Tuesday 31 May 2016

** Our Family Vacation In The Lake District – May 2016 **

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A Fabulous Find In Our Change !
Check out this adorable Peter Rabbit 50 pence coin which we received in our change from a purchase at ‘The World of Beatrix Potter™ Attraction’ in Bowness-on-Windermere.
These coins were specially minted to celebrate the 150th birthday of Beatrix Potter (which is THIS year) and are available to purchase from the Royal Mint in a special collectors packaging, but I never dreamed to see any used in actual circulation. Blimey, hey … How cool !
This is certainly a favourite souvenir from our adventures in the Lake District this year, I must say. More on the few remaining exploits from our holiday will follow another day though ….
You can check out my blog about my life as a Disney doll, including many many photos of my adventures, on my facebook page here … https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ella-The-World-According-to-a-Disney-Doll/150797015075007

Thursday 26 May 2016

** Our Family Vacation In The Lake District – May 2016 **

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Day 4 – A Pleasant Ramble Through The Forest … But I Cant See The Wood For The Trees. Are We LOST ?!
Having had a well earned rest during our seaside excursion, by the 4th day of our holiday my twisted ankle was thankfully feeling much better again … Phew ! But my inquisitive daughters and their intrepid father were itching for some more excitement and adventure by now. Hmmmmmm, here we go again …
What better place to satisfy such a craving however, than the very forest area in which our holiday cottage was situated !? … Now there’s a plan indeed !
But would my plucky family think the same though ?? It was time to find out …
As it happens, the girls were rather more keen than I anticipated, and Rocky had no objections either … O–kay, I wasn’t quite expecting that. Ummmm, what now ?!! … I guess we’d better get going, hey.
So with minimal preparations the four of us headed off into the depths of this lovely woodland wilderness, on an impromptu expedition into the unknown … Ooooooh !
Grizedale Forest is a 24.47 km² area of woodland in the Lake District, situated between the lakes of Coniston and Windermere. It is made up of a number of hills, small tarns (such as our own Lake Dolly) and the settlements of Grizedale and Satterthwaite, which is only about 1.5-ish miles from our holiday cottage in the VERY tiny Hamlet of Force Forge.
The forest itself is supposedly an ideal place to go walking in the shelter of the trees, and is also a haven for wildlife. Being home to the only remaining indigenous woodland herd of red deer in England. There are also roe deer living in the forest, while the birds include buzzards and barn owls, as well as red kites, thanks to the recent Grizedale Red Kite re-introduction project.
With this in mind, Ruby and Emma were enthralled with the idea of trying to spot as many creatures as possible on our journey … Bless ’em, hey. Whilst we weren’t actually lucky enough to see any deer though, we did see many lovely birds on our travels, which the little cuties were eager to point out to Rocky and I at every opportunity. They found the whole woodland adventure VERY exciting indeed.
It was a wonderful day filled with some lovely family bonding moments. Mind you, I was a tad concerned at one point that we may end up getting lost in the depths of this seemingly never-ending forest … All this green and trees started to look rather samey to me after a while, and I didn’t have a clue where we were to tell the truth either … Ummmmm, Eeeeek !!
But I never let-on about my concerns to the girls though … I hope ?! …. Hmmmm, but anyway ….
Thankfully Rocky has a GREAT sense of direction, so he’d been carefully maneuvering our route the entire time to take us on a nice little circular tour which ended up right back at the holiday cottage where we started … Phew, nothing to worry about after all !
Not that I was panicking or anything … Ahem !
Back to my point again though …. It was strange to think that we were over half way through our vacation now, and I must admit I was a little sad about that realisation in some ways too … However, on a more positive note, it was nice to know we had a couple more days of adventure still to come none the less.
More on all THAT another time though ….
You can check out my blog about my life as a Disney doll, including many many photos of my adventures, on my facebook page here … https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ella-The-World-According-to-a-Disney-Doll/150797015075007

