Our Trip and Goodies

Our weekend was fun, memorable...and exhausting! :}  We left early Saturday morning and got back Sunday evening.  The girls had a great time spending their birthday money and getting to do something new and exciting.  I think this trip will be a special memory for them for years. :)

We only had to make one quick lunch stop on the way, so we made great time and got to our hotel in Roseville, CA with plenty of time to unpack and start shopping. :)  The weather was perfect and many of the trees were in bloom.  Here's Charlie in front of our hotel.  :)

I've never been great at packing light, and having 3 kids has not improved my record. :}  Here's all the stuff the 6 of us packed for the weekend.  A majority of it is mine and the girls.  I ended up packing extra blankets and pillows this time, though, because I knew the girls would be sleeping on the floor and I wanted to make sure they'd be comfortable.

Our first day, we hit the Disney Store in the Westfield Galleria mall, Hobby Lobby, and ToysRUs.  The second day, we visited Target, the Disney Store (again), the Sanrio store (also in the mall), Krispy Kreme (Hooray!!), another Target, and then another ToysRUs on our way home.  Shockingly, we didn't end up going to any of the Goodwills in the area.  It was in our original plan to visit at least one of them, but the timing was never right.  Our first opportunity was our first night after the mall but before ToysRUs, and to be honest, I really didn't want the girls at Goodwill with the majority of their money left.  I was afraid they'd whittle it away on this and that and then regret it when they were unable to buy some of the items they'd been saving for specifically at ToysRUs and other places. 

Our second almost Goodwill trip was Sunday morning, after we'd visited the local Target in search of Lalaloopsies.  We'd planned on making Goodwill our second stop of the day, but when we saw that they didn't open until 11 on Sundays, and it was only 10:20, we decided to just skip it and move on.  For some reason, sitting in the parking lot for 40 minutes didn't sound like a fun idea. ;)

I'm not going to go into much more detail about our trip, but here are some of the things I'd like to remember:

-I'm often reminded of the differences between my imagination and reality, and taking my 3 daughters to the Disney Store was one of those special reminders.  Before the trip, I'd imagined savoring every moment with them, capturing their enraptured expressions and happy voices on film as they first saw the store.  And yes, it was special and fun, but I saw all three of my children for all of 5 seconds before they split ways.  Each of us adults took a girl and followed them around as they hurried from section to section, trying to decide what to buy with the money burning a hole in their pockets.  The best word I can describe about that first DS trip is "whirlwind".  It was all I could do to keep up with Little Gal (my assigned girl).  I think I saw Oldest Gal a couple of times, and I have absolutely NO pics of Middle Gal in the store from that first day. :}

We were able to go to the Disney Store again the next day (Little Gal's Wedding Cinderella doll had a defective dress, so we had to return it), and that was a much more relaxing trip.  The girls were pretty much out of money, so they just sat in the in-store gazebo and watched the Disney songs that played. :}  I got a couple of cute pictures then. 

-I loved watching Oldest Gal and Little Gal try out the "Air Joy" bungee jumping in the mall.  They strapped the girls into harnesses attached to bungee cords and let them jump on special inflated trampolines.  Middle Gal was not interested in trying it out, especially since you had to take off your glasses to participate, but the other two loved it!  In fact, Oldest Gal enjoyed it so much that the next day she used some of her birthday money to pay for another ride.  She even selflessly paid for Little Gal to have another ride. :)

-I'll never forget goofy Middle Gal in ToysRUs the first night, trying to convince her sisters to go in with her on the large Lalaloopsy Fairy Tale set.  When the chances of obtaining her beloved Snowy Fairest mini were looking bleak, she kept saying dramatically..."I'm going to diiieeee..."  It was not so much the words, which are actually not words I encourage my girls to say, but the kooky, offbeat way she said them, as if she knew she was being a silly goose.  And just to clarify, there was no whining involved.  It was more of an "Oh my goodness, PLEASE tell me someone is going to split this cost with me or I'm going to be a miserable soul for the rest of my life!"  As only my little Anne of Green Gables can express herself. ;)  

-KRISPY KREME!!!  'Nuf said. ;)

The hot light wasn't on when we were there, but those doughnuts are still WONDERFUL even when they're cold. ;)  It was great watching the girls enjoy their first Krispy Kreme ever. :)

-I want to remember the fun of sharing this special trip with my girls, getting away from the normal routine and just focusing on having fun together. :)

-I also want to remember the wonderful site that met me in the bathroom when I got home.  My amazing hubby had re-grouted our bathtub while I was gone.  It had gotten really bad and moldy, but as you can see, it looks as good as new now:

Yay!! Thank you, honey! :)  Nothing says "I love you" like a clean tub. ;)

If you'd like a few more details about our stops and would like to hear things from Charlie's perspective, you can read her post about our trip on Tess and Maggie's blog HERE. :)

So, on to some of the goodies we got on our trip! :)

First up, I thought I'd share a picture of the ToysRUs exclusive fairy tale Lalaloopsy pack that we got.  (No, Middle Gal did not end up convincing her sisters to go in with her, but Mommy, Mimi, and Grandma took pity on her and chipped in.  We're each keeping at least one and then selling the others.) :)  It was pretty spendy, but TRU had a buy one, get one 50% off sale on all Lalaloopsies while we were there, so it actually helped bring down the price of Middle Gal's other LLL she wanted.

