Guest Post by Charlie: My Trip :)

Hi everyone...it's Charlie again, back from my weekend travels. :)  I know, it's the middle of the week, but honestly, I feel like it's taken me this long to get back into the routine!  I think Mama's had the same issue this week. ;)

My trip was loads of fun. :)  We left early Saturday morning, all piling into Grandmama's van.

Here I am Saturday morning, all ready to go.

The trip was long, but not unbearable.  I enjoyed seeing all of the scenery on our way.

Our first stop was at a McDonald's for lunch.  We had cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, and some of those new Fish Mcbites.  I think I have a new favorite food...they were so yummy! :)

We ended up stopping fairly close to our destination, so it was only about another 30 minutes of driving before we reached the hotel in Roseville, CA.

Here I am standing outside of our hotel.  It was really nice.  I loved the blooming tree in front. :)  

Grandmama was teasing Mama about how much stuff she packed for an overnight trip.  Here's all the stuff we brought between the 7 of us (me and the 6 humans).

After being stuck in the van for so long, it was nice to have the freedom to move around and stretch my limbs. :)

I took a little time to climb up to the windowsill and enjoy the view of the city.

I wasn't able to dawdle for long, though.  Mama's daughters had birthday money to spend and were eager to get shopping!!

Our first stop was the Disney Store in the Westfield Galleria in Roseville.  A completely awesome store, by the way.  If you ever have the chance to stop by, you should. :)

Here I am in the mirrored walk-in castle display in the store.  In front of me is the Sophia the First playset that Little Gal was SURE she was going to get...for the first 15 minutes walking around the store. ;)

I didn't end up getting any Buzz Lightyear stuff.  To be honest, the whole time in there was rather a blur.   The three big humans each took a little human and followed them around as they flitted from display to display, trying to decide how best to spend their money.  It was all Mama and I could do to keep up with Little Gal.  This trip was all about them, though, so it was okay.  And really, I don't need more Buzz stuff (not that I'd ever complain about getting more, though). ;)

After the whirlwind that was the Disney Store, ;) I hitched a ride with Little Gal on the mall carousel.  We didn't get nearly as long of a ride on this carousel as the ones we get on the carousel in Eureka (we're very spoiled there!), but it was still lots of fun. 

I don't have any pictures of it, but one of Oldest Gal and Little Gal's favorite things about the mall was the "Air Joy" bungee jumping activity that was set up for humans from 30 to 180 pounds.  Basically, you sat in a harness-type thing that was attached to strong bungee cords and jumped on a special trampoline.  Middle Gal wasn't interested in trying it, but the other two girls loved it!  We didn't get any pics to share with all of you because there was no way to do so while still keeping the girls' identities private (which is extremely important to Mama and Papa).

When we'd finished looking around a bit more at the mall, we went to Hobby Lobby.  People are always talking about this place on AGPlaythings, so Mama, Grandmama and Mimi wanted to check it out for themselves, as we don't have a local store.  We ended up spending 2 hours in there and only saw a fraction of what it had to offer. :)

By the time we were done at Hobby Lobby, it was past dinner time and we were all starved!  We stopped at KFC for dinner and enjoyed a delicious meal of greasy chicken and carbs (what more could you ask for?).  ;)

Mama decided that it was important to go to ToysRUs  next.  The Disney Store and ToysRUs were the two places she'd talked about to her daughters, and she wanted to make sure they got to both places before their money disappeared. :}  Sorry this pic is so dark, by the way.  It was getting late by the time we got there (and we spent another 2 hours there!).  Honestly, I think Mama had a harder time leaving than the kids.  She loves that store! ;)

By the time we were done at TRU, it was too late to go anywhere else, so we called it a night and headed back to the hotel.  Grandmama and Mama took the girls down to the hotel pool to play and work off some energy, but Mimi and I chose to stay in the room and relax.

