Felicity Goes To Colorado!

My bag is packed and I have warm cozy boots, a heavy coat, furry hat, my favorite Ugly Doll OX, and most importantly I have my camera... I'm heading to Colorado for Spring Break and I'm seeing real Mountains for the first time in my life! I plan on taking a whole bunch of photos!

"All ready to go Felicity?"

"All ready Kaya!"

"You are going to love the mountains and the fresh air. I know you love being outdoors so this will be the perfect vacation for you. I can't wait to see your photos and hear all about it!!"

Felicity said her good-byes to Kaya and the rest of the girls then headed out for an eleven hour drive across Kansas and up into the mountains.

 

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We were driving into Denver as the sun was rising and I could just barely make out purple mountains in the distance. The mountains seemed to move away from us the further we drove. What I didn't realize is that they weren't moving away it was just that we were driving higher up in elevation creating a strange optical illusion.

We were heading to Breckenridge and it wasn't long before the flat plains turned into a very vertical world of step rocky mountains. At first I felt a little trapped because I'm so use to being able to see out across the land but when you're in the mountains you can't. It was all very different from what I expected!! 

 

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The mountains started to become snowy then the next thing I knew we were high in the mountains in the town of Breckenridge!

Ski towns are cool because everyone is walking around all bundled up and carrying their skis or snowboards everywhere.

We spent the day in Breckenridge just shopping and eating. One thing that was a little strange about Breckenridge was that it was still decorated for Christmas... Lissy and I really like it! :)

 



Look at these beautiful horses! It's so pretty and old fashioned in Breckenridge!

 

 

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Later that evening we drove up to Winter Park where we were staying.

The view on the porch of our condo was amazing!

I loved gazing out at all the pine trees and snow capped mountains! It's magical.

It makes you kind of feel small in this great big majestic world!

 

Oh and check out this humongous icicle outside our condo!!

 

 

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We drove Lissy's little VW Slug Bug up here and it was covered with mountain snow the next morning.

 

We found this great little restaurant and ate there everyday! It had an ocean/beach theme so it felt like we were back in Florida but when we looked out the windows we saw snowy mountains... pretty cool.

 

After breakfast that first morning we went to rent our ski gear in town then headed to the ski resort.

 

I didn't know what to expect when we got to the ski resort but what I found was pretty awesome!

First we rode the Cabriolet from the parking lot into the village. That was so cool...

As we danged from a cable I could see so far out.

And just below us was the tubing hill.

 

Ok so learning to ski wasn't too hard but honestly I'd rather just hike through the mountains than be stuck to skis. Plus ski boots are awful!

 

I will say this though, there is NO view like the view you get on the tip of a mountain!

 

 

After I skied for a little bit I was tired of it and needed a snack!

Yes ice cream is much better than skiing!

 

 

I really enjoyed our activity the day after our skiing day. 

We just did some laid back hiking and playing in the snow.

I love being in nature!

It was a great adventure that turned into an imaginary world...

I wasn't Felicity in Colorado anymore. No, I had become Princess Ana of  Arendelle searching for my sister Elsa!  

It's awesome how it's cold and snowy in the mountains but if the sun is shining it really doesn't feel too cold so you can play outdoors for hours!

 

 

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On our last day in Colorado we had to pack up and check out in the morning.

 

Oh by the way look at the size of our icicle on our last day there! It just kept growing! And more big icicles grew around it! So cool!

It was way bigger than me!

 

I was pretty sad that morning; it was too soon to be leaving!

I just sat on our porch and reflected on all the happy memories we made.

I wish my pants would have gotten frozen to that ledge so I didn't have to go.



 

 

The good news was we got to go to the ski resort one more time! This time it wasn't for skiing; instead we went TUBING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tubing was my favorite part of the WHOLE trip! I didn't get many photos because I was having too much fun!

We rode down those hills and went back up so many times! You wouldn't believe how fast the tubes can go! Sometimes the helper guys would give your tube a quick jerk and sending you spinning down the hill! IT ROCKED!!!

 

 

 We warmed up with crepes and hot cocoa in the ski resort, popped into a few shops, rode the Cabriolet a couple times just for fun, then finally, I couldn't stall anymore and Lissy said we had to start our long drive back to Kansas City. I begged and begged to not go.

Our little green car was

 one of the last cars in the lot. Looks teeny in front of those mountains huh!

Back down the mountains we went.

As we were driving back through Denver the sun was setting over the mountains. I watched the purple mountains fade away out the rear window of the Bug for as long as I could still see them. 

 

I hope I get to go back to see my beloved mountains again sometime soon.

Have you seen mountains yet? It's pretty breathtaking to stand before their greatness!

Anna + Molly = BFF

Last night Molly had a surprise visit from our BFF Anna. Anna lives at my mom's with the other BFFs and she begged Mom to bring her with her to my house last night.