The set included Pix E Flutters and her pet butterfly (at least, I think that's what he'd supposed to be!)...

...Scarlet Riding Hood and her pet wolf...

...Little Bah Peep and her pet sheep...

...Curls n' Locks and Mama Gummy Bear...

...Coral Seashells and her pet fish...

...Snowy Fairest and her pet squirrel...

...Pete R Canfly and his toy crocodile...

...and Tuffet Miss Muffet and her pet spider.

A view of the back of the box.  

This trip was pretty Lalaloopsy heavy, so prepare yourselves. ;)  

I thought it would be fun to do group shots of what each of us ended up coming home with.  It was very interesting to see the girls' decision-making processes and what each of them were interested in. :)

This is pretty much an overview...I'll probably do more in-depth posts on at least a few of these items at a later time.  For now, I'll leave you with a few thoughts about each thing.

So first off, we have Oldest Gal's goodies.  A Crib Life doll, a Disney Princess Squinkies necklace, a Slinky Jr., a Disney Store Wedding Rapunzel doll, and a bag of balloons with a pump.

The Squinkies set she bought included a Squinkie of each of the 10 main princesses.  This pack is unique because Pocahontas, Mulan, and Tiana are not sold in any other Squinkies packs.  (And for those of you wondering, yes, we still try to enforce only having princesses from movies that the girls can watch.  However, in this instance I slipped up.  It could have to do with the fact that Oldest Gal is always the last one to decide in the stores and we were just relieved to finally be leaving Target!). ;)

The princesses each have a glittery pink bubble for storage.  The necklace came with 6 beads and one heart charm.

It connects in the back, and the heart has a little peg in the center so that girls can wear their princess Squinkies.  Oldest Gal thought this was a pretty cool feature.  Our first day home, she wore the necklace for most of the day, and every time I saw her, there was a different princess in the heart. :)

Rapunzel in the heart.

And here is Oldest Gal's Crib Life Hailey Hula doll.  To be honest, I wasn't very impressed with these dolls at first, even though Oldest Gal has had her heart set on them for months.  I wasn't sure about the whole "babies on social networks acting cool" theme.  Hailey was on sale for $6.99 at ToysRUs, so Oldest Gal bought her.  I have to admit that I'm pleasantly surprised by these little dolls.  They don't sit up all that well due to their oversized heads, and I'm still not a fan of the concept behind them (although it's not that big of a deal since we won't have Oldest Gal going online and playing the games), but as far as accessories and clothing, this line got it right!  Hailey came with a shirt, a skirt, a swimsuit, a hula skirt, a ukulele, sunglasses, sandals, and two drinks (the outfit and shoes she's wearing in the picture were a gift from my mom after the trip).  Oldest Gal had a great time mixing and matching all of the pieces and playing with all of the little accessories.  I don't know if I'd pay the full price of $15.99 for these, but at the discounted price they're definitely a bargain. :)

This was one of the things Oldest Gal bought at Hobby Lobby:  144 balloons and a pump.  She's had a lot of fun with these, and we have balloons galore around the house right now. ;)  The pump isn't the best quality, but she seems to be getting by with it.

And here is her Disney Store Wedding Rapunzel.  I'm not going to go into a lot more on this doll because I've already reviewed one just like her in an earlier post.  If you want more info, click HERE.

Here's what Middle Gal ended up with at the end of the trip:  a Lalaloopsy Coral Seashells doll, a set of Princess chapsticks from the Disney Store, a Slinky Jr., a Lalaloopsy mini Coral Seashells, a Hello Kitty notebook from the Sanrio store,  a Lalaloopsy mini Snowy Fairest in her original dress, a stuffed rabbit from Hobby Lobby, and a Lalaloopsy mini Mittens Fluff n' Stuff and her baby sister.

Coral is really cute and is a doll that Middle Gal has been talking about since Christmas.  Middle Gal LOVED taking her in the pool at the hotel (she's made for water play).  However, that was Saturday night, and the doll is STILL draining water from her head and joints.  I've told Middle Gal that even though playing with her in the water is lots of fun, we'll probably keep her out of the water from now on so that she won't have to spend so much time on the rim of the bathtub draining her head. ;)  Her hair changes color with cold water, but it actually works better with ice anyway, so Middle Gal has decided she'll just rub ice on her hair every once in a while when she wants to see the color change. ;)

Princess Chapsticks...cute and extremely helpful for Middle Gal, who often has chapped lips.  I don't know that I would have spent the TEN DOLLARS that they cost...but this is part of Middle Gal's learning experience. ;}

Mini Coral Seashells was in the Fairy Tale pack.  Middle Gal was thrilled to have her in both sizes.  I think she's adorable, but I'm a little disappointed by her design.  Her fin doesn't bend, so she can't sit like the other Lalas.  Other than that, she's a cutie.

