Christmas Time Is A Special Time

Hello, dear friends! Are you as busy as I am right now? I am finishing up school work so I can enjoy my holiday break, and helping Our Person with all facets of Christmas Time! We have have been making decorations, baking cookies, and crafting gifts and every day is filled with music and laughter. I do love this time of year. Everyone seems to be in a jolly, good mood and there is definitely a special feeling of excitement in the air.
Today we learned about something special that fits right in with this magical time of year. An 81 year old woman who lives in a tiny house in a small town has a favorite Christmas book called "Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree." She has been reading that book, which is supposed to be for children, every year since it was published a long time ago. She recreates the story on her front yard and naturally Tía Meli wanted to see it as soon as she heard about it. So, Clara and I hopped in the car with her and we went right out to see the display.

The story is about a man named Mr. Willowby who orders a tree that turns out to be much too tall for his parlor. He asks the butler to chop off the top to make it fit, and the butler decides to give the extra bit of tree to the maid.

The maid uses part of the tree, but has some left over and she gives it to the gardner.

He uses some and then the forest creatures get to have the next bits, and so on... until the tree top gets smaller and smaller and used by seven families.

The final, tiniest bit, is used by a family of mice to decorate their home in the mouse hole.

Isn't that a delightful story? I love how it shows the spirit of sharing and giving. The stuffies that the woman used were so cute, too. We actually got to meet her and she said she collects them from thrift stores throughout the year. Oh! And she thought Clara and I were very pretty dolls and was honored to have us visit.

It was a magical day.

Hugs, A Happy Jolly Kiki

The Nutcracker Ballet

Every year our person goes to see The Nutcracker. She loves that ballet and was in it when she was a little girl. We dolls get to take turns accompanying her and this year it was Marly's turn.


Marly dressed up in her very prettiest dress and Christmas coat. It was cold out, so she wore a hat, too


Outside the theater there were booths selling hot soups and crafts. It was fun to look at the goodies. Just being in the big city is exciting for us dolls.


Marley said she was sitting in American Girl Doll row, because her friend Aleah came along with her person, and a little girl sitting next to them had an American Girl doll, too. That made the show extra fun for Marly

They don't allow photos to be taken of the show, and our person only had her phone along for pics, so that's about all I have to report on the ballet. Except to say that Marly has not stopped dancing since she got home. I guess the magic of the ballet has let her know that she really wants to be a ballerina.

Hugs,
~ Kiki, your trusty corespondent

Ayla Was Right!

Ahhhhh! Such beautiful snow sparkles in the sunlight.


Time for a little snow shoeing.

The Last of November

It's been warm and dry all month, making it very hard to stay indoors. Marly and Ayla decided to go for a walk along the creek.


This time of year the sun is much lower in the sky, and sparkles on the water in new and beautiful patterns.


There are still a few seeds clinging to their pods. I am surprised they have not been blown away by the wind by now.


Ayla listens to a message from the babbling creek. Tomorrow it will snow.


But, today we will enjoy the warm sunshine.

Hugs,
Kiki

Thanksgiving

It's been such a busy day that I have barely have time to post. All of us modern girls got dressed up for a Thanksgiving Day feast. We think of this day as a chance to reflect on what we are grateful for in our lives.

Kit is the pastry chef and if rolling out the dough for the pumpkin pies.


Emily is in charge of the decorations and...


...the turkey!


We are thankful for friends and family, and all of YOU!

Hugs,
Kiki

New Orleans Girls

Hi again! I wanted to report that Cécile is right at home here with us.



Holly insisted she try on some modern clothes and come meet the gang at the treehouse. Everyone thought she was really sweet. But, we knew something was wrong. Didn't she like us?


It turned out that Cécile was just uncomfortable in modern clothes. She put back on her dress from her own time period and then her long lost sister, Rosalie, came running down the stairs.


It was a wonderful reunion and I took a quick photo. Cécile and Rosalie are busy setting up their home and said I am welcome to come visit any time so I will be reporting more later.

Au revoir!
Kiki, who is now learning French! teehee

Kiki's Day at the AG Store

Guess what! This post is about me! Yep, I got to do something very worthy of reporting on and sharing. Yesterday Holly and I got to go to Denver to the American Girl Store. I've been there before so I got to show her around.




Look at all the dolls waiting to go to new homes! And behind us is the salon where dolls can get their hair done.



Christmas presents! I need to make my list!



Holly and I really liked this girl named Cécile. We begged and begged to bring her home, and finally Tía Meli said OKAY!



We said goodbye to the dolls in the store and wished them well. They told us not to worry because they will all have new homes soon. Besides (and this is a secret) they have a great time at night after the store closes. They play with the horses and other animals, eat yummy doll food, have concerts with the musical instruments and do all kinds of fun things!



Next, we got to go next door to the doll friendly restaurant for dinner. They have special chairs for us to sit at the table. It's a pretty fancy restaurant, and Holly was amazed. Of course, I've been there before!



When dolls eat there they get a special dessert for free! That's how I like to be treated. We felt like royalty!



After all that shopping and food it was getting late. We took a photo of the pretty lights outside and headed home. I have to admit that Holly and I both fell asleep in the car and I had sweet dreams of ice cream and dolls.