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When Mom got to my house Molly was in her own little world reading, she was gently pulled to reality when she heard a sweet whisper, "Hi Molly and Bennett."

Molly looked up and saw Anna's deep amber eyes and warm smile.

 

 

"Anna! Oh I've missed you!" Molly exclaimed as she jumped up into Anna's arms. The girls held their embrace as if to make up for lost time.

"We've missed you Molly! It's been a long time since you have come to visit us at Grammy's."

"I know. Hopefully we will be able to do our BFF Adventures again soon. We are all just so busy these days. But I'm so happy you are here!"

"Me too," agreed Anna. "Grammy came to see Lissy and I convinced her to let me come too since all my homework was finished."

"My homework is finished too, let's play!"

 

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The girls were over joyed to get to have this unexpected precious time together.

They played and played and played...

...building card castles, which Bennett enjoyed tearing down....

...reading magazines...

...writing stories...

 

...playing on the computer...

 

  

...Until it was way over their bedtime for a school night.

 

Sadly the girls said their good byes when my mom had called for Anna to help pick up their mess and get her coat on. 

"Bye Anna. Thank you for coming to play with me tonight, it was the cherry and sprinkles on top of my Mondae! I will come see you guys real soon, I promise." Molly squeezed Anna three more times and said, "those hugs were for Emily, DeeDee, and Caroline. Be sure to pass them on!"

Anna giggled and nodded her head. "I will, Molly. See you later alligator!"

"After a while crocodile!"

 

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Who are your BFFs? Do you get to see them very often?

Sometimes it's hard to coordinate play dates with so many activities and schoolwork to do. However, good friends always know that even if they can't see each other as often as they'd like they are still loved and missed and as soon as a time opens up there will be lots of fun, giggles, and hugs to be had!!

 

Thanks for bringing Anna over Mom!!

A Cold Winter and Indoor Pastimes

It's been a really rough winter here in Kansas City, one of the coldest I can remember. In fact it's been so cold that the school district I work for has closed school 3 times this year just because of the extreme cold temperatures.

Thank goodness we have a warm cozy home to stay in.

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Kirsten thought she'd get out and play in the freshly fallen snow but quickly returned home.

"Kirsten, your back already?" asked Rebecca.

"Yes, it's so cold that my nose, fingers, and toes were starting to hurt! Have you gotten anything finished on your scrapbook?"

"No, not much. You weren't gone long enough," replied Rebecca with a little laugh. "Would you like to help me with it?

"I'd love to!" agreed Kirsten.

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Felicity and Kaya were in an imaginary land far away playing with the Ugly Dolls. 



 Felicity's Ugly Doll chased after Kaya's "'Come back here OX, it's time to go to dinner!' Hey Kaya, that reminds me I'm hungry. Do you want to get a snack?"

"I sure do! My tummy has been growling!" answered Kaya.

"Oh I thought that was your Ugly Doll growling!" The girls laughed as they walked to the kitchen.

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Meanwhile in the kitchen Samantha and Addy had the same idea as Felicity and Kaya.

"It's good to take a break from all that studying," sighed Addy. She is getting ready for the annual school spelling bee.

"You're going to do fine Addy, after all you do win every year! You're the best speller I know!" encouraged Samantha.

"Thank you Samantha. And you are the best painter I know! I love the colors you are using in your latest painting!"

"Thank you, it's a new style I'm trying. I have to let it dry for a little bit before I start the next layer. Which means it's the perfect time for tea time!"

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Molly was missing her dear friend Emily and therefore chose to read Emily's story and cuddle her Emily AG doll closely. Bennett nestled into Molly's side on the daybed and looked up at Molly's sad grey eyes.

Molly looked down at her puppy and as if to read his mind said, "I know it's been so long since we've been to Grammy's." Bennett cocked his head to the side and stared back at Molly. "It's okay Bennett I bet we will get to visit Emily, Yank, and the rest of the BFFs very soon." Bennett's tail began to wag just a little.

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How has the weather been in your area? Are you getting sick of Winter or do you enjoy Winter? We are making the most of it... Very thankful that we have plenty of activities to keep us occupied indoors. However, we are greatly looking forward to the warm sunny days spent out of doors!!

 



Christmas Photo Shoot Day

When Felicity woke up she knew it was a special day for my girls!

It was the day of our Christmas photo shoot!

Samantha and Addy were up early putting together some tasty treats to enjoy on their merry day. 

"I guess we better start getting dressed for the photos!"

 Kirsten was getting out her head wreath and telling Tatlo and MissyMeowMeow about St.Lucia Day.

 

 

 

Rebecca loves a good reason to dress up!

"Being in front of a camera is my favorite thing! What can I say-- the camera loves me!"

 

"Pardon me! I'm still dressing!"

 

 

"Don't look yet! I'm not ready yet!"

 

"I'm ready to go! Just putting away my everyday dress."

 

 

"Me too! Except which necklace should I wear?"

