Going To My Great Grandparents' House

Last night I went to my great grandmother's house for a sleepover. My great grandmother and grandfather are very nice and good cooks. Before dinner they let Sunny go outside and take pictures of me by the lake. It was so peaceful and serene- for just a few moments I was completely mesmerized by the beauty. I forgot about school. About Nellie. About Madi moving.

 

Then Great Grandma Regina called Sunny and I in for supper. 

We had macaroni and cheese and hotdogs with raspberry juice. I smothered my hotdog in catsup and mustard...yum! 

Then we went into the guest room where we found Jaycee, their cat sleeping. Luckily, we were able to get her to pose for a pic. Isn't she adorable? If Noelle were there she'd have be sneezing like crazy! Noelle's allergic to animal fur so even being in the same room as a cat or dog can make her sneeze and her eyes itch.

 

After dessert and a quick dip in the pool we decided to watch a movie in the living room. Then it was nearly 10 o'clock so Great Grandma Regina went into her bedroom with Great Grandpa Frederick and Sunny and I went back into the bedroom for some good ol' snoozing. This morning we woke up at 8 o'clock and had eggs and bacon. Afterwards we went back into the pool and then waited for Sunny's mom and dad (my grandparents) to pick us up. It was a very fun night and it got my mind off school for a little while anyway. 

Too bad the weekends go by so fast. At this time tomorrow I'll be listening to Senora Montoya talk about the Civil War :-( On a more positive note, next weekend is Labor Day! Hooray! 

Have a great Sunday, everyone!

Cali***

My First Day of School (the Extended Edition)

Hey, Cali here! How was everyone's first days of school? Mine was pretty good but I did have a run-in with an O'Malley...not Nellie, though! Her cousin, actually, Natalie O'Malley. Natalie looks just like Nellie but she is amazingly nicer and way less snobby. I asked her if she was close with Nellie and she said "yes" so I didn't say anything more about Nellie...but I did tell her about school since she's new. I've been going here since first grade and I know it like the back of my hand! I make great friends, I have great teachers and I learn so much at FMSG. No offense, to the school Madame Montez Academy but I would rather go here any day. So anyway, it was a really fun day and we did a lot of cool stuff. My teacher, Senora Montoya, is (if you didn't already tell by the name) spanish! She used a lot of spanish words around us so I knew a few from my spanish classes that I took in 3rd grade. For instance, gato means cat, casa means home, perro means dog and yes is si. I also know some phrases but I have NO clue how to spell them. 

Madi is in my class which I was thankful for since it's basically the last semester we're ever going to go to school together again :-( I'm still sad about the whole moving thing but I've gotten over it some. I'm trying to live in the moment!

The only thing that wasn't great about my first day was the homework- we got 100 multiplication facts to complete and we had to fill in an All-About-Me survey. Ugh!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot! My first day outfit! To see it you have to go to my Picasa newest album: www.picasaweb.google.com/hazelwoodca/CaliSFirstDayOfSchool#. This album also shows you a little bit more about my first day.

I guess I'm glad school has started up again. I can't wait to see what else we'll do! :-)

Cali***

PS- I guess this post wasn't super long. I'm sorry!

My First Day of School (the short version)

I am so busy with school- we had homework on the first day :-( Sunny is busy making an album of my first day and I will post it tomorrow. BTW, you will be able to see Noelle in her winning outfit, Outfit C in the album so that will be cool, too. Sorry for such a short post- a huge post will be ready tomorrow!!! :-)

Cali***

My Last Day of Summer

Sadly, today is my final day of summer- school starts tomorrow! I am sort of excited but not really. I mean, I bet I'm going to have loads of homework. I do want to see my friends again, though! :-) At FMSG you have to choose two electives out of dance, orchestra, band, choir, soccer, jazz, gym and art. I chose jazz club and soccer since I joined them over the summer and had really fun. Other classes I am enrolled in are math, science, advanced reading and advanced history. I just hope I get a few classes with my friends! 

I'm still in shock that Madi will only be at FMSG for half the year! Then she's moving to some private school with snobby Nellie (see previous post). I decided to talk to her today about why she hadn't told me about Nellie and Madame Montez Academy today:

"Hi, Madi," I said when I walked into her dorm room this morning. 

