Kelsey's Adventure: The Orange Light

Kelsey's Adventure Begins!

A field of tall grass rolled away from her in small hills, shinning like gold in the sunlight.  It sways back and forth as the gentle breeze moved over it in waves.  Beyond the grass, trees covered the horizon.  Great, beautiful trees, with limbs outstretched towards the blue sky above them.  Kelsey imagination had painted this place with strange creatures and plants, but it was really very similar to home.  Except that she had come from a wooded forest and was now standing in a sea of grass.

Suddenly there was a rush of air from her left and the orange light pulls Kelsey out of her daze.  She looks up and beside her is a little fairy, her wings flapping quickly behind her.  

The fairy is surrounded by an orange glow.  She has a cloth orange dress on with brown stripes on the skirt.  Her brown hair held back in a braid with a ribbon.  Her wings shimmered in the sun.

“Hi!” came a small high voice from the fairy.

“Hi!” Kelsey excitedly replies.  “You are the light I have been following.” 

“I’m not a light…I’m Elita!  I am one of the fairies that live here.”

“One of the fairies!” Kelsey exclaims, “There are more of you?”

“Well of course there are, silly goose.”

The little fairy giggles at Kelsey and glows a little brighter orange.  She flutters to and fro, never really staying still.  She reminds Kelsey of a hummingbird, darting back and forth, then hovering mid air.

“I’m Kelsey,” she says, putting her hand out to shake.

Elita zips up to Kelsey, hovering close to Kelsey’s hand.  Stretching out her tiny hands, Elita puts one hand into Kelsey’s hand, another on the outside.  Kelsey squeezes Elita’s hand so softly, not wanting to hurt her tiny, delicate hands.

Slowly moving her hand up and down, Kelsey shakes Elita’s hand, the fairy moving her whole body to shake.   Her hands feel like silk.  I can barely feel her touching me!  Kelsey thinks as a large grin spreads across her face. 

Smiling back at Kelsey, Elita says “Welcome to Trillatia! It is so wonderful to have you here!  There is so much I want to show you. ” Elita starts to flit around, “I’ve got to show you the plains, and the Fallen Forest,…oh and the Brinden River…” She trails off, noticing Kelsey’s overstimulated facial expression.

Giggling, Elita tells Kelsey, “Come on.  Let’s first start with my house!”

With the field in front of them, Elita leads Kelsey through the tall grass.  Can this be real?  Am I really following a fairy?  Did I really just come out of a tree trunk tunnel?!  Wait!  The tunnel!

“Elita, Are we going very far?  How am I going to find my way back here to go home?” Kelsey frets.

“He he!” Elita giggles “Don’t worry.  I’ve gone through the tunnel to your home.  I know where the tunnel is.  I’ll just bring you back here!”

Thinking about this, Kelsey is a little uneasy.  She still isn’t sure why Elita lead her to Trillatia.  Is Elita friendly?  Can I trust her? 

“Are you coming Kelsey?”

Kelsey smiles at Elita and starts towards her, “You bet I am,” Kelsey says, pushing these thoughts out of her mind.  They walk through the grassy field, Elita always flying ahead, then waiting for Kelsey to catch up, before darting ahead again.  I wish I had wings. 

Kelsey stops as Elita disappears into a field of yellow flowered grass.  Elita pops back out of the flowers.

“Come on!”  Elita petitions. “Don’t worry.  My home is just beyond this field.”

Cautiously, Kelsey edges forward, her stomach filled with butterflies.  Her thoughts go back to whether or not she can trust Elita.  She has got to be good…she’s a fairy!  She seems so nice.  I’m sure she wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.  Then her thoughts changed direction.  What are the girls going to think when I tell them about this!  Pushing the first few flowers to the side, Kelsey eases her way into the dense foliage of the flowered grass.

Check back next week to see Kelsey visit Elita's home!

Kelsey's Adventure: A New World

Finally…I See the Light!

Chirping birds woke Kelsey early Saturday morning.  Kelsey shot out of bed, brushed her teeth, brushed her hair, putting it in a ponytail, ate a quick breakfast, grabbed her hiking backpack, and ran out the door.  Her feet barely touched the ground as she ran towards the forest and the hidden door. 

As she got to the edge of the woods she slowed down, walking to make sure that she didn’t trip over anything.  It was easier to spot her pink ribbon also, if she wasn’t running.  She surveyed the forested area, but did not see any vines or her ribbon.

Taking out her cell phone she flipped through the photos she had taken of the forest.

Looking back and forth between her phone and the forest, she finally recognized a spot and began walking in that direction.

