Here at long last are the trips from our birthday trip earlier this month. :)
As usual, we spent one of the girls' three day weekends and traveled down to Roseville, California for shopping fun together. :)
According to tradition, I brought a doll along to help document the trip. This time around, I brought Jess. (For a short time, I tried to call her Ava, but her original name stuck, so Jess it is.) ;)
Jess at a Toys R Us on the way to Roseville.
We conveniently planned our first potty stop at a Toys R Us on the way to our destination. ;) It was a bit of an extended pit stop, but everyone was fine with that. ;)
After that, we drove straight on through to Roseville and the Westfield Galleria Mall. We had a quick lunch in the food court before starting our shopping spree. :)
Jess at the food court.
Middle Gal took a few pictures of her Build-A-Bear she'd brought along while she waited for everyone else to finish eating. It's so fun seeing my girls enjoy the same hobbies I do. :)
In Claires, we found these really cute doll-sized Krispy Kreme donuts (they were actually lip balm), but they were a little spendy, so we didn't buy them. They sure were adorable, though. :)
Of course, one of our very first stops was the Disney Store. :D
A wall of princess happiness. ;)
The Disney Animator's Collection display.
Lots of Frozen merchandise still. Remember when you couldn't find a single Frozen thing in the Disney Store? That is definitely not the case anymore. ;)
More princessy displays.
It was really fun to get to see some of the new, big singing dolls in person. Here is Rapunzel.
I've told myself that I don't need any more big Disney dolls. This one was sure tempting, though. Especially at 25% off.
Here is the big Singing Elsa. (Sorry this picture is a bit blurry. I didn't realize it until I'd already left the store.)
I love her face. :) She still had the weird, blue arms of the first version of this doll, though.
Of course, with Zootopia's theatrical release on the horizon, there was a fun Zootopia display up.
Stuffies :)
More Zootopia fun
I really wish I knew which characters will be my favorites. I can't help thinking of the Big Hero Six Honey Lemon and Go Go dolls that sold out before I could snag them. I hope it won't be the same with Zootopia merchandise.
Build-A-Bear was one of our next stops.
(Side note: this picture of Jess was actually taken on our second day there and illustrates why a "quick" trip to Build-A-Bear on Valentine's Day is not a good idea. See that huge line in the background? Apparently Valentine's Day is one of Build-A-Bear's busiest business days!)
Little Gal decided to make a stuffed puppy to add to her puppy family. Oldest Gal made a boy bear to go with her girl bear (sorry, I didn't get any pics of her that didn't show her face). Middle Gal opted for a nice new outfit for her bear instead.
Giving her new puppy a "bath."
One of the other things the girls always look forward to is the "Air Joy" bungee jumping station in this mall. They always use some of their spending money to jump, although this time Grandma paid for their first session, and Oldest Gal very generously paid for everyone's second round. :)
One of my favorite parts of this is watching the sheer joy on their faces as they jump. :)
After all that jumping, it was time for another bathroom break.
Jane, Little Gal's doll, was deposited like this in the waiting room of the bathroom. This picture pretty much sums up what life as one of Little Gal's dolls is like. ;)
Once we'd finished up at the mall (at least for that day), we headed over to our hotel and checked in. This is the only picture I ended up getting without people in it. We went for a bigger hotel room this time. On the closest side of the bed, there was an opaque divider that partially sectioned off the room, and on the other side of it was a fold out sleeping couch. This was really nice because the grownups could stay up a little later when it was bedtime for the girls. Usually we ALL have to go to bed early. ;)
After we'd dropped off our stuff at the hotel, we went to Hobby Lobby, the ultimate craft store that always takes at least two hours to get through. (The girls LOVE this store.) ;)
And this is pretty much where my pictures of each event went out the window. (In my defense, documenting a trip while following three overly excited girls with lots of spending money is not the easiest task in the world.) ;) So the rest of the pictures in this post will not be quite so organized.
A picture of my continental breakfast from our second morning. The main item on the plate is a thin, flat roll with an egg and spinach patty, mushrooms, and melted cheese. Quite yummy. :)
On our second day, we found the local Toys R Us and spent a LOT of time there. ;)
We also went back to the mall and, among other things, let the girls do bungee jumping again. ;)
After another long day of shopping, we had In-n-Out for dinner...
