Hi everyone! Hayden here. Any of you who follow Mama's blog know that way back in January, I was invited to go along with Mama, Mimi, Grandmama, and Mama's three daughters on their birthday trip. Mama suggested that I should share some thoughts about my vacation here on Tess and Maggie's blog. My original plan was to do so shortly after I got back, but goodness, one thing led to another, and now here it is, June, and I still haven't gotten to it! That changes today! Thank you so much for being so patient.
We left bright and early on a Friday morning. I sat in the front with Mama.
Our first stop was at a Walmart so the humans on the trip could have a potty break. ;)
After hours of driving, we arrived at the Marriott Fairfield Inn in Vacaville. It's such a pretty hotel! :) Mama got this picture of me while Grandmama was checking us in.
After we unloaded everything into the hotel room, we headed straight for the Fairfield Mall. Our first stop was the Disney Store. I was so excited!!
This time around, the employee (or "cast member", as they call them there) Mama talked to was not comfortable having her take pictures in the store, so I didn't get to pose with the dolls and toys like Emma did
when she visited this store. Oh well. We still had fun ;) I imagined I was a Disney Princess the entire time.
After the Disney Store, we went over to the Build-A-Bear Workshop! It was so bright and cheerful, and the employees were really nice. We were allowed to take pictures here, but Mama mainly took pictures of the ponies Little Gal and Middle Gal made. :)
Our next stop was the two-story carousel. It was so much fun! I really wish Jenna could have come too. She LOVES carousels.
I pretended to be an adventurer on an African Safari, riding my noble steed through the Savanna. :}
When our carousel ride was over, it was time for dinner. Oldest Gal's Elizabeth doll and I shared some nachos and Cheesy Roll-ups from Taco Bell at the food court. :) There was a little table there that worked perfectly for us. :)
When dinner was done, we ended up making a last-minute decision to see the sing-along version of "Frozen" in the mall theater. It was sooo much fun!! :D I sang pretty quietly, because most of the people in the theater didn't really sing. It was awesome, though. The screen was so huge (even bigger than the theater screens back home) that I felt like I was right in the middle of the story!
We finished the trip with quick stops to Hot Topic (for Mama and Mimi) and Cinnabon (yum!!).
That night, I was exhausted!! Grandmama's doll Janie and I were roommates for the night. Even though Janie didn't go to the mall, she was really tired too.
The next morning, after a yummy breakfast in the hotel, we drove and drove until we got to the American Girl Place in Palo Alto. Here I am in front of the store, waiting for it to open! :)
We got there early, so Mama took a few pictures of all of us while we were waiting. From left to right, we have Oldest Gal's Elizabeth, Mimi's Molly, Grandmama's Janie, me, Little Gal's Bitty Baby (whose name changes frequently, according to the whim of her little mistress), ;) and Middle Gal's Kaya.
The store was amazing! It was so fun meeting so many new dolls. Some of them were hard to talk to because they were behind glass display cases and they couldn't really hear me.
I didn't stay too awfully long in the store. I was still really tired from our trip to the mall the day before. So Janie, Molly, and I had fun hanging out in the car for most of the time. :) If you'd like to see more pictures of the store, you can read Mama's post about it on her blog
HERE.
We did join Mama and the others for lunch, though.
The California Pizza Kitchen was amazing!!
"Say cheese pizza!" ;)
It was really nice, too, because it was just a little ways away from the AG Place (you can see it in the background of this picture).
Here's the pizza I shared with Mama, a yummy Chicken Garlic Artichoke pizza. :)
We ended the day with another trip to the Fairfield Mall. By the end of the day, this is everything the humans had accumulated!
That night, while the humans went swimming in the hotel pool, Molly, Janie and I hung out on the bed.
Janie knew where Grandmama had some homemade Chex Mix, so she dragged it over and we had a yummy bedtime feast. :)
I pretended I was a royal princess with two neighboring fellow princesses, enjoying an elegant bedtime party. ;)
We all giggled and laughed and made up all sorts of funny stories as we ate.
I'll always cherish the memories I made with Janie and Molly. :)
The next morning came all too soon. It was time to pack everything up and head back home.
I knew I would miss this trip, but I was excited to get home and tell Emma, Charlie, and Jenna all about it. :)
I realized as Mama and the others were packing the car that we hadn't gotten good pictures of the hotel room when we first arrived (we were in too big of a rush to get to the mall), so we got a few snapshots before we left. Here I am on one of the huge beds.
:)
Here I am by the window. You can see Grandmama's van right behind me. :)
Here's a view from my eye level. ;)
And here's what the room looked like to Mama and the others. ;)
On the way home, I got to spend some time with Mama's new Fluttershy. Isn't she sweet?
As we were getting ready to leave, it randomly started raining!
We stopped at the Sanrio Outlet (I stayed in the car for that), had lunch at yummy Panera, and then it was time for the long drive home. I've never been more relieved to get out of a car! ;)
I wanted to share a picture of the pretty AG sweatshirt Mama bought me for a souvenir. I love it! :D
We found fun goodies for the other gals, too. :)
Well, okay, this one's also for me. :} Since I love Frozen so much, and Anna is my favorite character, Mama gave me this little Anna doll.
We found a pretty Elsa doll for my older sister Emma, the other Frozen nut. ;)
Hailey got a fuzzy Hello Kitty figure and a little Hello Kitty charm.
The little Thor figure was for Rachel...
...and R2-D2 was for Maggie.
For Ella, we got this cute heart-shaped slinky.
For my BFF Jenna, we got these adorable My Melody and Chococat pins. Aren't they just perfect for her?
Whoops...and here are a few more things for me: a Twilight Sparkle pin and a My Little Pony lunch box! :D
Grandmama was the one who found the lunchbox at a Michael's store. Isn't it the perfect size for me?
It even has one of my favorite ponies on it: Fluttershy! :D
Okay, but back to the rest of the stuff now. ;) This mini Tenth Doctor and Rose pin was Alice's souvenir (for obvious reasons). ;) She was super excited when she got it. These two are apparently her favorites.
My little sister Charlie got these bubbles and a Sock Monkey matching game.
For Tess, we got this cute purple picture frame.
Of course, the best "souvenir" that we brought home was my new cousin, Coral (FKA Caroline). I didn't get to officially meet her until we got back home. Mama decided Coral would be safer in the box while in the van. :}
Coral's full name is Coral Brenna Copeland. She's Grandmama's Saige doll's sister, and a cousin to Emma, Charlie, and me. She and Saige are also cousins to our other cousins the Ellisons (Piper, Alice, and Ruthie). Confused yet? ;)
Even though you haven't heard a whole lot about our newest addition, she's made herself at home here with all of us. We're so happy to have her! :)
And that about sums it up for my vacation. I hope you enjoyed hearing about it. Sorry it took so long for me to get it up. :{
We probably won't post much here until the end of next week, as Mama is going out of town. (She gets nervous about us using the computer while she's away). ;) She still hasn't told us who's going with her. Once we find out, if we get a chance before she leaves, we'll share that here. And once everyone is home and things are back to normal, we'll share at least one more "catching up" post. :)
Have a great week, everyone!
Hayden
