Birthday Trip Part 1

Well, my computer is still having issues whenever I try to upload pictures to Blogger, but thankfully I was able to go to my mom's and get the pictures up there. :)  I went ahead and uploaded enough pictures to do both of my trip posts and four review posts, so even if I don't get the problem figured out for a while, I'll still have plenty to share. ;)

This week was pretty crazy.  Aside from the computer issues, a dentist's appointment for Middle Gal, and Art class, I had the ladies from my doll club over to my house for the first time on Wednesday, so the beginning of the week was also spent frantically cleaning and organizing for my company. ;)  I shared pictures from our trip to the American Girl Place.  Everyone really enjoyed hearing about the store and the wonderful time we had.  I had a lot of fun finally sharing my doll displays with all of them, too. :)

I'll be breaking up our trip in two parts, especially since I have so many pictures from the AG Place.  Unfortunately, the AG Place pics will be in the next post.  Sorry to make you wait. :}

After I've finished sharing pics from the trip, I'll dive into the review posts.  By popular demand, the Caroline and Kristoff reviews will be first. ;)

Friday morning, we took off bright and early.  I decided to keep the girls home from school that day since it was going to be such a long drive.  Best. decision. ever.  It was a long enough day as it was!! ;) 

As you can see from the pictures, Hayden accompanied us.  We actually had eight dolls with us.  My mom and my aunt each brought a doll, Oldest Gal and Little Gal brought a doll, and Middle Gal brought three. ;) 

By the way, Hayden is working on her own post about her adventures.  I'll put a link up in a post on this blog when it's ready. :)   [UPDATE:  It is now June of 2014, and Hayden finally has her post up! :}  You can see it HERE.]

Our first stop was a quick potty/stretch break at Walmart.  We quickly decided that our next stop (aside from the hotel) needed to be the mall with the Disney Store and the Build-A-Bear.  The girls were ready to spend all of their money at Walmart.  I don't have anything against Walmart, but I knew the girls would regret their purchases once they got to the unique stores we don't have at home. ;)

We stayed at the Marriott Fairfield Inn in Vacaville, a hotel we've stayed at before.  We had a nice little room on the ground floor right next to the exit door.  It was a great location.  We were close to the pool, close to the continental breakfast, close to our car, and we didn't have to spend the entire time telling the girls to keep still.  (We've had running kiddos above us in hotels before, and it was no picnic, so we try to make sure we don't put others through the same thing.  It's a lot easier to just stay on the ground floor.) :}

As soon as we got settled into our hotel, we headed over to the Solano Mall in Fairfield. 

Our very first stop was the Disney Store. :D  Our closest Disney Store is about two and a half hours away, so getting to go to one is always exciting. :)  

Unfortunately, I was unable to take any pictures inside the store this time, even though I've taken pictures inside this very store on past trips.  I always make it my policy to get permission from the store employees before photographing displays or product in any store, and when I did so this time, one of the cashiers said that she didn't think I was allowed to take pictures.  So sadly, this picture and the one before it were the only ones I got (I took them before we went into the store).  It's really a shame, because it would have been fun to share some of the displays with you. :(

We had called the store ahead of time to get an idea of their Frozen stock, and I was told that they only had the Toddler Anna doll.  We were happily surprised when we arrived and found that they had both Anna and Elsa, as well as one DAC Kristoff! :)  They also still had Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff plush dolls.  Little Gal was the first to make a purchase, buying herself a Toddler Elsa doll.  I snagged the DAC Kristoff, just because I knew he was already out of stock online...and he was totally adorable in person. ;)

When the employees saw how interested we were in Frozen, they informed us that the special Sing-Along version was playing that evening at the theater in the mall.  Mom, Mimi and I decided to keep that in mind as a tentative plan. :)  

Our next stop was the Build-A-Bear Workshop.  We hadn't been to one of these since before Little Gal was born, so it was exciting to take the girls and see them enjoy it. :)

We had two new additions to our stuffie family that night:  Fluttershy (for Little Gal)...

...and Twilight Sparkle (for Middle Gal).

I decided to wait to buy my Fluttershy until after our visit to the AG Place. :)

After Build-A-Bear, we rode the two-story carousel. :)

By the time we finished at the carousel, it was time for dinner, so we headed over to the food court.  Little Gal very generously shared her Taco Bell with Hayden and Elizabeth (Oldest Gal's doll).

After dinner, we were still waffling on the Frozen Sing-Along idea.  The girls were pretty tired, and the showing wasn't going to start until seven.  Mimi and I took the girls to a candy store while my mom headed over to the theater to check on prices.  We suddenly got a call from her.  She had found out that there was an earlier showing that had just started.  If we hurried, we'd just miss the previews.  It solved the late night problem and as an added bonus, was three dollars cheaper per ticket. :)  We all rushed over to the theater and made it halfway through "Get a Horse", the Mickey Mouse short cartoon.  Mom ended up missing a little more because I'd left my glasses in the car (I need them for movies).  I offered to go get them, but I'm horrible with directions, and Mom was afraid I'd get lost, so she went instead.  The sad thing was, I really would have gotten lost.  Later, when we left the theater, I realized I was completely turned around as to where we were in the mall. :}

We had perfect seats for the movie.  Unfortunately, the whole "sing-along" experience wasn't quite as spectacular as it could have been.  There were only about ten other people there with us, and only a few people were singing.  The girls were too caught up in the movie to sing much, but Mimi, Mom and I all sang. :)  It was still really fun to experience the movie together again.  And how often do you get a chance to sing along with one of your favorite movies in a theater? ;)

After the movie was over, we hit a few more stores and then headed to the hotel for a swim and bedtime.

I took a few quick pictures of Little Gal's Elsa in her box.  I knew I had to act fast before Little Gal opened her. ;)

Once Elsa was opened, Little Gal did this set up with Elsa and Fluttershy. :)  A doll photographer in the making, don't you think? ;)

That's all I have from the first day.  We took a lot more pictures, but most of them were of the girls. :)  Stay tuned for part two: our visit to the American Girl Place!!  For now, I'm off to watch the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics! :)