Rain, rain, go away! We want to go to the beach and play! (By Julie)

Hi everyone! It's Julie :) Today ended up to be soooo much fun, just not in the way we thought... In the morning, we all sprung out of bed at 6 in the morning, threw on our bathing suits, slathered on sunscreen, and didn't even bother opening the window shades! It was Kit, who slept in late this whole time, while we were preparing for our day at the beach. When Kit woke up 30 minutes later, we were still getting ready. She simply yawned, and looked out the window. Kit yelled, "I don't think we're going to the beach today!" We all gathered around the window, while Felicity checked the forecast for the day. It didn't take a weather forecast to tell us that it was thundering outside, and rain was pelting everywhere. We all moped around, and were very upset. Angela even started crying. But Kirsten had an idea. "Why don't we have an indoor beach party!" At first, the idea seemed unrealistic, and a bit silly. But soon, Carely started assigning cooking jobs and planning out a lunch buffet, Kit, Marisol and Kirsten offered to be on the games committee, while Angela and Samantha offered to put up decorations. Soon, we all became optimistic that we would bring the sunny beach home to us. Molly put on some tropical party music, and we started the silly preparations! 

Angela and Samantha went off to find some decorations. We hadn't had a tropical party before, so we had to be creative with our decorations. Rebecca went up into the attic to look for the streamers, and Angela looked in the basement. They were in the attic. But nobody had told Angela that they had already been found, so she kept looking deeper and deeper into the basement. Pretty soon, we heard an EEK!! Angela had tangled herself up in a huge spider's web! We all came running down, to find that it was just an old halloween decoration! Well, she found some decorations alright! After that little excitement, they went on with their festive decorating, still giggling about the fake spiderweb!

After they were done decorating the kitchen, the cooks: Carely, Kaya, and Kit continued with the food preparations. First, Chrissa recommended her family's tropical pie recipe to Carely, and the two of them cooked the pie. Meanwhile, Kit started working on the punch, then during the decorating break, forgot all about her job! Kaya took over afterwards, making a delicious fruity tutti orangy punch! Besides the punch and pie, the cooks worked on the mashed potatoes, salmon, and a fruit bowl, with a little help from Kirsten!

When the food was done, Felicity and I decorated and set up the buffet table. When Carely, Kaya, and Chrissa came out with the food, they had the most amazing table to put it out on! (I really shouldn't brag...) We used a tiki mat over a tropical floral tablecloth, and with the hawaiian music on, it truly felt like a tropical paradise! 

Now, it was time to get our food! It all tasted delicious! We talked about how fun our party has been so far, even to prepare! All the games committee members couldn't help but spill the beans about the big hot potato game coming up at the end of the party! They said we would use a starfish instead of a potato. We all complimented the amazing chefs for such an amazing looking meal, and we began to dig in!

MMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!! The salmon, the pie, the mashed potatoes, the Orangy Punch, the fruit! We had such a fun time sitting around (or standing) eating a tasty meal, and chatting!

After lunch, we decided that we should have a chance to relax before we started the games. Jessica ran straight for her beach towel! With the ocean sounds CD on, I bet Jessica felt like she was really at the beach!

We played limbo, volleyball, and then some individual games were set out. Kirsten and Samantha played chess, Molly, Angela and Kaya played go fish, (Molly was planning on going fishing at the beach anyways!) Felicity, Jessica and Rebecca headed towards Chinese checkers, and Kit and Josefina played a mean game of regular checkers! The rest of us played tag around the sofa! After that was done, and we all had our laughs, we hyped ourselves up for the big game of hot potato!

We started hot potato, or as we now call it, "Slimy Starfish!" Molly cranked up the tropical music again and offered to control the music. Pretty soon, we were passing around the toy starfish! The game was really going when lots of us were out, and we played until we had a winner. Drumroll please.....

The winner was Kit! We all congratulated her and all ate a second helping of Chrissa's delicious tropical pie! What a fun day! We learned that even when the weather lets you down, you can still have a ton of fun!