...and Krispy Kreme for dessert. :D
The "hot light," signaling fresh donuts, was on when we arrived, so we got to watch the donuts as they were made.
The most fun part is watching them go through the wall of glaze. ;)
A cute box for Valentine's Day. :)
The best part overall is opening a Krispy Kreme box and having an original glazed donut hot off the rack. :D
Even our dolls got to have some donuts. ;)
From left to right are Jess, Lea (my mom's doll), and London (Truly Me #61-Mimi's doll).
Here the three musketeers visit in their comfy jammies before heading to bed.
The poor dollies. I intended to document more of their adventure with us, but I ended up documenting the "real" girls' adventures instead. Which is more important, really. ;)
To be honest, I've pretty much reached the conclusion that doing a full doll photo story on these joint birthday trips is just cramming a little too much into one event. I always want the birthday trip to be about the girls, not my blog. ;) I might even take a Zelf along instead of a doll next time. It makes the photo ops a little easier and quicker.
On our last night in the hotel, we took our typical "loot" photo. The stuff on the left is Oldest Gal's. The middle section belongs to Little Gal, and the pile on the right is Middle Gal's. They each made a few more purchases on our last day, but this gives you an idea of the majority of what they bought.
Oldest Gal's Treasures
As you can see from the above photo, Oldest Gal delved into the fashion world this year and purchased several items of clothing on our trip. She's growing up! ;)
She also bought a Disney Universe game for our Wii from Game Stop. At the bottom of the picture, you can see her Disney Little Kingdom Aurora and Tiana dolls.
Here's a better look at the Little Kingdom dolls. She also purchased the Frozen Little Kingdom ice skating set, but she split it with Middle Gal, so Anna and her accessories are in Middle Gal's pile.
And may I just say that Tiana and Aurora are both absolutely darling? :D Elsa is too, but those two are just adorable!
This was the bear and outfit Oldest Gal chose at Build-A-Bear. She named him "Buttons."
Here's her birthday Minnie Tsum Tsum from the Disney Store.
And here's her Splashlings set. The Splashlings are a fairly new toy line. They include mermaids and little friends that look quite a bit like sea creature Shopkins. All three of the girls ended up with these and really love them. :)
Little Gal actually purchased this set for Oldest Gal as a thank you for paying for her bungee jumping. :)
Little Gal's Loot
Little Gal decided on the name "Faith" for her puppy.
At the Disney Store, she purchased Aladdin and Jasmine. And she got the slumber party Equestria Girls Mini Fluttershy set at Toys R Us.
At Hobby Lobby, she purchased two packs of pipe cleaners. She and Middle Gal are both really into making pipe cleaner animals and people. Here she has a person and a Hobbes the tiger (from "Calvin and Hobbes") that she gave to Hubby when we got home. :)
Middle Gal's Bounty ;)
Middle Gal has purchased a plush rabbit from Hobby Lobby every birthday trip for the past few years, so the bunny on the left is in keeping with tradition. Rapunzel was her Disney Store purchase, and Twilight Sparkle and the two Splashlings sets were from Toys R Us.
This is the Build-A-Bear we built for Middle Gal when she was only six months old. :) Even though the bear isn't new, her outfit and shoes are, so Middle Gal decided to set her up in the picture.
Jasmine was Middle Gal's other Disney Store purchase. Even before we left for the trip, she knew she wanted to buy Rapunzel and Jasmine at the Disney Store. ;)
In this picture, you can also see the Little Kingdom Jasmine and Anna Middle Gal purchased, and her mini Lalaloopsy "Style 'n' Swap" doll. (The Lala was such a big hit that the next day she bought a second one and Little Gal bought one for herself.) ;)
Her other Hobby Lobby purchases included two special necklace charms and a set of wooden pegs to make into a doll family. :)
And pipe cleaners, of course. These will last for about another week. ;)
My mom has started collecting the mini DAC dolls. When she saw this adorable Tinker Bell set, she decided to add it to her collection.
Isn't she darling? ;)
Her pet Tick Tock Croc is pretty cute, too.
