Winter Fun

Kelsey and Dana Go Tubing

On a beautiful Minnesota winter day, meaning the temperature is just above freezing, Dana and Kelsey grab their winter outerwear, getting ready to go tubing.  They grab their matching donut snow tubes after putting on their snow-pants, jackets, hats, and boots.

They arrive at the hill, joyfully bounding up to the top.  Kelsey turns to Dana, "I'll give you a push so you go super fast!"

Dana hesitates, but sits down in her donut tube.  "Let's do it!"

Kelsey begins pushing Dana's back, running behind her as she closes in on the lip of the hill.  Once she crests the lip she gives Dana one final shove, then runs to get her own tube.   Dana squeals with glee as she cruises down the hill. 

Kelsey runs to the lip of the hill, jumping on her tube.   She flies down the hill, laughing as she goes.

Dana slows down as she gets to the flat area at the bottom of the hill, allowing Kelsey to catch up to her.  They both race up the hill again. 

This time down each of them run and jump on their tube together.   Neck and neck, they slide down the hill.   Kelsey begins to pull ahead of Dana, then suddenly she hits a bump.

CRASH!

Dana rushes over to Kelsey, "you okay?"

"Oh yeah," Kelsey giggles as she gets up. 

Grabbing their tubes they make their way up the hill again. 

After many more times down the hill, they call it a day.

"Before we leave, let's get a hot chocolate from the lodge." suggests Kelsey.

"Oooo...that sounds wonderful!" agrees Dana.

Sitting on one of the benches the girls drink their hot chocolates, enjoying the beautiful scenery as well as their hot drinks.

"This was a lot of fun!"

Kelsey nods, "absolutely!"

Slalom Skiing With Kyla

Kyla's Downhill Skiing Run

Kyla's heart is pounding as she waits at the top of the hill for her turn to race the course.  She takes purposeful, deep breaths, calming herself as she does.  Then, "boop", the horn sounds, she pushes hard with her skis and poles as she starts down the hill.

She cuts past the first gate, hitting it with her shoulder.  She makes a hard right on the second gate.  She can feel the snow move beneath her skis.

Kyla sets up for the next gate; a left hand turn over a drop off.  As she flies past the gate she gets a little airborne, but lands quickly to keep her speed. 

Only a few more and then she's done.  Another, hard right, hitting the gate.  

Then, a left.  She speeds to the end of the course, tucking into as aerodynamic of a shape as she can.  Swoosh!  She's over the finish line!

Kyla is happy with her run and her time, but she heads back up the hill for another practice run.

Kelsey's Adventure is off for the WInter

But Not to Worry!

There is going to be a break from Kelsey's story for awhile.  Not because I want to…but because I live in an area where the weather already thinks it should be winter.  Trillatia just doesn't look right with snow!

So there will be a 4 month or so break in Kelsey's story.  I was hoping that I would be able to get enough photos to last through the winter, but that unfortunately did not happen.  However…that means some of the other girls are going to get their own series.  Yay!

Chavonne's story will start showing up near the beginning of November.  Also Dana will get a trip story, much like Kelsey's trip to Chicago story.  And then there are a few other surprises I have for the winter.

I'm sorry that Kelsey's story has to go on hiatus.  I hope you'll come back in the spring and follow Kelsey again and until then, I hope you enjoy the other Journey Girls stories and reviews.

Thanks for reading!!!

Callie and Kyla Out In the Snow

Callie and Kyla Enjoy Some Time in the Snow

Callie went outside to model and enjoy some decent winter weather.  If it's above freezing, it's a good day in the north.  Callie takes advantage of the "nice" day and goes for a walk, modeling her new jacket as she goes.

Callie wearing an Our Generation coat. 

This jacket is awesome.  It is made of "wool" and has a satin inside.  It's got heavy butting up the front to keep Callie nice and warm.  It came with some not so great boots…so I switched them out for some Journey Girl boots, that are a little better.

The knit mittens are very cute.  They fit great.  They aren't too big or too long.  They are just perfect.  They had a string attaching them.  Reminds me of being a kid.  My mom always had a clip or string to try and make it so that we didn't loose one of our mittens.  I would have had a lot less single mittens if I had this string connector.