Summer Spa Day (by Marisol)

No More School!!! Today was the last day of school for us dolls. And boy are we glad! The last few days of school were full of studying, studying, and more studying! Our teacher gave us three tests in the last week of school! Instead of going outside to play on the last day of school, we all collapsed on the couch! Felicity was the only one who seemed to have any energy. Then suddenly, Felicity shooed us all out onto the porch. We were confused but we were too tired to move a muscle. Then an hour later she came back and let us back into the house. When we dragged ourselves back inside, we discovered that Felicity had transformed the living room into a relaxing spa. She had set up different forms of pampering for us to enjoy. There was a table for manicures, a spot on the couch for massages,and chairs for facials. She even had calming music playing quietly. We were pleasantly surprised and found enough energy to enjoy relaxation. Kit thought that the facials were a snack and started to dip cucumbers in it and eat it!!! Eww! Felicity had to go make more of the mixture. We had a nice time getting our nails painted in rainbow colors, giggling at how cold the facials were, and trying to keep cucumbers from falling off of our faces! It was such a nice surprise. Thank you Felicity! What a great way to start off the summer!

Earth Day Birthday! (By Angela and Molly)

Hey, it's Angela! April 22 was Earth day. But it was also Molly's birthday! Molly just celebrated her big Eco-friendly Birthday Bash last weekend! Molly has been planning this party for months. So all of the AG Gossip dolls followed the instructions on our invitations made of 100% recycled material and met on the elaborately decorated back porch at noon. Everybody was there, except Molly! It didn't take long for us to get bored. At 12:10, Felicity suggested we play a game while we waited. "Hide and Seek!" Jessica shouted. The AG Gossip dolls are fierce competitors and cannot resist a good game of hide and seek. We all dispersed and hid. I dove under the cushions of the sofa and carefully concealed every strand of my blonde hair. I got nervous and anxious as time passed. Then I heard a soft whimper. I was curious, but thought this might be a trick to get me to reveal myself. I listened closely as the sobbing got closer and closer, then BAM! Someone sat on me. My scream joined another as I jumped up. I looked to see Molly, startled on the floor. We both burst out laughing. Slowly, the other dolls came out of hiding to see what happened. It turned out nobody had been seeking! So when Molly arrived, we were so well hidden that Molly thought she was all alone at her party. The day improved a lot from there. We made cute pillows out of old T-shirts, planted seeds in Julie's garden, and ate Carely's chocolate cravings cake.  We all had lots of fun. Happy Belated B-Day Molly!

Hi, it's Molly! I just had my birthday party last weekend!  Unfortunately, I couldn't celebrate on my real b-day because our schedule was filled with concerts, horse shows, and many other big events. On the day of the party, I had to do some last minute preparations. I went over to the AG Gossip cafe to pick up my birthday cake. I pre-ordered the Chocolate Cravings Cake, an original recipe by Carely. I also asked them to write "Happy B-Day Molly!" in green icing on the top. I got my cake, checked out, and began to make my way home. I glanced over at the cake to see how it looked. Uh-oh! On the top of the cake it said "Happy  Birthday to Billy!" Hmmmm... Billy? I had the wrong cake! I looked at my watch, 11:58. Oh no! My party was about to start in 2 minutes! I had to go all the way back to the AG Gossip cafe. Unfortunately, there weren't any more Chocolate Cravings cakes left. So I told them to just add my name next to "Billy". After that, I raced home and rushed through the door. "Sorry I'm late!" I exclaimed. I looked around for someone to answer me, but nobody was there. Where was everybody? The party was supposed to start 15 minutes ago! Did everyone leave me? I started to cry and sat down on the couch. "Ouch!" came a voice. I jumped up and screamed, so did the voice. Then I saw  Angela, peeking out from behind the couch cushions. We both started cracking up. "Angela, what are you doing under there?" I asked. "Well we were playing hide and seek...but I guess nobody was seeking!" she giggled. All of the other dolls came out eventually. Soon we were all on the floor, laughing together. The party was great after that! All of the activities were fun and went as planned. I got a really cool paper recycling kit that I had wanted, an Eco-friendly water bottle, and many other great gifts. The cake was delicious! Except for the wrong name...(which was a hilarious story to tell!) What a great birthday!