As she came around a tree she saw the vines with her ribbon tied onto them.

Her first instinct was to run, but she knew that she was a klutz.  The last thing I want to do today is fall on my face, get hurt, and have to go home without ever even getting to the door. 

She walked…but briskly, reaching the vines quickly.  She pulled the vines back as far as she could, stepped into the tree, and placed the key into the lock.

For one second the key didn’t turn.

Kelsey wiggled it, and heard the clink as it pushed all the way into the lock.  She turned the key, pulled the door, and stared into the dark tunnel for the second time.

Kelsey could barely breath.  This is it.  Today I finally find out where this door leads.  She takes her flashlight out of her backpack.  The flashlights beam pierces the blackness of the tunnel for thirty feet and then is consumed by the darkness.

In that thirty feet Kelsey sees only the wood walls, with moss spotting it every so often.  Watching her step, she begins her journey into the tunnel.  Every step further into the tunnel only revealing more tunnel and darkness.

Stepping over a large root, she glances up again to see where she is going and spots the orange light far off in the distance.

It pulses like a heartbeat, but stays completely still right in the middle of the tunnel.  Kelsey shines her flashlight in that direction, but the light doesn’t even come close to reaching that far.  Even so, the orange light disappears further into the tunnel.  Kelsey follows suite, watching where she steps as she goes.

At one point she looks back at the light from the door, now a small square of light no bigger than her thumb.  For a moment Kelsey fears how deep the tunnel goes.

What if I get lost down here?  She takes out her cell phone, noting that she still gets a signal.  Okay…that’s good.  

She slides it back in her backpack and continues down the tunnel.  It is amazingly straight, no curves or bends, just straight. 

The orange light appears again, a little closer than last time.  Hovering in the middle of the tunnel, pulsing, it makes no sound.

As Kelsey gets closer and the light hasn’t moved, she thinks maybe she’ll actually get close enough to see what the light is.  Just as this thought finishes in her head, the orange light moves away and then turns to bright white light.

Wait…that light is getting bigger.  That’s the end!  That’s the end!  Kelsey picks up her pace, not running, but going as quickly as she could, making sure she didn’t face plant.

The light was so bright she could not tell what lay beyond the tunnel.  After what seemed like an eternity, she reached the opening, the end of the tunnel.  She squinted, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the bright light.  What she saw was beautiful.

Find out what new wonders Kelsey sees next week!

Kelsey's Adventure: Rainy days

On to the Next Day

Tomorrow came, bringing strong rainstorms with it.  Kelsey sat in her classroom looking out the window with a disappointed face.   Why does it have to rain today?  There is no way I can go to the door when it’s pouring like this.  This is such a…

“Kelsey!  Kelsey!” Chavonne interrupts.  “Come on.  Class is done.” 

Kelsey sweeps her book, notebook and pen into her backpack, joining Chavonne as she leaves the classroom.  “Sorry…I was totally thinking of something else”, Kelsey explains.

“What were you thinking about?” Chavonne asks as they walk down the hall.

“Just daydreaming.  Wishing it was nicer outside.”

Chavonne laughingly says, “Aren’t you always daydreaming?  I don’t know how you are such a good student with all of the daydreaming you do.”

Kelsey smiles. “I’m just that talented.  I’m off to English for my test.  See ya!”  She waves and heads into her English class. 

“Bye!” Chavonne says heading down the hall towards her next class.

Kelsey sits down in her seat, takes out her pen, and readies herself for her test.  The class goes quickly as does the rest of the day.  Kelsey’s afternoon is filled with homework.   The rain doesn’t stop the entire evening and continues into the next morning.  That Thursday, school drags on.  As the day goes by and the weather gets nicer, Kelsey begins thinking about the door again.  She dreams of the wonders that she might find beyond the tunnel, as she eats lunch with the other girls. 

Meredith gets up from the lunch table.  “Kelsey, are you coming to soccer tonight?”

Oh no…I completely forgot about soccer practice!   Kelsey’s heart sinks, “Yeah, of course I’ll be there.”

Kelsey muddled through soccer practice, running the drills, playing scrimmage, but not really participating at full capacity.  

Afterwards, she packed up, went home, did her homework, and then it was time for bed.  Friday was another rain filled day.  Kelsey’s prospects of getting to the door before the weekend looked horrible.   Since the weather would not cooperate with her plans to explore the door, she made plans with Kyla to go see a movie. 

She had a great time with Kyla, and the movie was pretty good, but what she was really excited about was the stars that she saw when she came out of the theater.

