Summer Dress: a Photo Shoot

 Hello, lovely readers!  Lately, I have been sewing for my American Girl dolls and my sister, Chrissa (since her birthday is on Wednesday).  One of the things I made is a summer dress for Beth, of which I took pictures for you.  Enjoy!

 I found some striped fabric and thought it would be a perfect backdrop for the last few pictures.

 Next are a few photos that I edited on Picmonkey.com.

What do you like to create?

Letters and Gifts

 Hi all!  This afternoon, when Elizabeth went to get the mail, she found not one, but three things from our pen pals!

 "Chrissa!" she called, "We received several letters!"  

 Quickly rushing downstairs, I asked for mine.

"Here is a package for you, as well as this letter -" Elizabeth started.

"Thanks!" I interrupted, grabbing them from her hand.

 "O-o, gifts!" I exclaimed. "Fun!"  Leaning over my shoulder, my sister read

"Don't open until your birthday."  She picked them up and set them on the side-table. "Since your birthday is not for another eight days, let's keep them over here."

"I'm so excited." I sighed happily.

 "I am too.  I think you shall love your gifts." Elizabeth said with a mysterious smile.  I tried to get her to tell me more, but she sealed her lips, still smiling.

 "Well, I think we have some letters to reply to!" I said finally.

"Indeed."

Oh, by the way, I loved all the names you suggested for my little wiener dog!  I had such a hard time picking just one.  In the end, I decided on Salty.  Actually, I have always wanted to name a stuffed animal Salty, so it was perfect. 

What exciting things have you done today?

Happy May Day (Plus Behind-the-Scenes Pictures)

 Hello, lovely readers, and happy May Day!  It's hard to believe that the first of May is already upon us.  Unfortunately, the weather at our house is humid and cloudy, so the behind-the-scenes pictures are "left-overs" from a photo shoot that we did last August (http://thesaltysadollblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/sisters-and-friends-photo-shoot.html).  This is the second time we have used such "leftover" pictures.

 How do you celebrate May Day?

To the Pool!

     Hi all!  Today, even though it was cloudy, it was really hot, so after Elizabeth and I had finished all our school, Mom suggested that we go to the neighborhood pool, and of course we agreed!  My sister and I pulled on our swimsuits, slapped on some sunscreen, and jumped in the car.

 "For the first time in forever I can finally go to the pool!" I sang happily.

"Are you singing 'For the First Time in Forever'?" Elizabeth asked, ducking her head as my hand narrowly avoided smacking her face.  "And you know that we just went swimming a month ago?"

"Yea, but it's more sentimental." I replied.

"We're at the pool, girls." Mom announced.

"Yay!"

 Quickly, Elizabeth and I laid down our towels on the hot cement.

 "Shall  we swim?" my sister asked.

"Let's go!" I said, jumping into the water.

"How does it feel?"

 "A little cold at first, but nice once you get used to it." I replied, swimming on my back.

 Popping back out, I told Elizabeth to hurry up and get in.

"I am coming, Chrissa." she replied, sounding a little annoyed and pulling off her cover-up.

 "Isn't it great?" I commented.

"Yes, it is." she agreed.  We had lots of fun swimming.  First, we played a 'copy jump' game, where one of us would make up a interesting jump in to the water, and the other person copies it, and then we switch.  

After that, I kind of started water fight, because I was showing Elizabeth how when I swept my arm through the water, I looked like Elsa.  When I showed her, though, I sprayed her with water in the face.  Laughing, Elizabeth did the move back, and pretty soon we were flinging lots of water at each other and getting really soaked.  It was so fun!

 After we had swam for about an hour and a half, the sun came out, so we laid on our towels to dry off, ...

 ... and then headed home.

 The first thing I said when I walked in the door was

"I'm hungry.  Can I have some popcorn?"

"Sure, Chrissa.  Elizabeth, would you like some as well?" Mom wondered, pulling out a microwave bag of popcorn.

"That would be wonderful, Mother.  Thank you!"

We sat down and enjoyed the warm treat.  I can't wait until summer, when I can do this kind of thing every day!

Is is warm enough to swim where you live?

Happy Earth Day!

 Hello, lovely readers!  Today, April twenty-second, as some of you may know, is Earth day.  In honor of that, I created a collage of Chrissa and I in each of the seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.  I think my favorite of the four is Summer, but I like each one in turn; it's hard to pick just one!

What is your favorite season, and why?

Happy Easter!

Hi all!  I hope you are having a wonderful Easter.  Today, there was only one service at our church (there's normally two), so that gave Elizabeth and I a little more time to get ready.  After breakfast of delicious French Puffs, we headed out the door.

 When we got home, Mom immediately went into the kitchen and put the ham in the oven.  We have a tradition of making "green eggs and ham" (like the Dr. Seuss book) for Easter.  Mom has this cute little egg mold that she uses to make green Jello eggs.

 "May Chrissa and I open our Easter baskets?" Elizabeth asked Dad.

 "Ya, can we?" I added.

"You can bring them in here," he replied, "but let's wait for your mother."

"Yay!" I shouted.  Not wasting any time, I ran into the kitchen.

 Reaching on the table, I grabbed my green basket and headed back for the living room.

 "Let's go, Elizabeth!"

 "I am coming." she laughed, following me back.  Mom joined us with her camera, and insisted Elizabeth and I wait until she got a picture of us with our baskets.

 Here's Elizabeth,

 and here's me.  As soon as the photos were finished, Elizabeth and I looked at everything in our baskets.

Elizabeth got eye-covers, beads, a necklace and earring set, a little bottle of perfume, green yarn, and some candy.

 I got game cards, a large hair clip, a twine headband, a stuffed wiener dog, a lamb whistle, gumballs, and Pop Bursts.

 Hey- I need your help deciding what to name this cute wiener dog!  Comment below and tell me what you think I should name him.

How do you celebrate Easter? and What should I name the wiener dog?