The scarf is nice and long so that you can do different things with it.  I do wish that the outfit had a hat or some earmuffs.  Callie's poor ears are getting cold.  Over all this is a wonderful outfit.  I really love the colors….bright and different.

Kyla wanted to go out also, but her outfit is much more practical and fun.  She has an outfit from the Queen's Treasures.  The Panda hat is from Walmart.

The jacket is very well made.  It is nice and puffy!  It also comes with a hood that can be taken off.  The mittens are a little big, but still fit well.  They look bigger then the Our Generation mittens.  They work well with the jacket though.

The boots are made of the same materiel as the jacket.  They are very cute and are functional, but they don't feel as real as the rest of the outfit.  I love the little bit of "fur" on the boots.  When the hood is on the fur matches fur that is on the hood.

Just like all of the other Queen's Treasure outfits, this is a very well made outfit.  The pants are big (because they are designed for American Girl dolls) but everything else fits great.  If you need a nice little winter play outfit, this is a great option.

Callie and Kyla had a great time outside, but they were glad to go inside and warm up by the fireplace. Hope that the winter is treating you well.  And I hope spring comes soon!

Kelsey at Millennium Park

Kelsey's Adventure Begins at Millennium Park

Kelsey wakes up early (a little too early) in the morning, excited to get out and see the great city of Chicago. She eats breakfast and suits up for the day.  It's only 20 degrees out, so she makes sure that her coat is zipped all the way up and that she has her scarf be fore she heads out. 

One of the first things that Kelsey sees at Millennium park is the band shell.  It is awesome!  "I wish it was summer, so we could hear some music," she says.  

But as quick as the thought comes on she is off to the next sight...the big bean!!!  The Bean is so simple and so wonderful at the same time. 

It's a huge jelly bean shaped mirror, that reflects the city and everything in it.  It is Kelsey's favorite place of the whole trip.  She takes a picture in front of it, then sends it to the other girls with a "Miss you!" text attached.

"Wow...how cool is this thing!" Kelsey is in awe of the bean as she reaches up to touch her own reflection.  "Oo! It's super cold.  Do not lick that...your tongue will totally stick to it," she says laughing.

Kelsey admires the huge video faces.  Some of them make her laugh.  These huge faces are projected onto clear glass blocks that look like ice.  I tell her that in the summer these sculptures shoot water at you, but that right now they are turned off.  Very cool!

Kelsey stops by the entrance to the park to get her picture taken with the city in the background.  Then it's off to the garden area.  A lot of the garden's are closed off because of the cold, but she gets to see a little bit of it.

The walking bridge to the other side of Millennium Park is a windy silver bridge.  Kelsey loves the design of the bridge.  It's so different and neat.  I snap a photo of he walking down the bridge.

One last stop at the bean before we head back to the hotel.  21 degrees is okay, but the city is living up to it's windy name...and that wind is bitter cold!

Kelsey takes a few photos of the bean and of Millennium park then it's back to the hotel to warm up.  Plus she's got to stop and try some Chicago deep dish pizza!

Kelsey is excited to see what tomorrow will bring…but today she is ready for some food, some rest, and some warmth.  Chicago is a lot colder than Kelsey thought it would be.

Check back later for more of Kelsey's Windy City adventure!

Mikaella Scores a Perfect 10!

Mikaella as an Ice Skater

Mikaella doesn't always like the cold winter, but she has learned to make the best of the cold weather by finding fun activities to pass the time.  Her favorite winter activity is ice skating.  On a nice warm day Mikaella heads out to the skate rink and laces up her new skates.

Mikaella ice skating

Mikaella skates across the ice, cutting a thin line with her skate blades.  Back and forth she sways, her skates making swishing sounds as she glides around the rink.

She turns around and around, then jumps into the air.

Mikaella lands and skates away backwards.  "I didn't fall!  I didn't fall!" she thinks.  She is so excited that she has learned a new trick. 

She skates away with a smile on her face.  She is becoming quite a little skater.

Mikaella is wearing part of an outfit from the My Life As…line from Walmart.  The outfit comes with a  fur shrug.  The dress has a felt top and a tulle covered satin skirt.   Mikaella is also wearing tights and skates from the Springfield collection.   The skates are made of fake leather and lace up.  They are wonderful.  Together they make a great skate outfit for Mikaella.