"Hey, Cali," Madi said, smiling. "What's up?"

"Um, why did you keep Madame Montez a secret from me, your BEST friend?" I wondered.

Madi looked puzzled. "Who told you about Madame Montez?"

"This girl Nellie. I saw her at the theater a couple days ago," I answered. "She had short strawberry-blonde hair and lotsa freckles."

Madison's face flushed. "I'm SO sorry," she said. "I wanted to tell you but I thought you'd be so mad at me you wouldn't want to be friends anymore." 

I frowned. "That could never happen! I think I'd be less mad if you told me beforehand, though."

Madi grinned and gave me a huge bear hug. I just knew that even if Madi wouldn't be at Frosted Meadows School for Girls she'd still be one of my closest friends :-)

Since  I was near Noelle's dorm I decided to stop in and check on how her back-to-school preparations were going. When I walked in I nearly toppled over clothes she had strewn all over the floor. Her roommate Anne Marie looked at me flustered. Anne Marie is a shy, quiet, clean-freak so this mess was probably making her crazy. 

"Um, what on EARTH is going on in here?" I wondered, picking up a wrinkly pink sweater.

Noelle was holding a silk blouse and an a-line skirt. "I'm picking out what I am going to wear tomorrow. Anne Marie's helping."

Anne Marie stared at the floor. "She means I'm picking up her mess." 

I couldn't help but laugh. "Well, did you find any possible outfits?" I asked Noelle.

"Yes, actually. I narrowed it down to three outfits," Noelle replied.  

"Well, try them on!" I exclaimed.

Noelle's first outfit "Outfit A":

This outfit consists of a blue long-sleeved shirt with a pink bird graphic, jeans with matching graphics on the bottom, the headband from the JLY current meet outfit and the ballet flats from the JLY current meet outfit.

Noelle's second outfit "Outfit B":

This outfit consists of the "I Like Your Style" JLY top, the 2007 JLY Holiday Outfit skirt, the current JLY meet outfit headband and the ballet flats from the current JLY meet outfit. 

Noelle's third outfit "Outfit C":

This outfit consists of the light purple sweater from Kit's meet outfit, the vanilla-colored turtle  neck from the JLY travel outfit, the skirt from the JLY travel outfit, the headband from the current JLY meet outfit and the sparkly pink shoes from the 2007 Holiday Outfit. 

"Which one do you like best?" she wondered.

I shrugged. "I like them all."

So here's where you guys come in! Look at each picture carefully and then vote for your favorite outfit on the poll. The outfit with the most votes by tomorrow at 7 am will be the outfit Noelle wears on her first day of school. My outfit has already been chosen  and will remain secret until the special "My First Day of School" post tomorrow. Happy voting and have a great last day of summer and first day of school!

Cali***

The Wizard of Oz & My Enemy

A picture of me with my Wizard of Oz dolls (Dorothy and Glinda) and my "ruby slippers"!

Thanks to my recent obsession with musicals Sunny decided to take me to Frosted Meadows Theater to see the Wizard of Oz movie. FMT usually shows classics or old movies so this was really cool. The theater is very neat inside (somewhat medieval looking) and BIG! But unfortunately Sunny wasn't allowed to take pics while in the theater. :-( Anyways, we got popcorn, Pepsi and Reese's Pieces at the theater and then sat down and talked until the movie started...then I saw another doll!!! She was a few rows ahead of our's so I asked Sunny if I could talk to her. She was very pretty and her hair was in a fancy-pancy style.

"Hi, I'm Cali," I said, smiling.

"Hello. My name's Nellie O'Malley," said the doll.

"Do you go to FMSG?" I asked. I guessed she did because that's practically the only doll school for miles.

"Uh, no. I go to Madame Montez Academy. Do you go to Frosted Meadows?" Nellie wondered.

I nodded.

"No wonder. Most of the richer dolls go to Madame Montez," laughed Nellie. I thought that sounded kind of snobby.

"Oh."

"Do you know Madison Ling?" asked Nellie.

My face brightened. "Yeah! She's one of my best friends."

"Oh...did she tell you?" Nellie said, her face suddenly looking sympathetic.

"Tell me what?" I asked.

