Christmas Day

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.



Our cousins, Charlotte and Aleah came over on Christmas Eve. In the morning we rushed into the parlor and opened presents.



Later we all got dressed up for dinner. Ella joined us, too and we all felt very elegant. I even wore a dress! heehee!!!

I'll share more about our gifts later on when we get to play with them.

Hugs,
Kiki

Dec 25 - Merry Christmas!

to all my friends from all of us here in Pleasantview.

Dec 24 - It's Snowing!

We are so excited because it started to snow this evening, just in time for a white Christmas. I ran out in my pajamas to see the snowflakes quietly falling down and to looks for Santa's sleigh.

Dec 23 - Wrapping Presents

I told everyone to please stay out of the kitchen so I could wrap my presents. No peeking!

Dec 22 - Christmas Carols

Holly is busy practicing Carols on the piano so everyone can sing along on Christmas Eve.

Dec 21 - The Nativity Scene

Caroline and Cécé are honored to be asked to set up The Nativity Scene.

Dec 20 - Baking Day

Kanani has been busy baking delicious smelling gingerbread men. The puppies are waiting for a taste!

Dec 19 - Snowy Peaks

Kirsten and Greta finished their chores with the animals and stopped to enjoy the view and the crisp, clean air. The field has been planted with winter wheat and the light snow was appreciated for it's moisture.

Dec 18 - Holiday Ball

Elizabeth and Felicity practice their dance one last time before leaving for the holiday ball.

Dec 17 - Holiday Ballet

A lovely performance by the Pleasantview Dancers

Dec 16 - Las Posadas

Dec 15 - Snowball Fight!

Who can resist? heehee!!!

Dec 14 - Classroom Christmas Party

A note from Kiki: Miss Samantha actually put this party off until today (Dec 15th) when she heard about the tragedy in Connecticut. I decided to post it today, but keep the date as Dec 14th in honor and memory of what happened, and as a prayer for peace and safety for all children everywhere.

Dec 13 - Decorating the Treehouse

Dec 12 - Christmas Lights

Samantha gazes at the colorful lights in the trees. You can see in her eyes that she feels the magic of the holiday season.

Dec 11 - A Christmas Story

Eva and Ella get ready to read a favorite book to the little ones. It's called "A Dolls' Christmas" by Tasha Tudor and a wonderful story for any time of year.

Dec 10 - Don't Touch!

It's so tempting to want to nibble on the gingerbread wonderland.


But, this is a decoration and we worked hard on it!

Dec 9 - Building With Gingerbread

Today Ella got started on a special Christmas project. It's going to be beautiful - and YUMMY!

Dec 8 - Santa Claus

What a big day for Clara! She got to go and meet Santa.

Dec 7 - Getting the Tree

I hope you all are enjoying my visits with the dolls here in Pleasantview, and taking photos of them during this holiday season. Today I bring you back to the modern world! I got to go and help pick out a Christmas tree. The lot was filled with the scent of pines and we had a hard time agreeing on the perfect tree. We arrived home with the best tree just as the sun was about to set:



Many hugs,
Kiki

Dec 6 - Dress The Dolls

It's time to dress the dolls for the upcoming holiday parties.

Dec 5th - Making Snowflakes

Miss Samantha asked Kit and Emily to come into the classroom to help the little ones make paper snowflakes to begin decorating.

Dec 4 - Making Presents

Felicity is working on her Christmas present for Elizabeth.

Dec 3 - Cleaning Day

Greta and Kirsten are busy cleaning the cabin before they can begin decorating for Christmas.

Dec 2 - Waiting For Snow

Mia was out skate boarding in the warm sunshine when she found Pippi sitting on the ground holding a sled in her lap. Britta had told Pippi that it is December now, so shouldn't there be snow?

Dolly Advent Calendar Dec 1

Hello to all my dear friends. I know I have not posted the rest of the photos from our trip and I apologize! As soon as we got back it was Thanksgiving and then one thing after another... PHEW! I have some amazing pics to share and will do that during the next few weeks.

But, now I am starting another photo project that I call my Dolly Advent Calendar. Each day between now and Christmas I will take a photo of what we are doing to prepare for the biggest holiday of the year: Christmas!!!

I hope you will join in the fun by visiting my blog and maybe even take your own photos to share with me. Be sure to let me know if you do.

Soooooo..... Today is December 1st and Caroline was the one to flip the page on the calendar.


Caroline: "Look, Britta! It's December 1st. Christmas will be here soon!"


Britta: "I am going to be really good so Santa will bring me lots of presents!"

See you tomorrow!

Hugs,
Kiki

Do You Have Yellow Legs?