The Larson's Cabin

Hello from Kiki! Today we are going to visit the Larson cabin. They live in a lovely valley in the mountains and have been working hard on getting the new cabin ready for winter. I took some photos to show the progress they have made.
In the main area they have a new fireplace. They also made a hearth rug to place in front of it. I hope they have more firewood outside!



Kirsten is really proud of the new table and chairs because she painted them a lovely blue to remind her of Sweden. Her big sister, Greta, added the flower designs to make them even prettier.



There is still a lot to do in the cabin, but at least Greta and Kirsten are cozy and warm for winter.

That's all for now!

~ Kiki

Halloween Celebrations

Do you love Halloween as much as I do? I like dressing up as a favorite character and getting LOTS of candy! ;)

Some of my friends and I have been decorating our treehouse for a Halloween party. Chrissa is helping me haul up a big tub of candy. Eva, who loves to decorate, put up the pumpkin lights.

These girls love to decorate and bake and are getting ready to have a party for the younger kids in the neighborhood.

They have lots of good food like candy apples and pumpkin pie.
There is even more food being made in the kitchen. Anya is rolling out more cookie dough, Emily is in charge of decorating the pumpkin cookies, and Tina is watching the oven. Those girls are organized!

Meanwhile, at the rancho, Josefina is preparing to celebrate El Día de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Most of this food is for the ancestors, but the kids get to eat calaveras de azucar, or sugar skulls!

I hope everyone has a save and Happy Halloween!

Hugs,

Kiki who is eating lots of kandy! teehee

Snow Day

Kirsten was still asleep as the day began to brighten with the dawn. Even half awake she began to sense something was different. There was a hush in the air and the cabin felt cold. She shivered even though wearing her warmest flannel nightgown.

Then she sat up with a start! Wait! Could it be...?

She ran to the door and threw it open. "YES! It's snowing!" she cried.

"Happy snow day, everyone!"

The first snow of the season is always very exciting. Mia, Eva, Luci and I all hope to go out and play in it when we finish our chores!

Hugs,

Kiki, your trusty, ace reporter from Pleasant View. :)

Colonial Autumn

Hi! It's your trusty reporter, Kiki, here with more news from Pleasant View! (that's what we call our doll town!) Today the autumn festivities continued as the colonial girls, Felicity and Elizabeth, were invited to ride their horses in the parade. They had to wear their most fancy riding clothes, and were actually too hot in them, but they kept smiling anyway.
First they got the horses ready.

They headed off to the parade and ended up having a great time waving to the crowd while riding slowly through the town.

That's it for this report. Kiki, over and out!

The Montoyas at a Harvest Festival

It's Kiki here and don't tell me I haven't written since Easter! Golly, Gosh, and Gooseberries that's a long time! Well, there is a lot going on around here now. We have been reorganizing our rooms and houses and doing all kinds of new things. It will take time to catch everyone up on the activities around here, but I'm going to do my bestest!!! First I want to fill you in on what has been going on in the Montoya family. Josefina and her older sister, Esperanza, and younger sister, Adelita, have been getting ready for the annual Harvest Festival...

From Harvest Festival

Esperanza: "¡Mira, Josefina! Look! Isn't my new dress lovely? And look at my hair. It took Mamá three hours to get it the way I wanted. I just know I will be the prettiest girl at the Harvest Festival. Don't you agree?" Josefina said, "Claro. Of course," while she rolled her eyes with a smile. She knew that her big sister was always thinking about her looks, which Josefina found to be a bit silly.

From Harvest Festival

Then Esperanza said, "Where is Adelita? I don't want to be late. Or, maybe it is more fashionable to make a grand entrance a bit late. But, by then everyone will be talking in groups and I won't know how to fit in. Oh dear! I think we should hurry and get there early so I can be sure and find my friends right away. Josefina just shook her head and went to find their little sister.

From Harvest Festival

Josefina found Adelita outside practicing her weaving. She loved to do anything artistic and was already showing promise as a weaver. "Adelita! You don't have shoes on and it's time to leave."

From Harvest Festival

Adelita replied, "Okay, I'm coming. I wish I could finish this blanket, but I'll hurry and get my shoes. I know there will be lots of yummy treats at the festival.

From Harvest Festival

It was a beautiful and warm afternoon for the fiesta. On the way there they girls saw farmers bringing in the hay bales for winter and one was constructing a shelter to keep the hay dry when it snows. They were glad to be early to the fiesta and saw some scary sights there.

From Harvest Festival

One of the best parts of the day was the hayride. The hay wagon is pulled by horses in the Montoyas time, but today it was pulled by a tractor. The kids and adults climb aboard and sing songs as the wagon goes through the fields of pumpkins and corn. There were still other vegetables growing, too: eggplant and tomatoes and the scent of herbs filled the air.

From Harvest Festival

The girls had apple cider and candy apples and roasted corn to eat. Josefina found the perfect pumpkin to bring home. "This will make lots of pies!" she exclaimed.

From Harvest Festival

When it was finally time to go the tired sisters posed for one last photo to remember their wonderful day.