Molly called out for Kaya to get her opinion, but...

 

 

...Kaya was in her room asleep. Looks like she was working on a letter to Santa!

"Wake up sleepy head, it's time for the photo shoot!!"

 

 

First I wanted a shot of just my three original girls.

I've celebrated many Christmases with these girls. Each one was a gift from Santa when I was very young.

 

 

Once we had Kaya woken up I got all my girls together for a simple group shot.

Their Christmas dresses are so beautiful!

 

 

A very Christmasie photo with all the girls AND and the pets too!... A lot of love here.

Of course Nudge was being a pest and wouldn't sit still.

"No No! Leave the tree alone Nudge!"

 

 

 

And now we have a gorgeous header for our blog. 

Even though Christmas was almost two months ago we want to have this as our header photo for a while because we love Christmas and all that it represents.

In fact my New Year's Resolution was to keep the spirit of Christmas alive all throughout the year. It's such a wonderful, joyful time of the year and I don't want to lose that magic!

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! hehehe :)

A Christmas Carol: Saige's First Year

 

Every year I see a local performance of A Christmas Carol with my family. It is, for certain, my favorite family tradition! If you would like to see my photos from the past two years at the play click on the following links 2011 and/or 2012.

We had a really good view of the stage! I sat with Clayce and Cora in the row behind Peyton, my mom, and Brynna.

Clayce is a really good sport about being the only boy with all these girly girls ;)

I just love this little guy so much... LOOK at his SWEET and silly FACE!!!

This year Cora finally has a "big girl" AG doll to bring to the show. Her newest friend is Saige; she just got Saige for her birthday.

Some parts of the play are pretty intense and scary, that's when the dolls get extra squeezes!

My oldest and youngest nieces.

It's hard to believe that Peyton is old enough for make up, seems like only yesterday that she was Cora's size sitting on my lap.

Today Felicity got to meet Saige and they really hit it off! Of course they would... they are both red headed horse lovers!!

During intermission we like to discuss our favorite parts of the play over hot chocolate and gingerbread men.

After the play Felicity shares her experience with all my other girls. She never leaves out one detail and is sure to point out how the play slightly changes from year to year.

"Hmmm. You know what would be fun?" she quietly thought aloud, "We should make our own play of A Christmas Carol just for fun!"

Well, as I'm sure you can guess the idea had huge positive responses especially from one Rebecca Rubin, the aspiring actress, as she leaped into the air and began spewing theatrical ideas! She rambled on and on as the other girls smiled, giggled, and embraced Rebecca's dramatic flair and creativity. 

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So, will the girls put together a play for us?

:) We shall see...

Fairy Costumes for my Niece

Felicity loves being outdoors so in the winter she gets a little bored being stuck inside all day.

 

Hey Felicity, wanna help me make a craft?

That got her up and excited! She was quick to join me in the studio. Felicity loves to help me make stuff and today we are making two sets of doll Fairy costumes for my littlest niece, Cora.

This past summer I had a Fairy Party for my older nieces and they got fairy wings and tutus as party favors. (You can see photos from that party by clicking here.) However, Cora wasn't at that party so Felicity and I are making the same kind of wings and tutus for Cora's 6th birthday.


Felicity got to be my model which was perfect because Cora got Saige for her birthday and Felicity and Saige look similar so I could easily imagine Saige in these costumes.


 

Cora loves yellow and purple and she loves the movie Tangled, so Rapunzel was my inspiration for this first set.

 

 

The tutus are super easy to make. I used elastic cord for the waist and tied tulle and ribbon on it. I also added some flowers which I hot glued on.

 



 

The wings are a little bit more involved. I used 4 pipe cleaners and bent them to the wing shape I liked and twisted the ends together so all four pipe cleaners formed two connected pairs. Then I  hot glued a flat piece of  tulle to the pipe cleaner "frames" and trimmed the extra tulle off. When they were dry and sturdy I used puff paint to decorate them with pretty swirls and glitter. Since my other nieces are older their wings had saftey pins to attach the wings to the doll's clothing, but Cora is only six so I went for a safer version with ribbons that tie around arms/shoulders.

 

 

 

 

Cora, like me, is a big time Christmas freak! So I wanted to also make a Christmas set for her as well. 

 

I like this set so much I almost kept them for myself haha :)

 

I really liked the way the wings turned out.

 

 

I hot glued five rosettes in the middle with green satin ribbon cut into leaf shapes; it kind of resembled holly.

 

After everything was dry, set, and just right we bundled them up and packaged them in a cute Hello Kitty gift bag :)

We can't wait to see Saige in these fabulous Fairy costumes :)

 

What are you doing to prevent the cold winter blues? Are you getting cabin fever yet? Try making some doll crafts with your doll friends like Felicity and I did :)

 

P.S. I'm really behind on my posts... I have a bunch to do from Christmas time so stay tuned!