Dear Friends,

Just a quick note today to tell you something funny. When we are at the beach Tío and I spend a lot of time looking at the birds through our binoculars. We identify them and love to watch their behavior. We saw a Great Blue Heron catch a big fish! Here on the island we have seen:

Great Blue Heron
Sanderling
Great Tailed Grackle
Caracara
Snowy Egret
Ruddy Turnstone
Brown Pelican
Caspian Tern
Royal Tern
Gull-billed Tern
Aplomado Falcon
Black Bellied Plover
Willet
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Savannah Sparrow

But, we haven't seen a Piping Plover. That's a bird that Tío has never seen and he's been bird watching for like 30 years! There are only about 6500 of them in the whole world and they only live here on the Gulf coast and on the Atlantic coast. The ranger said he saw a couple of them last week, so we've been looking and looking for them.

The quick way to tell a Piping Plover from a Black Bellied Plover is the Piping has yellow legs. We've been wandering up and down the beach looking at bird legs through our binos. We say "leg check time!" Finally Daisy and I started yelling to the birds, "Do any of you have yellow legs?" heeeheeee! And we told the gulls we would give them a cracker if they could find us a bird with yellow legs. It might sound crazy, but it was really funny at the time and we laughed so hard!

Tomorrow is our last day on this island before we move on, and you can bet we will be looking for yellow legs!

Love,
Kiki

Letters Home Continue

I really did not intend to write another letter so soon, but wanted to share an exciting event. Plus having wifi is a treat and we can't spend all day at the beach, but have to rest and do quiet activities sometimes. ;-)
Dear Clara, and Any Other Friends who would like to read this,

I am so happy to have new friends! Yipppeeee! And I really glad to have someone to talk to about things going on during our trip. Traveling is fun, but it is also a little hard. I kind of miss my own room and toys and the comforts of home. It really helps to talk about that kind of stuff with friends. Last night I REALLY missed home and here's why:

I told you how I was planning to fall asleep with the nice breeze blowing and the waves rolling on the shore, and I did. I was having a dream that I met a talking parrot on the beach. There aren't really parrots here, but this was a dream, you know. He could talk like a real person, not just repeat words, and I was so excited! I wanted to take him home with us and then I could have my own special friend to talk to whenever I wanted. I went to find Tía Meli to see if we could keep him, but someone kept taking pictures with a flash and the light was blocking my way and I couldn't find her. I started to get worried, but then... I woke up! There was lightning all around us. For REAL! It was flashing constantly and in every direction. I have never seen anything like that in my whole life! Never ever!!! I was super scared, and so were Daisy and Josefina.

We jumped into bed with Tía and Tío and hid under the covers, but I could still see the lightning flashes. I had to put a pillow on my head. Then the worst part was Tía and Tío got out of bed and went outside!!! Don't you think that was crazy? It wasn't raining yet, but it was getting really windy and they wanted to take down the awning that we have for shade. I was soooooo worried about them being out there, but they said they wouldn't go out if it was really dangerous. Now I don't think I ever want to be an adult if it means having to be so brave and go out in the lightning to take down the awning! No sir, not me!

They got the awning put away just in time before the rain came and then we all cuddled in bed. Soon Tío was snoring - haha!!! Just like nothing happened. But, Meli said she needed a pillow over her head to get to sleep, just like us kids. I guess adults are not really so brave after all. :)

Your friend,

Kiki

A Letter Home

I have been traveling for over two weeks, and really miss my friend, Clara, so I decided to write her a letter. We have wifi here at Mustang Island, but it is too slow to upload photos, so writing will have to do for now. This is really to Clara and ALL my friends!
Dear Clara and friends,

I just wanted to write and tell you that I'm having a great time, but I wish you were here. teehee I know that's a cliche, but it's true! I really miss you. It's fun traveling with Josefina and Daisy, but I really, really wish you could be here, too. Tía Meli feels the same way. It would not have been that hard to fit one more of us in the car and trailer!!! Next time, we PROMISE, cross our hearts and pinky swear that we will bring you along no matter what!

I feel a little bit better remembering the fun we had on our last trip. Remember that cool teepee we found? We played in that for hours! I really think we could have spent the night in there if it wasn't for bears. OOOOOHHHHHH - I shudder to think about them!!! There are no bears here, but there are rattle snakes in the grasses on the dunes. At least that's what they tell us. I'm not really afraid, but I'm not going to walk through those dunes, either.

Today we did a beach walk with a park ranger that knew EVERYTHING about the birds, sea shells, eco systems, water, plants… you name it - he knew it all. He was a big man with red hair and a beard named Mike and I liked him right away because he didn't act like a "know-it-all" even though he does know it all. Oh, yeah, I already said that! *snicker* He was funny, too. Here on the Gulf things wash ashore from all over the world because of the tides. The seaweed on the beach is from the Sargasso Sea way over on the other side of the continent. Stuff comes from South America and the Carribean… It's cool to start looking in the sand. Oh, and there are plastic bottles with holes in them that are turtle bites. The turtles think they look like a jelly fish and take a bite, but luckily I guess they spit the plastic back out. It's sad to see so much trash wash ashore. People need to be more careful about that!!!

