My Summer Goals

 Hi all!  Okay, so it's not "officially" summer yet (according to my calender), but it feels that way to me.  So, I outlined 10 of the things I want to do this summer.

 #1 Go on Vacation, preferably to North Carolina. 

 #2 Read more books than Elizabeth. I've tried to every summer, but some how she always wins.  It's fun anyway, though.

 #3 Make new stuff for my AG dolls.  They could use some summer outfits. ;^)

 #4 Eat loads of summer fruit like pineapple, watermelon, kiwi, and most importantly STRAWBERRIES!!!!!!!

 #5 Swim as often as I can drag my family and friends down to the pool with me.  Even though I'm 11, I still can't go alone!

 #6 Have sleepovers with all the friends that can come to my house.

 #7 Bombard my pen pals (and besties, when I'm on that NC vacation) with 10-paragraph letters.

 #8 Call out-of-state friends.

 #9 Buy this adorable outfit to do it all in.

 #10 Avoid the Florida humidity as much as possible, taking refuge in the pool or behind a giant fan as necessary.

What do you want to do this summer?

Sweet as Sugar: a Photo Shoot

Hello, lovely readers!  Even thought her birthday was almost a week ago, Chrissa still had not opened the gifts from her cousins.  So, she did so after lunch.

The first gift she chose to open was from Liberty, and contained a helpful book entitled "101 Things To Do on a Rainy Day".  Secondly, my sister unwrapped American Girl doll clothes from Marie-Grace.  The last gift was from the whole Gardener family, and contained the movie ...

"Frozen!" Chrissa exclaimed, wildly jumping up and down. "I have been wanting this forever!  Yay!  I'm going to go watch it right now.  Do you want to watch it with me, Elizabeth?"

"Er- not right now." I replied, looking down at my dog. "I need to take Sugar to the park for a little exercise."

"Oh, okay.  You can join me when you get back, if you want."

"Thank you."  With that, Sugar and I walked over to the park.

"Sugar, are you ready to play?" I asked the puppy, lifting her up in the air.

She barked and wagged her tail in return.

I sat down with the puppy on the towel I brought.  Throwing her favorite ball into the air, I told Sugar to "fetch".

Quickly, the tiny dog jumped out of my lap to retrieve her ball.

"Good girl, Sugar." I praised when she returned, and stroked her on the back.

Lifting her into my arms, I told her that her name was a perfect fit, because she is so sweet.

Do you have a sweet pet?

Chrissa's Coustume Birthday Party

 Hi all!  Today was my birthday party with my friends!  I wish you all could have joined me; it was so fun!  The theme this year was a costume party, so everyone came dressed up.  Once they arrived, I asked everyone to say their name and what they were dressed up as.

"I'll start," Felicity stated, "and Kit can go next."

"We can just go around the circle clockwise." Elizabeth quietly suggested.

"Okay.  Well, I'm Felicity, and I'm dressed up as a famous movie star." she said, tossing her head.

"I'm Kit. I'm wearing a dress that I found at the last second, I didn't know that we were supposed to wear costumes! Yea, sure the invitation said so, but still, we were in the car when McKenna asked, 'Aren't you going to wear a costume?' And so I ran inside and grabbed this from McKenna's closet and changed quickly." 

"Thank you for that story, Kit.  Your turn, Izzy." I smiled.

"As she just said, I am Izzy and I'm a princess." my friend told us.

"That is a lovely dress, Izzy." Elizabeth commented.

"Thank you."

"Hello, I'm McKenna and I'm an Olympic figure skater."

Nellie, one of my friends from church, went next.

"My name is Nellie, and I'm dressed as a cheerleader."

"I'm obviously Chrissa, and I'm some kind of prairie girl someone-or-another." I said.

Elizabeth, who was sitting next to me, told her name and that she was dressed as a duchess (think Downton Abby).  Samantha was a cowgirl, and Sidnee was a rock star/famous singer (she had a great costume!).

The first activity we did was a photo booth.  Below are some of the pictures of us, a few with crazy accessories, some without.