"She's transferring to Madame Montez after winter break," Nellie said. "We met at a banquet in June and I told her about the school. She immedietly wanted an interview and Madame Montez immediately wanted her. Sorry...it's sort of my fault she's moving to a new school." Her voice was not sincere. Something about this Nellie person made me suspicious.

"Oh, okay," I said, waving to her and walking back to Sunny. I tried to enjoy the show but I had a gut feeling that me and Nellie were NOT going to be friends. I also was sad that Madi hadn't told me about Madame Montez Academy.

So I guess you could say I had a fun day (I went to see the Wizard of Oz) and a terrible day (NELLIE!!! and the fact that Madi is moving in the winter) all at once. I guess I'll just read book. That always makes me feel better! (especially Harry Potter...)

Bye!!!

Cali***

Madison's Back-To-School Ball

Every summer, right before school starts, Madison Ling (aka Madi, my BFF) throws a party she calls the "Back-To-School Ball". Madi has a giant house with a pool, a game room and 5 bathrooms so it's no wonder lots of people go. Even some teachers attend ;-) The ball was really fun and I even met some newbies, like Mia St. Clair.  She's Maggie's (Sunny's friend) doll and she seemed pretty nice. I enjoyed talking to her. The refreshments were delicious as well, which is obvious because Sunny is a pretty good cook. I helped her make a batch of snickerdoodles but that was pretty much it.

Here's a pic Anne Marie took of all the girls who came to the party- don't we look stunning???

After everyone ate and danced and chit-chatted Julie suggested we play a party game. We played "Duck, Duck, Goose" for a little while and we even played "Pin the Tail on the Donkey". It was fun but a little childish or so Madi said, so we had to stop. I thought that was kind of bossy of her but I reminded myself that it was her party after all. 

That night I laid in my bed and thought over the events of the night. I had met a new girl, ate yummy treats and even played some really fun games. If this had been fun, I couldn't wait to see what the actual 6th Grade had in store!

Cali*** 

Back-To-School Shopping and Other Stuff ;-)

Howdy, fellow bloggers! It's Cali here. Today I went back-to-school shopping with Sunny and we got a bunch of stuff for Frosted Meadows. I like back-to-school shopping because I love looking for backpacks and lunchboxes and supplies- it's really fun! So far I've gotten a pink and white backpack, a Coca-Cola brand lunch box, a calculator, a pink Trapper-Keeper, a notebook and a new watch. I laid out all my new stuff on the floor of Sunny's bedroom (as well as my first day of school outfit but that will remain a secret!) and took a pic of it. I just love my lunch box and it was only a dollar from Target. Sunny said that that was a steal! 

Also, I would like to announce the winner of my club name poll. The winner is....... the Drama Queens!!! Thanks to all of you who have voted and/or suggested names for the poll. They were all great ideas ;-) At our club meeting on Sunday afternoon we watched the Sound of Music and had popcorn. I couldn't get "16 Going On 17" out of my head the rest of the day! It was such a good movie/musical!

With school approaching Sunny has been getting more nervous than ever. She likes school but she has so much homework it can be overwhelming. I am going in to 6th Grade so I hope I have less homework than her. I'm not exactly the studious type... Anyways, I am working on a 6th Grade math booklet FMSG gave all the 5th Graders to prepare them for junior high over the summer. It's pretty much review but it still seems more hard than the stuff in 5th Grade. ;-(

Well, that's pretty much it. Later today I'm going shoe shopping (I need a new pair of sneakers) and then I have a Jazz Club practice. Bye!!! :-D

Cali***

I'm Back!

Hi everyone! I'm back from camping and I had so much fun. We rode our bikes, went on trails and checked out a real fort! It was really cool. To see my camping photo album click: www.picasaweb.google.com/hazelwoodca/Camping# . Sorry for such a short post! ;-)

Cali***

Birthday Surprises

Today is my grandma's birthday. She has gotten lots of presents so far (clothes, a pretty bowl, a new novel and a purse from Sunny and Sunny's sister) but I got her a present, too! Sunny helped me make her this really cute card with colored pencils. When we finished we stuck the card in a bag and put pretty yellow wrapping paper in the bag. When I gave Grandma her gift she was so excited!