I could write about fifty pages to tell you all that has happened, but it's getting to be time for bed. I can't wait to talk to you and show you photos. There is wifi here at the park (obviously, since I'm on my laptop, Duh!) but it is too sl…ooooo…www… to upload photos.

There's a nice breeze blowing through the windows right now and we leave them open all night and can hear the waves. Bubsy, our puppy loves that! I know she misses you, too.

Love,

Kiki

On the Road!

Dear Friends,
We have been traveling for two weeks now, and have camped in the most amazing places. We are now in Corpus Christie, Texas, where is is balmy and warm, with lovely flowers blooming and and birds singing. We know others have snow and there was a hurricane and hope everyone is okay.

I wish I had more time to share with you, but we are just here to do laundry and get groceries before heading off to camp on the barrier islands. But, here's a super quick update.



Josefina had a great time gathering herbs at Trinidad Lake in southern Colorado, and we enjoyed hiking and climbing on the rocks with her.







She was excited to visit the plaza in downtown Santa Fe, which has been a major gathering place for hundreds of years. The buildings are all adobe and of the style Josefina remembers. She loved seeing the church and since it was Sunday morning, mass was being held.





Then we camped in the Valley of Fires! There was no fire, but a long time ago lava flowed through here and cooled and now you can walk on it, carefully! I watched for birds and was surprised at how many actually live in this desert landscape. I had a little help hiking on the lava and avoiding the prickly cactus.





Farther down the way, but still in New Mexico, we visited Carlsbad Caverns. Daisy went on that tour because I don't like the idea of being underground, at least not 750 feet underneath. She said it was awesome and huge. They walked for miles inside, and learned all about it from a park ranger.

Tomorrow we get to begin camping on the beach and I can't wait! I won't be online for awhile, but will be sharing many more photos and stories later!

I hope you enjoyed this quick update and are having fun, wherever you are. :)

Kiki

Homework Club Part 3

The story continues!


Miss Samantha began this first meeting of our new version of the homework club by welcoming us.



She said, "I am very glad you are all here and want to do well in school. I will help each of you individually, but first I have some advice for all of you."



"I have assembled lots of materials to help you with your studies, including these books from my private library," she continued.



"I am going to pass out these library cards so you can check books out from me, just like you can at a public library. You can check out anything you like, from novels to books on cooking."



"However, this is one book I think everyone here should read. It's called The Homework Survival Guide and has some wonderful tips for you."



Then Miss Samantha went around and helped each individual with their specific request. She got Kit started on her math homework and also gave her some flash cards to help her memorize her multiplication tables. Kit loves to read and checked out a mystery.



Miss Samantha gave Ella a planner to help schedule her time and keep track of all of her activities. It also included many tips on being organized. "Thank you so much," said Ella. "This is really going to be helpful to me. Oh no! I just remembered I have a book report due in two days!" Ella picked out a book about a famous athlete and dove right into it.



Emily loves butterflies and Miss Samantha got her started on a project to identify different types and study their habitat. That's a perfect subject for her and she was so inspired that she selected a science book to take home.



Eva calmed down after talking with Miss Samantha and started memorizing her spelling words. Miss Samantha promised to quiz her later on them, to be sure she was ready for her test. Eva found a novel called Doll Story to read later.



But, I bet you are wondering: what about Kiki? I am home schooled, but that does not mean I don't have a lot of school work to do! Luckily I have been keeping up with my studies so far this semester, but I do have something that needs work: my penmanship! I am usually typing on my laptop, so my handwriting is terrible. Miss Samantha gave me some lined paper to practice on. She wrote a sentence at the top for me to copy. Her handwriting is beautiful!



... to be continued ...

RIGHT NOW! (teehee)



A week later we met again at Miss Samantha's house. She asked if anyone would like to report on how things had gone at school, and...



... before she could finish talking everyone was raising their hand and yelling, "I do! I do!"

"Okay!" laughed Miss Samantha. "Let's hear from you one at a time." And the reports were:



An A+ on Eva's spelling test,



An A+ on Kit's math homework,



and an A+ on Emily's science project.



Ella's teacher had not handed back her book report yet, but she was so inspired by the biography she read, that she was starting her own journal about her life as a young gymnast. Maybe it will be published one day!



My handwriting is coming along pretty well and Miss Samantha gave me a gold star - haha!



Everyone felt proud of themselves and their accomplishments and cheered and clapped for each other and thanked Miss Samantha for her help. Suddenly she turned and gave me a big hug, saying, "I think the person we really need to thank is Kiki! She is the one who started the Homework Club and found a way to make it work when things were not going well."



Berfore I knew it, all my friends ran up and huddled around me, hugging and shouting, "Three cheers for Kiki! Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray!"

I think I blushed! But, inside I was beaming just knowing I have such great friends and that I was able to help them.

Hugs,

Kiki