Mini Snowy Fairest is the other Lalaloopsy Middle Gal kept from the Fairy Tale pack.  She loves her winter Snowy from Christmas, but she also really liked Snowy's original dress, shown here.  I think this is one of the cutest Lalaloopsy dolls, and absolutely perfect for Middle Gal and her love of Snow White. :)

Mittens Fluff n' Stuff and her little sister Bundles Snuggle Stuff were Middle Gal's Target find.  I love all of the Lalaloopsy mini Sister packs, and this one is my very favorite just because Bundles Snuggle Stuff is so cute. :)

Now, this rabbit is a cutie and is totally Middle Gal.  I didn't think the price was the greatest.  It was $11.95 plus tax, which I thought was a lot for a stuffed bunny.  I talked it over with Middle Gal, but she had her heart set on it, and so far, she hasn't regretted her decision.  Sometimes being a mom means letting kiddos make their own choices, even when you don't agree with them. ;)

And here's Little Gal's stuff:  a Lalaloopsy RC car and figure (which Oldest Gal paid for too), a Lalaloopsy mini Holly Sleighbells, a Lalaloopsy mini Scarlet Riding Hood (which she bought from me from the Fairy Tale pack), Lalaloopsy mini Bea Spells a Lot and her sister, a Slinky Jr. (that has sadly already gotten tweaked), two erasers from the Sanrio store, a Mattel Flynn Rider doll, a Disney Store Rapunzel doll (already out of her original outfit), and a little red journal from Hobby Lobby.  She also bought some doll-sized play money from Hobby Lobby that is already lost. :}

The RC car is adorable and works really well.  It sure is noisy, though!  I'm not used to remote control cars in this house! ;)

Holly Sleighbells was actually purchased at our local Walmart before the trip.  Little Gal saw her several days before we left and really wanted her.  I told her she could pay for her with her own money but she couldn't open her until after the trip, just in case she saw something she liked better.  She never did, so Holly got to stay.  She's a really cute Lala and a fun addition to the collection.

Scarlet Riding Hood is really adorable.  She was actually one of the Fairy Tale Lalaloopsies I was going to keep, but Little Gal really wanted her (and has for quite some time), so I let her buy her from me. :)

Little Gal got this set from Target:  Bea Spells a Lot and her little sister, Specs Reads a Lot.  So cute! :)

She bought 2 erasers at the Sanrio store (which was when she officially wiped out her spending money).  She informed me that one would be for drawing, and one would be for doll-sized gum. :)

Her Mattel Flynn was a purchase from ToysRUs, and Rapunzel was from the Disney Store.  I'm not going to go into my thoughts on Flynn at this time, although I will say that I have mixed feelings about this doll.  Keep your eyes peeled for a future review. ;)  If you'd like more info about Rapunzel, you can check out my earlier review HERE.

Little Gal loved this red journal from Hobby Lobby.  It's just the right size for her and full of blank pages to fill with pictures and scribbles. :)

And here's my loot, although I just remembered that I bought a couple boxes of markers in different skin tones at Hobby Lobby in addition to this stuff. :)  I got a couple of Lalaloopsy sets, a Moxie Teenz Tristen doll, and a My Melody pen from the Sanrio store.

I've always loved Tristen's coloring, but have never been thrilled with her original outfit.  Well, there was a super sale at ToysRUs, so I was able to pick up a few Moxie Teenz for...get this...$2 each!!  At that price, I felt I could mix and match some of the different pieces from the different dolls until I came up with this new, much more modest outfit for Tristen. :)  She's wearing Arizona's hat and pink shirt, her own scarf and vest (and holding her own bag), Melrose's jeans, and boots from an extra fashion pack. :)  I'll be selling the extras on eBay later to help fund this project. :)

Here's my adorable pen.  It makes me smile every time I use it. :)

This was a purchase I actually made after I got back.  In my local Walgreen's, I found this older Lalaloopsy set:  Crumbs' Tea Party.  I love how the chairs and table are made of cookies. :)  I also adore the black and white striped teapot. :)

And here are my other two new Lalas:  the Target exclusive Easter mini, Lucky Lil' Bug (also purchased after we got back home) and Curls n' Locks with her Gummy Bear.  This is the one I decided to keep from the Fairy Tale pack.

And since we have suddenly accumulated quite a family of mini Lalaloopsies, we needed a new place to store them.  When I was in Walmart, I saw these adorable Easter "baskets" in the Easter section for $5.97.  The first side has Tippy Thumbelina...

...then there's Jewel Sparkles...

...Peanut Big Top...

...and Bea Spells a Lot.

The inside is lined with these cute head shots of Tippy and Jewel.

And as you can see, there's plenty of room for the minis and even a few cardboard houses. :)

Whew!  Well, I think that's about it!  If you have any questions about any of the goodies we brought home or our trip in general, feel free to leave them in the comments.  I'm off to bed. ;)