March Madness (by Jessica)

 

Hey, Jessica here! Sorry we haven't posted lately! March has come and brought a way more hectic schedule. Between orchestra recitals, spring cleaning, shopping, homework, and more we haven't had time to do much anything! March has also brought warmer weather and basketball season! March 10th marks the day of the our school's basketball try-outs. So, during the first weeks of March I led a training club open to all AG Gossip dolls who wanted to be on the team. Felicity and Julie energetically signed up for my training club. Every day leading up to March 10th we exercised. I led the group in morning jogs, shooting hoops, and playing practice games. By the time try-outs came around, we were all well prepared. On the day of the try-outs, I packed a gym bag with a pair of gym shorts, a t-shirt, sneakers, and a bottle of water. The school day whizzed by and I raced to the gym as soon as the dismissal bell rang. Coach Mavis ordered the students to make a single file line in front of the hoop to show her our free throw skills. She would jot down notes while tightly clutching her clipboard, her face twisted in a scowl. After a little more than an hour, Coach Mavis dismissed the athletes. We were all sweaty, exhausted, and nervous. We all really wanted to make the team! On Friday, as soon as I got to school I dashed to the gym door, where the results were posted. A large group of students had already formed around the two lists. There were squeals of joy and teary sniffles. I hoped I made it. As I stood on my tiptoes to try and get a better  look of the list, I spotted Julie. She bounded towards me and shouted "We made it! All three of us!" I screeched with joy and hugged Julie tightly. Felicity was also excited but we didn't have much time to celebrate, practice started today! I was the first one in the gym, after school. Slowly, more students trickled in and joined me on the bleachers. Julie quickly located me and took a seat next to me. We wondered where Felicity was. Coach Mavis congratulated us on making the team. But she quickly warned us that we were in for a lot of work. The dark creases in her forehead suggested that she was not going to tolerate any nonsense. Coach Mavis had started to hand out neatly typed practice schedules when all of a sudden Felicity burst through the gym doors. "I'm so sorry I'm late!" she said out of breath. Coach Mavis scowled and said, "Let this girl be an example to everyone. I will not tolerate tardiness, if you are a minute late or miss a practice do not bother coming back because you will no longer have a spot on this  team." Felicity's face turned white and she opened her mouth in protest. Her eyes started to fill with tears, you could tell she was fighting an urge to cry. Before Coach Mavis could say anything I stood up and said, "It's not Felicity's fault! I asked her to turn in my composition for English because I had forgot to."  Coach Mavis narrowed her eyes skeptically and shifted her gaze to Felicity. "Is this true?" she snapped. Felicity quickly shook her head yes. "Fine. You can stay. Now go sit." Coach Mavis growled. Felicity scampered up the bleachers and slid next to us. Her eyes thanked me a million times. Coach Mavis droned on about rules, rules, and more rules. It was the longest hour of my entire life. We ran out of the gym when she dismissed us, it was extremely hard to listen to her that long! For that week we trained hard. Julie, Felicity, and I got to practice 10 minutes early everyday to avoid being late. Coach Mavis lead us through grueling workouts yelling at until we were at our very best. Our first game was on the 19th and Coach Mavis was NOT going to let us lose. After 5 days of running laps around the gym, shooting hoops, and other demanding workouts it was the day of our first game. Felicity, Jessica, and I had to be at the school earlier than the rest of the dolls, who were coming to cheer us on. We slipped into our red and white uniforms, laced up our tennis shoes, and put up our hair and we were ready to go. We arrived at school 30 minutes before the game, right on time. That extra time was spent by receiving a very uninspiring pep talk from Coach Mavis. She told us that we had to win this game and that we better play well because she was not afraid of cutting a few players. When it was game time the team looked very nervous and unconfident. Our opposing team had arrived which did not help our team's confidence. They looked like professionals in their navy and gold uniforms. I felt beads of sweat form on my forehead, even though I had not even begun to play. I spotted the rest of the AG Gossip dolls in the second row, they were all wearing our school colors. Kit even painted her face! They smiled and waved, making me feel a little better. The national anthem played and everyone sat back down.The game didn't start off too bad. Julie scored a 3 point shot right off the bat. But, things only got worse. By halftime the score was 18-31 and we were losing. The other team just kept scoring points, and our defense just couldn't catch up. Coach Mavis was surely making a scene! She was screaming and yelling at us and blaming the other team for cheating! Our school cheerleaders didn't raise our spirits. Even seeing Molly bounding around in the mascot didn't make me smile, like usual. After the third quarter, things weren't so bad. We had started to make a comeback. The score was 37-42. Even with Coach Mavis's screaming and threats, our team had never been more determined. Everyone ran faster, jumped higher, aimed better, and kept up good defense. The score was 52-53 and we were down by one point. There were 16 seconds left on the clock. Felicity stole the ball and was dribbling down the court with a member of the opposing team right behind her. It looked good for us! But then when she approached the net she collapsed on the ground clutching her ankle and yowling in pain. The audience gasped and all the players froze in shock. Then in an instant Felicity smiled, got up, and made a winning slam dunk! No one could believe their eyes. The crowd went wild and we cheered in victory. And for the first time ever I saw Coach Mavis smile. I couldn't believe my eyes! We all celebrated by going out for ice cream. All everyone could talk about was about Felicity's big stunt! She was a really good actress! Hooray for Felicity, the Hoop Hero!

