and your family have a favorite theme park or place you love to visit?



Emily's Birthday Tea Party

The 29th of September was Emily's birthday!

She wanted to have a simple tea party with her closest friends and play with their American Girl Dolls.

Emily was so happy to have her friends and pets gathered around her.

They were all giggles and nonsense while sipping on their tea.

She may be known for being lady-like but in special circumstances Emily can let lose and be a little silly goose too! :) 

Emily loves cherries so we set out the nice cherry patterned china tea set. 

Finally it was time for cake!

The girls sang-- or more like screeched "Happy Birthday" to Emily.

She laughed at her friends' ridiculousness, paused to contemplate her wish, then took one big WHOOSH and the candles were out... a guarantied wish come true! 

While they cut the cake the animals were at foot wishing for some cake droppings 

Next it was time to open presents!

She picked the big bag first: it was from Grammy, DeeDee, and Caroline.

"Hooray! The white furry ice skates, ear muffs, and muff I was wanting!" Silently she recalled her birthday wish that the ponds would freeze over enough this winter for ice skating.

My girls and I gave her handmade gifts.

"Wow, look at this beautiful headband!" Emily exclaimed.

"There is something else on the bottom of the box Emily," whispered Felicity.

"Oh my a beautiful pearl and crystal bracelet! How extraordinarily elegant! You girls certainly are crafty."

"Shall we play with our dolls now girls?" asked Emily as the girls simultaneously cheered and scurried to get their dolls.

"Lets pretend they are getting ready for a royal ball!" Emily suggested.

The girls carried on in their merry fantasy world for hours into the evening until it was time for Felicity, Molly, and I to head home.

Emily was beaming with joy throughout her simple yet splendid birthday! 

Happy Birthday Emily!