I hadn't realized how tired I was.  I changed into my PJ's and lay back on my pillow...and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.  I didn't even hear Mama and Grandmama come in with the girls later.   

The next morning, everyone was up early and ready for a new day.  We went down to enjoy the complimentary breakfast in our PJ's, then came back and packed up the room.  Mimi did my hair for me while Mama finished getting the girls ready, and then we were off for another day of shopping!

Our first stop today was Target.  Some of the Lalaloopsies the girls had been looking for weren't at ToysRUs, so they were hoping to find them at Target instead.  The girls found a few goodies, not the ones they were planning on, but fun things just the same.

Our original plan was to go to a Goodwill next, but when we got there, we found out that Goodwill doesn't open until 11 on Sundays, and it was only 10:20.  We decided to head straight back to the mall instead.  (Ironically, we never made it to a Goodwill the entire trip!  Any of you who know how much Mama, Grandmama and Mimi love that store will find that shocking, but it's just the way it worked out.)  Oldest Gal had decided that she wanted to use her own birthday money to pay for another Air Joy ride (and she even paid so that Little Gal could go again too!), and Little Gal had to return the wedding Cinderella she'd chosen from the Disney Store because the dress had a defect.  We also realized that we hadn't taken the girls to the Sanrio Store, another place that isn't around our hometown.

We had lunch at Panda Express in the mall food court and then it was time for the other promised destination of our trip:

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts!!  

Emma had told me how wonderful these doughnuts were, so I couldn't wait to try them.  Thankfully, Mimi bought a few extra to take home, so there were plenty to share. :)

I'll never forget my first bite...it was AMAZING!!  

The hot light wasn't on when we went, so we didn't get doughnuts hot off the rack (which I'm told makes them even more incredible), but they were yummy enough cold! ;)

I washed the doughnut down with some ice water in a coffee cup (they were all out of regular glasses).

It was time to start heading home, but on our way out of town, we found another big Target store, so we decided to stop.  They didn't have much more of a selection of Lalaloopsies, but it was still fun to look around.

We made it a couple of hours before we had to stop for dinner at Taco Bell (hooray for Burrito Supremes!).  And there just happened to be a ToysRUs across the street, so we just happened to stop in there really quick.  Because there's no way Mama can resist a ToysRUs. ;)

By the time we got home, it was dark and we were all exhausted.  I've never been so glad to see my own bed before. :}  

I know I didn't get as many pictures as Emma did on her trip, but Mama had decided ahead of time that she wanted the focus to be on her girls this time around.  I was just along for the ride. ;)  I don't mind.  Posing for pictures every five minutes can get a little tiring.  And I have to admit, while I always love spending special time with Mama, and shopping is fun in its way, I definitely preferred my coastal vacation to this one.  I'd take walking on the beach and playing in the sand over walking through a mall for 3 hours any day. ;)  I appreciate that Mama invited me, though, and I still had fun.

I guess that's about it.  Hope you all enjoyed hearing about my travels!  Mama is working on a post on her blog too, so be sure you stop by her blog as well. :)

Guest Post by Charlie: A Weekend Trip

Hi guys!  Charlie here.  I'm super excited about this coming weekend, because I just found out yesterday that I get to go on a trip with Mama, Grandmama, Mimi, and Mama's 3 daughters.  Mama's daughters' birthdays are this month, next month, and the month after, and this year, Mama decided to do a big combined birthday trip instead of throwing 3 parties in a row.  The trip starts tomorrow morning, and I get to go! :D

At first, Mama thought she wouldn't bring any of us with her because she wanted the focus to be on the girls.  At the last minute, though, she decided that having one of us go with her was the best way to share the trip with all of her blogging friends.  After some deliberation, it was decided that it was my turn.