After we had Grandma's "Birthday Breakfast" of Eggs-In-A-Basket (that's eggs in whole wheat toast- my absolute favorite breakfast food!) Grandpa announced that tomorrow we are going camping! I love camping and this was good news for me, too! Grandpa said me and Jane were going with them! I practically fell out of my chair at this news ;-) Sunny says she's going to post an album on her Picasa of our camping trip. A link will be available on Sunday afternoon when we get back. 

Thanks to everyone who has commented! Bye! ;-)

Cali***

Look what Sunny found!

Thanks for all your ideas on what to name the club- they were all real good. As you can see I added a poll for you to vote on. All your ideas (and an idea a friend gave me over the phone) have been added. Thanks ;-)

Oh, I almost forgot pioneerfan04! Oklahoma is a very good musical. Sunny was in the show at her summer drama camp ;-) You should definitely watch it!

Anyways, Sunny has pulled through for us dolls yet again! Yesterday she found something really cool at a used bookstore... an Addy (girl of 1864!) playbook!!! :-D I didn't even know AG made those. I think it must've been old because I know they don't make them currently. Jane and I thought it would be really cool if we could put on this play sometime with our new club so we read over the script this morning. Our other club members were still asleep so we tried not to wake them. Jane and I had fun reading the play.

I think we will tell the others (a.k.a Victoria and Noelle) about the Addy playbook at the next club meeting. That is also when the club name poll closes and we find out our musicals club name!

Cali***

My Club

After seeing Annie The Musical I was hooked on musicals. I practically FORCED Sunny to drive me to the rental movie store so I could rent the Wizard of Oz, Oklahoma, High School Musical (I know it's really popular but I never saw any of the movies) and Sunny's personal favorite- Grease! We watched most of them together but I decided to save Grease to watch with my friends. I invited most of my girlfriends over (Madi had to go back-to-school shopping with her mom) and I popped the DVD in. It was the bestest movie ever!!! (Please excuse my bad grammar.) When the movie was over we decided to have Grease karaoke and sing all our favorite songs, which was really fun, considering we're all pretty good singers. Then I had a million $$$ idea. It was one of those ideas that are so good you can't believe YOU ever thought them up.

"Hey, girls," I said, turning the volume on the TV set down. "I have the most awesome idea in the world!"

"What?" Jane wondered. 

"Yeah, tell us, Cali," Noelle urged.

"Will we get in trouble?" Victoria asked, quietly.

I just rolled my eyes. "No, Vicki. Have I ever gotten you in trouble?"

Victoria opened her mouth to speak but I cutted in and said, "Don't answer that! Okay, my brilliant idea was this...a club!"

"What type of club?" Noelle asked me, her voice sounding unsure.

"A club about musicals!" I exclaimed as I threw my arms into the air, excitedly. "Every Sunday we could meet in Sunny's room and watch a new musical and talk about musicals, too. It would be so much fun!"

Jane nodded. "That does sound really fun, Cali. We could even have a signature color. You can choose because the whole musical fan club thing was your idea."

"BLUE! Every meeting all of us should wear blue," I said.

"Well, then, I guess it's official," Victoria admitted, smiling. "But what about the name?"

That's where my mind drew a blank. I didn't actually think about the club name when I had my idea. Do you have any ideas??? :-)

Cali***

Tomorrow, Tomorrow (aka Annie!!!)

Today was the big summer drama department's Annie The Musical afternoon performance. My two friends, Jane Moore and Noelle Greene were in it and they are also in the 7 o'clock dinner performance at the local church. I took tons of pictures because they had pretty big parts. Jane was Annie (she even has red hair!) and Noelle was Miss Hannigan (who is nothing like Noelle at ALL!). Kit Kittredge, a girl I sort of know played Molly, this orphan. Julie Albright (another one of my good friends) was funny Lilly St. Regis. Those were the main parts pretty much. Sterling, Kit's friend, was Daddy Warbucks but that's no surprise because he was the only boy in the entire drama department this summer. 

The show was really good. The drama department hired "ushers" to serve guests popcorn and Coca-Cola during intermission. Believe it or not, most of the kids in the show were really good singers! Jane sang "Tomorrow" like a true professional and Noelle sang her solo in a perfect Miss Hannigan voice. It wasn't a surprise everyone gave the show a standing ovation!

When the show was over the leads/big roles went on stage for the bows. I clapped the loudest for Noelle and Jane...shhh!