Valentine's Day Scramble (by Chrissa)

The fourteenth was the loveliest day of the year: Valentine's Day! A day to show all your loved ones how much you care. At school we have a valentine exchange. We all make each other valentines and then the teacher passes them out to the class. As soon as we got inside the classroom, we put our creativity to the test and colored, cut, glued, and designed unique cards for each of our classmates. I wrote a short poem inside each of my friends valentines. Then, we headed off to lunch and anxiously hinted about each other's cards. Samantha longed to get a valentine from her secret love, Johnny. She blushed when Carely told us about the poem in her diary she found on the scavenger hunt! We all scurried back to class as soon as lunch ended. When we entered the classroom we were delighted to find piles of colorful valentines on top of our desks. I picked a card off the top of the large stack and began to read it. The front had a picture of a lion holding a flower. On the inside it read, "I love you, and I'm not lion!" I laughed because it was so cheesy. It was from Julie. I wondered why she decided to put a lion on it she knows my favorite animal is a dolphin. I liked it anyway! Just then I heard Kit shriek from behind me. I turned around and saw her holding a pink, heart-shaped valentine with the letters "S+J" on the front. She read it to me. "Roses are red, Violets are blue, It was love at first sight, when I laid eyes on you." "How could My dear Jimmypoo not know how to spell my name? Kit starts with a K not an S! I thought he knew me better," cried Kit. I found this amusing because whenever Kit is around Jimmy all she does is try to impress him with her corniest knock-knock jokes! Not once has she told him her name! I went back to my desk and continued to look through my cards. A lot of people seemed to not know me very well. People complimented me on my great singing voice, my mad cooking skills, and my flowing blonde hair...none of which I think of myself as having. I was very confused on the way home and couldn't think about anything else for the rest of the day. Even at night I had a dream that I was being kissed by a giant lion... Ew! The next morning I woke up early because I heard a noise I the kitchen. I sleepily walked into the kitchen and found Samantha hastily making her lunch. I asked her why she was in such a hurry. She grabbed a valentine out of her pocket. It had a heart on it with "J+K" in the middle. It read "Meet me by the lake tomorrow morning for a Valentine surprise." Before I had time to ask her anything else, she snatched her lunchbox, backpack, and her valentine and skipped out the door. Fifteen minutes later the rest of the girls were ready to walk to school. We decided take a short cut that passed by an apple orchard, around the lake, and to our school. We were all laughing and talking when we heard a scream. We ran toward the sound and saw Samantha standing next to Jimmy. Kit gasped. Then I realized something. I rummaged through my backpack and grabbed the first card I saw. It was a card from Josefina that said, "To the girl with the beautiful, flowing blonde hair, I wish you the happiest of Valentine's Days." I read it out loud to everyone and they all laughed. I asked Josefina if this was the card she had made for me. "That was Jessica's card!" she exclaimed. "See," I said "Everyone's valentines got mixed up!" As soon as we got to school, we all inspected each others valentines and gave them to their rightful owners. When I read my real card I discovered that I ended up being complimented on my kind heart, generosity, and creativity. That's more like it! My lion card was exchanged for an adorable card with two dolphins that said, "To an amazing swimmer and very sweet doll-fin!" Kit and Samantha's valentines had also got swapped, and they were very pleased with their actual cards! In the end we  learned what had happened, Ms. Johnson told us that it is a good idea to put people's names on their cards! Oops! Happy Valentine's Day from all of us at AG Gossip!