Wednesday 25 May 2016

** Our Family Vacation In The Lake District – May 2016 **

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Day 3 – Oh, I do Like To Be Beside The Seaside !
After the previous day’s mountainous ascent, I SO hoped that Rocky and the girls would be keen to enjoy something rather more tame for the 3rd day of our family holiday … Fingers Crossed !
Ironically I DID end up slightly twisting my ankle as a result of climbing in these daft impractical platform shoes of mine though, and as such I was in need of a bit of a sit down and rest. My thoughtful fella therefore assured me he had everything in hand for our next excursion … Mind you, I must admit that his sneaky smirk didn’t fill me with much confidence to begin with.
But I should’ve had more faith, because the fact that the sun was still shining meant that my astute husband opted to suggest spending a well earned leisurely day at the beach … Yippee !! Phew, thank heavens for that !
Not that I was happy about it or anything … Ahem, course not.
But moving swiftly along again …
Now, the one slight problem with this genius plan however, was the fact that the Lake District is not a coastal area of the country. So in able to achieve our aim we had to travel a little outside of the national park itself in search of the seaside.
Thankfully it didn’t take long to find in the end either, because we discovered this long, sandy, and VERY empty beach on a coastal road in the middle of nowhere between the villages of Aldingham and Roosebeck, which was not far from the seaport town of Barrow-in-Furness … It seemed PERFECT !
So we broke-out the sun-lounger and parasol straight away, setting up in camp in preparation for a day filled with sun, sand, sea, and the obligatory silliness and seaside shenanigans from the girls and their father.
Would you believe that my little Ruby was actually the well behaved one throughout the day though ? The little cherub was apparently far too busy quietly collecting up shells to make her own little castle-mound type fort creation thingy-wotsit, to even notice Daddy and Big Sister’s dopey singing and dancing antics for most of the day as it happens … Awwwww, bless, hey.
But I was treated to MANY a pitchy rendition of “Oh I Do Like To Be Beside the Seaside” from Rocky and Emma regardless … Hmmmm, yes well. Anyway …
I was just pleased to have the opportunity to sit back and sunbath in relative peace to be honest with you though … When my handsome husband and darling daughter WEREN’T making me giggle with their tomfoolery that is. Deary me !
In the end, I was laughing so much I HAD to join in to though. So lets all just sing along one last time, shall we …
♪♪♪ “Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside,
I do like to be beside the sea !
I do like to stroll along the Prom, Prom, Prom !
Where the brass bands play:
‘Tiddely-om-pom-pom’ !” ♪♪♪.

Now THIS is what a family vacation is all about … Mmmmmmm, happy sigh. And I couldn’t help wondering what other adventures the rest of our holiday would bring either ?
The answer to that will present itself when I upload the next of our holiday piccys another day though … So ‘Toodle-oo’ for the time being.
You can check out my blog about my life as a Disney doll, including many many photos of my adventures, on my facebook page here … https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ella-The-World-According-to-a-Disney-Doll/150797015075007

Tuesday 24 May 2016

** Our Family Vacation In The Lake District – May 2016 **

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Day 2 – A Rock Climbing Adventure … Ummmm, Y–eah Great !
I’m not exactly sure what came over my daft husband on the 2nd day of our holiday ? Whatever the case though, it seems that Rocky was more than a touch eager to put us all through our paces with this rock climbing idea which he’d inexplicably gotten into his dopey head. I dread to think what inspired it, but to be honest, I daren’t even ask.
Ahem, but anyway …
Now, you all know that I’m not overly fond of heights, nor am I the best of climbers as it happens. And that’s when it comes to relatively safe and simple things like the stairs or furniture in our human masters home. I make do though, just like all us dolls have to when it comes to tackling most things of your fleshy-beings scale … THIS rock-face on the other hand was a WHOLE different ballgame ! … What IS he thinking ?!!
GULP !!!
Of course, being the timid fraidy-cat that I am, I tried my best to get out of it, with many a feeble excuse. I even feigned a twisted ankle at one point, but it was to no avail … My astute husband saw straight through that rouse in a split second. Damn it !!
So seeing as the girls seemed JUST as keen as their father to indulge in this questionable pursuit … Well, in the end I realised that if you cant beat ’em, sometimes you just have to suck it up and join ’em !
I guess we’ll be heading upwards then … Hmmmmm ??
Thankfully I did make it through the day unscathed in case you were wondering, so don’t worry there are more snapshots from my holiday adventures to follow another day …
You can check out my blog about my life as a Disney doll, including many many photos of my adventures, on my facebook page here … https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ella-The-World-According-to-a-Disney-Doll/150797015075007