Callie Out in the Snow

Journey Girl Callie Takes Photos in the Snow

Callie was my first model for my photos.  I'm not sure that she was lucky to be the first.  She modeled the American Girl coat from last year.  For some reason I thought…a skirt with no tights goes well with this coat.  Poor Callie is probably freezing.  On the bright side she has some cute pictures of her in the snow.

Callie modeling the American Girl winter coat from 2013

Callie is trying to catch snowflakes on her hand.

Finally, it was too cold for her and she had to wear her hood.

Bye everyone!  Callie waves as she takes her last photos.

She immediately went in for a hot chocolate!

Callie is wearing the American Girl Winter Coat (which is awesome…here is a review).  She has on her London meet outfit underneath (a pink skirt and white t-shirt).

Kyla Wearing The Queen's Treasures Pink Jacket

Journey Girl Kyla Preparing for the Winter

Sledding, snowball fights, building snowmen, and going on sleigh rides; these are just some of the great things that can be done in the winter.  To play outside, a girl has to have the right outfit.  The Queen’s Treasures helps out with a beautiful warm pink jacket.  The jacket comes with a white t-shirt, that velcro’s up the back, black pants, pink knit mittens, and a sleeveless puffy pink jacket with a fur lined hood.  Not pictured is a hanger and a plastic garment bag that are also included  Kyla is wearing boots from a Journey Girls shoe pack. 

Kyla wearing The Queen's Treasures pink winter jacket.

This is a great winter outfit.  The jacket itself is wonderfully made.  All the stitching is high quality.  The jacket looks like a puffy jacket you would get for any little girl.  The zipper works really well.  It is a little big, but not horrible.  I like that the Queens Treasures used a zipper rather than Velcro, like the American Girl doll jacket.  The hood fits well.  It is difficult to get all of Kyla’s hair in the hood and pull it up where it looks okay.  You can put Kyla’s hair down the inside, back of the jacket, if you don’t like it out the side.  I like the “fur” on the hood.  I would like white fur, but I like that the Queen’s Treasures decided to do something different than American Girl and everyone else.

The shirt is big on Kyla.  It still fits, but it is big.  The Queen’s Treasures items are made for American Girl dolls, which have bigger torsos then the Journey Girls.  The pants are also big.  The pants fit better than the shirt, though.  The pants won't fall down, they just aren't as fitted as Journey Girl brand pants. With the jacket on you really can’t tell that either the shirt or the pants are big on Kyla.  The mittens are awesome.  Again they are a bit big, but still fit.  The color is different than the jacket.  The colors don’t clash, they are just a little different.

Comparing this jacket to the American Girl jacket is hard.  The American Girl jacket is so, so cute.  It’s a different style than this one.  I think the American Girl jacket is a bit more dressy.  I can’t see the girls going out and having a snowball fight in the AG jacket.  The Queen’s Treasures jacket can be used for playing, but without sleeves, it’s probably not a dressy jacket.  Over all I would pick the Queen’s Treasures jacket.  It is a full outfit, rather than just a jacket.

Rating

All ratings are out of 10

Value 9 – This jacket is awesome!  Especially since it is an outfit rather than just a jacket.  It's not as puffy as the American Girl jacket, but nothing that makes it feel cheap.  Everything is well made.  At under $30 this is a great outfit.  Two things that would have made it a ten; shoes or boots included, and sleeves.

Fitment 9 – The jacket fits perfectly on Kyla.  The pants and shirt are big, but still fit okay.  As you can see in the photos, you can't really tell that the shirt and pants are big.  The mittens are great and fit well. 

Versatility 9 – Just like the American Girl coat…this is a one hit wonder…as far as the jacket is concerned.  The shirt and pants are wonderfully versatile.  The jacket is more of a playtime jacket, rather than a dressy winter coat.  That is good, the girls need something to wear while playing in the snow.

Cuteness 9 – This outfit is great! The jacket is really cute.   I love the fur accented hood.  The mittens are awesome!  It's a grab ensemble.  Again…wish it can with boots.

Overall 9 – This is definitely a 9.  No issues, great design, cute looks, good versatility, and great value! Watch www.thequeenstreasures.com for specials on the outfit to get it 40% off.  That is a steal!!!  If you are looking for a great winter play outfit, this is the one I would suggest.  Keep warm!