On our last day, we hit Ross...
...Hobby Lobby again, and Toys R Us and Target.
In Toys R Us, I actually found a Zelf I don't have yet (wonder of wonders). ;) So Rose-anne is now a part of my Zelf collection.
At Target, I saw this gorgeous Candy Kingdom princess Barbie doll. She has one of my favorite face molds from the new Fashionista series (the same one on the Hispanic "Made to Move" doll). I'm thinking this doll will eventually need to come home with me, but I'll rebody her with a Made to Move pale body and get rid of that silly plastic bodice. ;)
For anyone who's interested, here's a picture of the full box.
Once we finished up at Target, it was time to head back home.
We made a lunch stop next to the Toys R Us in Yuba City. Because we'd only been to the Roseville Toys R Us five times and needed another toy fix. ;)
We had a wonderful time together, but it was nice to get back home.
At the Target in Roseville, I found this stuffed tiger that reminded me a lot of Hobbes from "Calvin and Hobbes." Hubby and I used to read the comic strip all the time when we were young, so I thought it would be a fun souvenir for him. I also wrote him a card and signed it "To Calvin from Suzie." ;) It was waiting on his side of the bed for him when he got home.
Here's what I ended up coming home with this time around.
Plum Pudding was the only Bridge Direct SSC character I didn't have yet, so it was fun to add her to my collection.
Here's a closer look at her in her box...
...and out of it.
I think her puppy is my favorite part. He's so adorable! :D
I also ended up with a couple of fairy tale-themed charms from Hobby Lobby. This frog one was really cool.
Here it is from the side.
I also really liked this dragon one. :) He kind of reminds me of the dragon from "Spirited Away." (I can't fully recommend that movie, and actually found some of it rather creepy, but I did love the animation and enjoyed some of the characters.)
At Hot Topic, I found this adorable Belle bracelet to go with my other Beauty and the Beast-themed jewelry.
I love the little Chip charm hanging from one side.
A closer look at Rose-anne deboxed. (I decided to open her in the car on the way home.)
I did already have a Raspberry Torte from The Bridge Direct, but I really liked that this one was in her meet outfit, so I went ahead and snagged her as well.
Raspberry in her box...
...and out.
Her puppy is cute, but not quite as cute as Plum's. :)
I also was able to find the remaining three "Fruit Collection" Lalaloopsies I needed at Toys R Us.
Mom had already found me Water Mellie Seeds (my favorite of the series) on a previous Toys R Us run, so now I have all four.
Tart Berry Basket
Pina Tropi-Callie
Tangerine Citrus Zest
Water Mellie Seeds
I haven't decided if I'm going to open these ones yet. They look super cute in their fruit-themed packaging and would be fun to hang on my wall as-is...especially now that the mini Target exclusives seem to have been discontinued.
And I did also cave and buy the Frozen Little Kingdom Frozen Fever set.
Here it is in the packaging...
...and here it is with the package opened. I love the reusable cases, but I almost wish they weren't frosted plastic. It's amazing how much duller the vibrant colors look behind the opaque cover. It makes the option of keeping them mint in package not as likely...at least for me.
Elsa
Anna
Toys R Us had a "buy one, get one 50% off" promotion going on all My Little Pony products. So when I saw they had both Rainbow Dash...
...and Pinkie Pie in EG Minis, I decided to get them. These were the only two I needed to complete my basic figure collection. (I passed my earlier Pinkie Pie on to Little Gal, and I'd found Fluttershy at our local Target.)
So now I have all of the mane six.
Applejack
Rarity
Rainbow Dash
Twilight Sparkle
Fluttershy
Pinkie Pie
It's so fun having all six of them now. I don't know that I'll get many of the other versions of these characters, as my space is running out, but I'm glad I at least got these gals.
So that's all the pictures I have of our trip. I hope you enjoyed them, as random and unorganized as they were. ;)
I was thinking it would be fun to get the girls' take on some of the toys they purchased. We'd probably do mini reviews to keep things simple. But if there are any of the things they bought that you'd especially like to see in better detail, let me know and we'll put those at the top of the review list.
Have a great rest of the week, everyone! :)