Monday 23 May 2016

** Our Family Vacation In The Lake District – May 2016 **

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Day 1 – A Picnic By “Lake Dolly”.
In case you haven’t already figured it out, Rocky, the girls, and I were away on holiday last week. We accompanied the human overlord on a nice little relaxing getaway up north to the breathtaking picturesque national park known as, the Lake District, in Cumbria.
Of course, this was not our first excursion to this scenic location, so we pretty much already knew they lay of the land. Leaving us free to explore and enjoy the area as we pleased upon our arrival … What fun to be given such freedom, hey … Okay, so perhaps our human isn’t QUITE as bad and overbearing as I sometimes make out. But, ahem … Anyway …
We were blessed with lovely weather throughout most of our stay, meaning we were able to have many more outdoor adventures than we anticipated. The first of which was a family picnic at the place we have affectionately named “Lake Dolly”, seeing as it’s a small doll sized lake which is only a short-ish walk from the holiday cottage and concealed amidst the forest. But no-one would ever guess it’s there if you didn’t already know about it to be honest, it’s that hidden !
As you can see from this piccy here though, our special little secret hideaway was JUST as pretty as on our previous visits, and it was the perfect place for us to sit back, chill, and appreciate the magic of nature in all its glory too … Mmmmmmm.
Naturally however, the scenery alone wasn’t enough to keep my two mischievous monkeys occupied for long. They spent most of the time running around chasing one another, rolling in the grass, and generally disturbing the peace as it happens … Kids, hey ! So in the end to pacify the excitable pair, and to get them to sit down for longer than 2 minutes, I offered to read one of their favourite Lake District Stories … ‘The Tale Of Peter Rabbit’ by a very famous former resident of these parts, Beatrix Potter !
Would you believe it, Ruby and Emma were SO enthralled by the story that not only did they calm down, but they also sat still the entire time I was reading to ’em … Even Rocky was quiet as a church mouse too now that I think about it. Hmmmmm ?! Just goes to show the power of Miss Potters wonderful stories … I’ll have to remember that for future reference, hey !
By the time I’d finished, BOTH girls were quiet, content, and a little sleepy though. So we packed up the picnic and carried the snoozy sweeties back to the holiday cottage in our arms …. Awwww.
It was a wonderful first day to our vacation, BUT there are still many more holiday piccys to follow another time …
You can check out my blog about my life as a Disney doll, including many many photos of my adventures, on my facebook page here … https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ella-The-World-According-to-a-Disney-Doll/150797015075007

Tuesday 10 May 2016

** Happy 3rd Birthday Ruby – 10th May 2016 **

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“You deserve three cheers some say.
Because you’re 3 years old today.
Hip, hip, hooray ! Hip, hip, hooray ! Hip, hip, hooray !
And a Happy 3rd birthday !“.
 
Today my precious little baby girl turns 3. Wow, it’s amazing to think that I’ve been a Mother for 3 whole years … Where has the time gone ?
 
Anyway, the birthday girl has been having LOTS of fun already, playing with her toys, bossing her big sister about (Big sigh), and getting spoiled rotten as well. Ruby seems especially enamored with her shiny new Lego truck birthday present, which she assembled this morning (With Daddy’s help of course😉 ). The little cutie-pie is SO taken with her new set of wheels that she insisted she wanted to show it off to you all too, and have a few of her favourite toy friends join her, for this birthday photo to mark her special day … Awwwww, bless, hey.
 
However, as much as I’d like to stay online and chat further with you all now, I had better get back seeing as we promised Ruby that she could have a birthday tea party with her toys this afternoon.
 
So I’ll sign off now with one last message for my beloved daughter on her BIG day …
 
“May your 3rd birthday make you three times as happy as your happiest day ever !”.
 
Happy 3rd Birthday Ruby !!
 
Love from,
 
Mummy (Ella), Daddy (Rocky), & Big Sis Emmy xxx
 
#Birthday #DisneyDoll #Doll #Barbie #FashionDoll #DollStory #EllaDisneyDoll #ToyStory #Cinderella

You can check out my blog about my life as a Disney doll, including many many photos of my adventures, on my facebook page here … https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ella-The-World-According-to-a-Disney-Doll/150797015075007

Wednesday 4 May 2016

The Fourth Awakens ... May The 4th Be With You !

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HAPPY STAR WARS DAY !!
Isn’t cosplay such great fun ? I dunno about the rest of you, but I simply LOVE dressing up for a special occasion.
Sadly however, us dolls have not had time to don our costumes for Star Wars Day this year, with one thing and another, you know how it is. So I’ve had to make do with one of the unused piccys from our fun May 4th photoshoot last year to mark this day.
Looking back, I’m still amazed how different I looked dressed as Padme though. You’d hardly know it was me, hey … Hehehe.
Anyway, have a great Star Wars Day everyone, and as they say in the film saga itself … May The 4th Be With You !!
You can check out my blog about my life as a Disney doll, including many many photos of my adventures, on my facebook page here … https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ella-The-World-According-to-a-Disney-Doll/150797015075007