January Hair Styling Contest Winners (By Angela)

Hi everybody! It's Angela! We know you have been all waiting to hear the results of our January Hairstyling Contest. Well, after some very hard decisions, we came up with our winner. 

Congratulations, EMMA!

Emma's new do, The Floral Flip will become a new hairstyle at the snazz salon! To find the Snazz Salon page where the hairstlyes are, look at the links underneath our logo, and select the one that says Snazz Salon. We hope you enjoy this new hairstyle, and have fun creating your own fun hairstlyes for your dolls as well!  

The Floral Flip

1.  Put doll's hair in a low pony tail. (Leave two hairs in the front that are thick enough to braid)

2. Braid the two hairs. (Tie off with an elastic) 

3. Tie the two braids together with another elastic. 

4. Get a fancy pony tail holder that has a flower attached to it.

5. Use the flower pony tail holder and tie it over the elastic.

6.  Use a clip and clip the end of the two braids that are tied together to the back of the doll's head.

Enjoy!! We hope you enjoy the hairstyle as much as we did! In fact, we all ran over to the Snazz Salon to try it out! Here are some pictures of me and Marisol wearing our new Floral Flip!

Guess What? You can send in a photo of your doll wearing the Floral Flip, or any other Snazz Salon hairstyle to contest@aggossipblog.com. Your photo could be posted on the Snazz Salon's website!

Happy Chinese New Year! (by Julie)

Gung Hay Fat Choy! That means "Happy New Year" in Chinese. All of us dolls here at AG Gossip have decided to learn more about this unique holiday. After researching, we discovered some ways how to celebrate Chinese New Year. People hang wishes written in Chinese on red paper in their homes, write spring couplets, have extravagant parades, and eat large feasts with their families. We all tried to wear a piece of red clothing because the color red is good luck. I didn't have anything red, so I wore pink instead! Hey, that rhymes! Speaking of rhymes, the first thing we did was writing couplets. Couplets are short poems. Here is mine. "Chinese New Year shed your light, bring forth a holiday that's joyful and bright" I was so proud of myself! But, I wasn't the only one who was proud of their poem! Kit up and read hers out loud, "Fortune cookies, so many to pick...I ate too many and now I am sick!" We all laughed. Our next activity was making banners. Chrissa got out some red construction paper and Jessica printed out some Chinese calligraphy and we made banners saying wishes like "happiness" or "friendship". Then we hung them up all over the house. We even found some Chinese lanterns to help brighten the walls! After transforming our house for Chinese New Year we were starved! Luckily, Felicity walked in carrying Chinese takeout for us. She said it was almost impossible to find a Chinese restaurant that was open on Chinese New Year! We had a delicious feast. Of course we had fortune cookies for dessert! Everyone was careful not to eat too many, after hearing Kit's lovely poem. This is what my fortune cookie said, "Take time to acknowledge the achievements of others, you will find satisfaction." Sounds like we need to post the results of our hair do contest. Don't worry, the results will be posted soon! We finished of the day by parading around the house, doing our best dragon dance! We wish you lots of good luck in the new year. Gung Hay Fat Choy!