Please be clear and dry tomorrow!!! She thought as she said good-bye to Kyla.  While she lay in bed, waiting to drift off to sleep, she checked her phone to see what the weather was going to be for Saturday.  

A sun above “Saturday” appeared on her phone, creating a huge smile on Kelsey’s face.  How am I going to sleep?  I am so excited!  Tomorrow I’ll finally see what is down the tunnel!

Her thoughts whirled around in her head.  

Thoughts of the orange light and what it might be, where the tunnel is going to lead, what adventures is she going to have?  Even with all of her excitement, she finally drifted off to sleep, but her dreams continued to contemplate what her day tomorrow may entail.

Kelsey is finally going to make it to the tunnel.  What adventure awaits her at the end?  Find out next week!

What a Scoot

Dana Trie Out a New Our Generation Outfit

Zooming around on a scooter is always fun!  Your doll should enjoy it too.  Luckily Our Generation released a deluxe outfit set that comes with a scooter.  That’s right…it comes with a scooter!  How cool is that?  The set is called “Cute to Scoot”.   It comes with the scooter (which folds up) a yellow visor, blue plastic slip on shoes, a plastic tricolored popsicle, a white and blue stripped t-shirt, and a bright pink skirt.  All for under $20!

The outfit itself is very simple.  The t-shirt has a white cotton fabric and a blue lacey mesh fabric that creates stripes on the shirt.  The shirt is baggy on Dana, but that’s okay.  The blue mesh stripes are strange, since you can see right through them.  Plus dolly fingers get snagged in this material.  It does make a cute shirt though.  There is Velcro up the back to make the shirt super easy to get on and off.
The pleated hot pink shirt has a ribbon around it, with a bow at the front.  It Velcro’s in the back to make it easier to slide onto your doll.  However you won’t need the added girth for your Journey Girls.  The skirt is gigantic on Dana!  The skirt falls off if it is not pinned or cinched around Dana’s waist in some way.  It is a nice skirt though.

Although not tennis shoes, these are the same lame plastic shoes that have shown up in many of the regular outfits.  They are big on the Journey Girls, but that is okay since they are slip-ons.  They will fall off though while playing with your doll. 

It’s nice to get something other than a headband or glasses with this outfit.  The sun visor has yellow fabric with elastic to help it stay on.  The brim is made of a clear flexible plastic.  It is a neat little addition to the set.  The popsicle is also neat.  Everyone knows you shouldn’t scoot on your scooter and eat a popsicle though.

The star of this set is the scooter.  It is made of heavy duty plastic.  The wheels are similar to rollerblade wheels (kind of a plastic rubber tire with a plastic rim).  The front fork folds down to lay flat on the pink standing platform by pushing up on the slider near the front wheel.  Cute pink and blue tassels hang off of the handlebars, matching the outfits’ colors.  The handles turn, which turns the front wheel.  On the bottom of the scooter there is a kickstand that helps keep the scooter upright.  This is an especially important part since the Journey Girls can’t bend their knees.  Without the kickstand Dana has to tilt her scooter with one foot on the scooter and one foot on the ground.  She can also stand on the scooter with both feet, but balancing her and it can be very difficult.  Dana’s hands hold on to the handlebars pretty well, but there is nothing that holds her hands on (such as a plastic strap or elastic). 

Rating
All ratings are out of 10

Value 10 – The scooter itself is worth $15.  The outfit is a nice outfit that has some good versatility.  The shoes aren’t awesome, but they are a little different than the normal tennis shoes, which is nice.  Great set for a good price.  Watch for sales and get this outfit for around $12!!!

Fitment 8 – The shirt fits well, but the shoes and skirt are big.  Actually the skirt is huge!  It can be modified easily to fit Dana though.  The scooter is a perfect size for Dana.

Versatility 9 – Everything can be used with other outfits.  The shirt is a very useful everyday top.  The skirt is a nice piece for school outfits or at play type of outfits.  The shoes can go with lots of different casual outfits.  The visor, scooter, and popsicle can be used for all sorts of summery fun.

Cuteness 8 –  It is a cute outfit.  The skirt is nice, with cute accents (like the ribbon on the waist).  The shirt, although strange that it is see through, is very cute.  The see through lace makes it look fancier than just printed stripes.  The visor is a nice addition to the outfit.


Overall 9 – A cute outfit that is very versatile with a wonderful accessory!  If you want something for your doll to ride around on and don’t want to pay at least $30, this is a wonderful option.  The shirt and skirt are big, but with some extra stick-on Velcro that issue is fixed easily.  Well worth the cost!