 Next, we played musical chairs.  I used music from Frozen, and Kit sang crazily along until we all insisted that she stopped.  The game turned out kind of wild, because there were many competitive people who would dive for the chairs.  In the end, it came down to Kit and Sidnee, Sidnee being the close victor of the game.

 After the game, we got a group picture.

 Then, it was time for cake!

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Chrissa, happy birthday to you!" they all sang, although you could almost only hear Kit, who was nearly shouting it.

"I want the first piece of cake!" Kit said.

"No, Chrissa is the birthday girl, so she's the one who gets it." Elizabeth insisted, setting it on my plate.

"I can have the second piece then." my cousin said.  It wasn't a question.

"Very well." 

 Everyone enjoyed their cake.

But Kit's seemed to disappear faster than anyone else's!

Celebrating with my friends was so much fun!

What would be your dream birthday party? 

My Birthday!

 Hi all!  Yesterday, May 14th, was my real, live, actual birthday!  Yay!

 That morning, I woke up to the smell of scones.

 When I came downstairs, the table was covered with gifts!

"Happy birthday, Chrissa!" Mom and Dad greeted me.

"Yes, happy birthday!" Elizabeth agreed.

"Thanks!  What smells so good?" I asked, taking in a deep waif.

"I made strawberry scones just for you." my mom replied. "Let's eat!

After breakfast, my parents said I could open two presents.

"Which one should I open first?" I asked.

"How about the one with the cupcakes on it?" Mom suggested, pointing to one on the top. "Could you grab it, Elizabeth?"

"Of course.  Here, Chrissa." my sister said, handing me the gift.

I opened it up and found a cute pair of jean shorts, just like I wanted!

"Thanks, Mom and Dad!" I exclaimed, giving then each a hug.

"You're welcome, sweetheart."

As I was opening the second gift, our phone rang.  Elizabeth picked it up.

"Hello, this is the Edwards."

"Hi!  It's McKenna and Kit.  Is the birthday girl there?"

"Yes, she is.  I'll put her on speaker phone."  Elizabeth replied, pressing the button and setting the phone on my gift.

"Hello?" I said.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Chrissa, happy birthday to you!" my cousins sang.

"We just wanted to wish you a happy birthday!" came McKenna's voice.

"How's it going so far?" Kit added quickly.

"Great!  I was just about to open a present when you called.  Oh- can you come to my party on Saturday?" (I would have had my party yesterday, but since it was a school day Mom suggested I wait until Saturday.  So, yesterday I was just celebrating with my family.)

"Check you email." was Kit's reply. "Bye!"

"Bye, and thank you!"  I ended the call and finished opening my gift.

"This tee-shirt is so cute!  Thank you!" I smiled.  "Now I know why you wanted me to open these two particular presents."

"Yes, so you could wear them today, if you want to." Mom said.

"Are you kidding me?  Of course I want to!  I'm going to get dressed right now." I exclaimed, running upstairs.

I love my new outfit!

When I returned downstairs, Dad had left for work, Mom was washing the breakfast dishes, and Elizabeth was cleaning up.  I asked Elizabeth to re-do my hair in a fun birthday style, and she agreed.

Since neither of us had school (Elizabeth had finished for the year, and obviously it was my birthday), we played together until lunch.  Mom made quesadillas, one of my favorite foods.  After lunch, Mom mysteriously told me to close my eyes, which I did.

When I opened them, there was a adorable American girl doll bed in front of me!

"Wow!!!!  This is amazing!!!" I squealed. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!  How did you make it?"

"Elizabeth and I found a YouTube video tutorial." Mom explained.

"I think you should open the big pink one gift next." Elizabeth recommended.

"Okay."

"I made bedding and accessories for the bed." Elizabeth smiled.

"This is so wonderful!" I answered. "Do you want to play with me?"

"Sure."

It is so perfect for Nellie and Felicity!

For dinner, Mom, Dad, Elizabeth and I went to Olive Garden, because it's one of my favorite restaurants.  (And I love their bread-sticks!)  Afterward, we returned home, ate my birthday cake and I opened my last two presents.

I had such a great birthday!

How do you celebrate your birthday?