We'll spend the weekend shopping, which isn't necessarily my first choice (I'd rather be rambling outside with Rontu).  But the fact that there's an amazingly awesome Disney Store in the mall we're going to makes the idea of a shopping trip much more bearable. ;)  Maybe I'll find a new Buzz Lightyear treasure for my collection. :D

Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I'll share all about my fun trip when I get back.  In the meantime, everyone else will continue getting their posts ready, and Maggie will be happy that we have a "real" post up. ;)

Talk to all of you soon!  I've got to go finish packing! :)

Tess's Tidbits: Happy Valentine's Day!

Hello everyone!  I apologize for my lack of posts lately.  I thought it would be best for me to do this post.  Maggie's already irritated with all of us for being late on our promised posts, and she really detests Valentine's Day.  I figured you could use a happy post today. ;)

We don't have anything specific planned for the day, but we may watch a movie or enjoy the beautiful weather outside.  What are your plans for the day?

I hope to be back soon with a "real" post. ;)  Until then...

Maggie's Memos: What is the Deal?

Okay, this is absolutely ridiculous!  Here I put my reputation on the line, talking about all these great posts we had planned.  And what happened?  Nada.  Zilch.  Nothing.

I would like to clarify that this was not my fault.

Hayden was supposed to do a post about January's *gag* Literary Ladies Society meeting, but she's still getting used to the idea of posting on a schedule.  Apparently the numerous helpful reminders I gave her didn't prompt her to get her act together.  They did, however, seem to keep her from making eye contact with me.  She pretty much takes off running whenever she sees me now.  But hey, if she can't handle a few little well-placed nudges in the right direction, that's her problem.

Tess has been working on a new "Tea with Tess" post.  Of course, it's been so long since the last one, I don't think anyone even remembers that ill-fated series.  I have it on good authority that she was caught re-reading "Pride and Prejudice" when she was supposed to be typing her post.

Of course, it's been a while since "Breaking News with Maggie" too, but we won't go into that right now. :}

And Emma was going to write about...something.  Who knows what she had planned.  Whatever it was, it was bound to be never-ending and full of apologies.

Here I was, simply biding my time, waiting patiently (okay...somewhat patiently) for my turn to write since everyone said they were going to take care of it.

But good grief, a doll can only wait for so long.  Between my procrastinating friends, a Belle doll that has unending adventures that MUST be shared at ALL COSTS on her own sappy blog, and Mama's sudden fascination with Facebook and Pinterest, this blog has fallen by the wayside, and it's up to me to save the day.

So, you want to know what everyone was doing when they were SUPPOSED to be posting on here?  Take a look:

Here's Tess, reading her book (she caught me taking the picture at the last moment and put her hand in the way!).  I guess she had a guilty conscience!

And here's Hailey, just getting ready to raid our Christmas candy stash from Mama.

She probably would have eaten it all if I hadn't caught her in the act.

Hayden and Jenna were doing some sort of production from one of their musicals they love.  *Shudder*  I fled at the sound of random singing and did not stop to ask which one.  

Emma and Charlie were taking turns playing "Bop it".

And here's...hey, wait a minute.  Who put this picture here?  Okay, I know this looks bad, but I was very busy this past month.  I must have just been taking a quick break at the time of this photo.  And...just so we're clear, I do NOT play with my toys.  Rachel and I were just...comparing articulation...or...something.   How embarrassing.

Okay, moving right along!  The point is, sometimes, life happens and we don't keep on schedule like we should.  But thanks for always waiting around for us, even when we don't keep you entertained as regularly as you're used to.  We're planning on getting our acts together soon, but I don't want to make promises again after the last post I wrote.  Just know that we're not going anywhere, even if it takes us a while to post.  

And remember, I do NOT play with my toys.  Someone is exploiting me through that photo!  Of course, I guess I wasn't exactly being fair to everyone else with the other photos...but I'll deal with that later.  Right now, I'm going to go...helpfully...remind my friends that we have a blog, and the key to having a successful one is to regularly post on it.  Hang in there, guys.  We'll get back on track soon...I hope. ;)