Maggie's Memos: Finally Fall

Hey everyone!  Tess wanted me to start out by thanking you for all of the new followers.  It was so cool to come back and find out we'd hit 84! :D  Of course, I realize that this is because most of you wanted the Consuelo doll that Mama was giving away on her blog.  Still, now you'll be blown away by our sheer awesomeness and want to stay anyway. ;}  And no, Tess did not tell me to say that. ;)

And speaking of Tess (again), since we have so many newbies around here, she wanted me to issue out the periodic reminder that when we speak of "Mama" (you all know her as "Beast'sbelle"), it's pronounced "muh-MAH", the same way they say it in all of those horrendous Jane Austen movies Tess is always trying to get me to watch.  I have no clue why this is such a life or death matter to my best friend.  I don't think the world is going to end if you read it as the American pronunciation of "mama" in your head.  Of course, I'm also not a Jane Austen fan like Tess is, and she's the one who came up with the name for Beast'sbelle.  So I just smile and nod and pretend I understand her. 

But I'm going to move on from that completely random and unimportant point to the actual post! ;)

Here in California, it takes a while for Fall to really, truly be here.  I mean, sure, the mornings are cold, and a few of the trees start changing into their Fall colors.  But in the afternoons, it can still get up to 70 or 80 degrees...which does NOT feel like Fall.

But at last, these past couple of weeks, it's really felt like Fall. We've had some rain and some overcast days, and it's been cold enough to wear long sleeves without roasting. ;)

Mama loves the Fall just as much as I do...maybe more...so when she saw the perfect weather outside this morning, she decided we needed to go out and enjoy it.  That sounded great to me...until I realized that her definition of "enjoy" and mine are very different!  (I so should know this by now!) :{

Her idea of "enjoying the weather" is posing for 20 gazillion photos instead of climbing trees, exploring the yard, and chasing away the neighborhood cats. :}  Sigh.  She promised if I was good I could climb a tree after she was done.  I realized that was probably the best offer I could get, so I decided to cooperate.

So I'm not sure what happened here, but something must have distracted me right before Mama took the picture.  Thanks for the warning, Mama.  It might have been nice to know I wasn't looking at the camera!

This picture of Tess and me turned out pretty cool.  It's been a while since we've had our picture taken together, so I suppose this was a good one to take.  If only it had stopped with one. :}

Us again.

At last, it was time to climb the tree! :D  (Lest you think I'm a complete wimp, there were a TON of pictures I didn't use for the post, okay, people?  We were out there for at least an hour!)  I haven't been tree climbing in forever!  It was great to have a chance to do it again.  I could have stayed there all day, but Mama insisted I come inside, especially when it started raining.  Spoil-sport.

And here's a new doll that's been hanging around for a while.  Her name is Ava (although apparently most people know her as Jess).  She's been trying to decide if she'd like to stay with us permanently.  I don't know much about her yet, as she's been staying in the very top room of our stackable rooms and I don't get up there much.  

I'm not really sure what Mama was going for in this picture.  I'm thinking the goal was whimsical or dreamy, but I think it just looks a bit odd.  (No offense, Ava.)

Mama is apparently doing some research because she thinks that Ava might be Elena's little sister.  That would make for an interesting dynamic.  We don't do much with Elena usually.  She tends to stay on her shelf with some of the other dolls.  She seems nice enough, though.  She's a lot taller and a bit older than the rest of us.  It would be really different to suddenly have her as a more active part of the group.  

She's super pretty.  She kinda makes the rest of us feel short and dumpy.  Not that we're comparing ourselves or anything.  And not that I care.  Just sayin'.

Still, it must stink to never be able to close your eyes.  I bet she doesn't sleep very well. 

Ava saw me climbing the tree and decided to be a copy-cat.  She was actually pretty good at climbing.  Much better than Tess would be. ;)

And the obligatory face shot of one of Mama's photo shoots. ;)

Hailey came out with us, too.  I don't think she's been outside since last Fall, so she was super excited to escape the bedroom. ;)

Tess and her little sis.

Mama took a few random shots of the tree and the Fall leaves that turned out pretty nifty.  I thought it would be fun to include them:

We didn't stay outside nearly long enough, but I'm hoping we'll get to go out again sometime before it gets too wet and rainy.  I miss my outdoor rambles.  

I guess that's about it for now.  Talk to you guys later. I'm off to plan an "Avengers" movie night with Rachel. :D