 

After everyone was off stage, visiting with friends and family I gave Noelle and Jane each a rose for being such fabulous actresses! Even Jane who is NEVER embarrassed began blushing! It was a great show. Maybe I'll audition for the fall show in October...

Cali***

Thinking of Rebecca...

As you all know, Sunny has been practically drooling over the new Rebecca doll. She says she's "so cute" and "a perfect friend for Samantha and Nellie" but I'm a little nervous about her. Yes, Rebecca's a pretty Historical Character and a probably a great playmate for the 1904 Girls but will she be nice???  That's what I'm worried about. Sunny says it's not set in stone that we're getting her but if we do get a new doll it will be Rebecca Rubin and it'll happen kinda soon. She still doesn't know if spending her money on the doll will be a good choice when she could get three or four outfits for the same price. What do YOU think she should do?

Well, today I got out Sunny's favorite Russian nesting dolls and played with them on the rug. My favorite one is the teeny tiny one that's about the size of my index finger!!! (Okay, it's not that small compared to me, but it is small compared to Sunny that's for sure).  I thought playing with the dolls would help me feel more like Rebecca, growing up in 1914- instead of good ol' 2009. It did! I love the paint detail on the dolls and their faces are so beautiful! I think I will talk Sunny into getting me my own nesting dolls...after she buys me that Ruthie doll I've been wanting so badly! 

Okay, anyway, do you like the new background??? I chose it 'cause it's my favorite colors (turquoise and lime green) and because it's just plain pretty. I hope you readers like it! 

Nothings really been going on around here lately, other than the fact that Lauren and Rachelle left a couple days ago. On the bright side, I have 8 followers! Thanks to all you who have followed my blog and/or left comments! Adios!

Yours truly,

Cali***

(Rebecca pic courtesy of AG Magazine)

Goodbye, Lauren & Rachelle!

I can't believe Lauren and Rachelle left this morning! After that sleepover, we'd gotten so close... I wasn't surprised Jane and I both cried when their taxi came to drive them to the airport. I just read that post where I was complaining how I thought they were "stuck-up" and I couldn't believe how my relationship with them had changed in only a matter of days! 

It was really sad when we said our goodbyes to each other and tried to be happy and joke. But it really didn't work. Noelle said from her point of view me and Jane were acting like drama queens- she's one to talk! I gave Lauren my favorite model horse, Harvey. She absolutely loved it! I gave Rachelle a handmade card with a picture of her on it. She absolutely loved it, too! Then we hugged and Lauren and Rachelle hopped into the yellow taxi and left. I guess it was kind of dramatic. But Lauren and Rachelle assured me that they'd be back at Thanksgiving!!! ;-)

Cali***

Time Traveling With Kirsten- Part Two

Hi, I'm back with the next chapter in the adventures of Time Traveling with the girl of 1854, Kirsten Larson. Here's what happened after she and Madi met Kaya and the cub...

"We've been following these tracks for hours," Madi complained. "These shoes are making my feet hurt."

"Come on, Madi," Kirsten said, encouragingly. "I'm sure Claw's parents are near."

Kaya nodded. "Yes."

Madi frowned but kept walking. The Minnesota sun was beating down on the dolls and it seemed like everyone was feeling irritable- even sweet Kirsten. "I don't remember 1854 being so hot!" she said as she put on her red checkered bonnet to protect her from the sun's rays.

Kaya smiled. "Are you, Kirsten Larson, animal lover extraordinaire...giving up???"

Kirsten put her hands on her hips. "I never said that, Kaya. Now let's find those bears!"

The bears were nowhere in sight for the next two miles. Right when Kaya was about to suggest Kirsten and Madi should go back to 2009, two big brown masses caught Madi's eyes. "Is that...? No, it couldn't be...could it?" She pointed at the brown lumps.

"You found them, Madi. You found Claw's parents!" Kaya shouted, throwing her arms in the air as Claw the bear cub ran to the bears. He roared playfully and licked his mother's face. Madi and Kirsten couldn't help but feel proud that they'd helped the bear find it's family. It was the perfect way to end a trip to 1854. ;-)

I hope you enjoyed Kirsten, Madi and Kaya's magnificent time traveling adventure! I know I did!

Cali*** (the all powerful story teller)