The Totally Rad JustDolling Holiday Special

      

       Hey guys! I’m Courtney, but I’m so awesome, I don’t need an introduction. I’m bringing you a very special post today— all written and directed by me! 

^See this epic picture of me? Yeah, that’s what I look like

        Not too long ago, my siblings all agreed that we needed to do a holiday special. Now, this is surprisingly tricky because there are 35 of us. We didn’t do a Christmas special really, and we didn’t technically do a New Years special, either. We considered a Valentine’s Special, but I stand by my belief that Valentine’s Day is made up and refuse to celebrate it. We considered waiting to do an Easter special, but that would be pretty inconsiderate to our Jewish friends that are—- uh, actually I’m not going to spoil anything. Forget I ever said that! Now, I’m a lot smarter than a lot of my other siblings, so I pointed out that first of all, we let Lunar New Year slip by without saying anything, and we have dolls that celebrate it! We need to add that to the list of missed holidays, which by now is growing pretty long. I wasn’t about to let another holiday get added to the multiplying list of missed holidays. So, I suggested we celebrate a real, American holiday, and the best one I know of—- President’s Day! Now, no one cared to tell me that President’s Day isn’t really celebrated, although we still get school off every third Monday in February. They all think I’m too much of a lost cause. One of my two BFFs, Molly McIntire, instantly agreed. I knew she would. After all, didn’t I just say that we’re BFFs? I knew she either agreed to it because the holiday has fallen into obscurity or—- who am kidding? It’s Molly! I have no idea why she would have agreed! But, to my surprise, everyone else seemed to consider my idea until- BOOM! Everyone was onboard! So, because I’m the genius that came up with the idea, I’m directing this totally rad post. 

         We wanted to come up with something special. Something totally knock-your-socks-off awesome. Something so epic and so rad, that President’s Day becomes one of the great holidays like Halloween and Christmas. I put my last two brain cells together, and had the awesome idea for the raddest (and probably first) President’s Day extravaganza ever. 

        Now, if you’re one of our readers in Canada or elsewhere, don’t worry. President’s Day might only be celebrated in the US, but this story is still so epic and rad, that you’re going to want to keep reading. 

         It all began last Monday, because I needed to make sure we had enough time to get my super awesome extravaganza planned. A quick Google search revealed all I needed to know about the holiday. 

^Yup, that’s me Googling stuff

        Since we now have two kids from the Piney Grove Theatre group in our house, I knew right away what the finale would be. I set Kit to work on the script for the super awesome President’s Day Extravaganza Production Finale. PDEPF for short? 

^My siblings eventually got very tired of me taking pictures of them. :) 

       Also, did you know that Kit isn’t her real name? It’s a pseudonym, whatever that is. Her real name is Margret. I had no idea and I’ve lived here for like, two years?!

        Anyway, on Tuesday, Kit (Margret??) presented to me the script, freshly typed and right off her typewriter. 

^This was actually typed on a real typewriter! 

    I read the whole thing, and then stayed silent for a moment, thinking of just the right words to describe it. 

         “This is… kind of terrible.” I said finally. 

^It was really bad. Like, really bad. 

          Kit (Margret) shrugged, and I knew it was the best I was getting. It definitely wasn’t going to win any awards, and that’s coming from the girl who forgot all her lines in her second grade performance. Nonetheless, I figured the show must go on. 

        Everyone wanted to help me with the extravaganza. Even my slightly-arch-nemesis, Lea, volunteered to help out. I took that as a win, because even though she didn’t actually admit that I’m a genius, she was totally thinking it.

^Smile for the camera, Lea! I’m the photographer today! 

     Grace and Blaire were in charge of making snacks, there was a large group in charge of costumes for the final production, and even my slightly-frenemy, Maryellen, promised not to say anything about aliens or Bigfoot or sea monsters during the extravaganza. 

          The only thing that wasn’t going so smoothly was the finale itself. First of all, we only have 2 theatre kids and Kit’s (Margret’s) play had 3 characters. Claudie immediately volunteered to fill this position. That’s the good thing about Claudie. She’s very enthusiastic. The bad thing about her is that she gets in her head. She thinks she’s not a good actor, and when she focuses on her mistakes like that, well, she messes up even more. She’s really not that bad of an actor. I mean, she makes mistakes, but I make, like, 10000 mistakes every day and I’m still epic. 

^Poor Claudie! She kept forgetting her lines. 

     She was getting really frustrated and it was obvious that I needed to do something. I pulled her aside. 

          “Hey Claudie,” I said, “you know you’re actually, like, a good actor, right? I really think you’re capable of doing this. But, if you’re too frustrated, I can find another job for you.” 

          She shook her head. “I want to do something that will actually help with the extravaganza. I was hoping that me being in the play would be useful, but I’m honestly just messing up, and I know that’s a problem.”

           “Do you wanna be the event planner? I know it doesn’t sound that fancy, but you could help me put this whole thing together. There‘s a lot to keep track of…” I paused. “And besides, we both know how unorganized I am.” 

            Claudie smiled. “Yeah. That sounds more up my alley, actually. If you think you can find an actor to replace me, then I’ll gladly do it.”

            Claudie turned out to be an amazing event planner, and I didn’t mind not having enough actors, either. Not having enough actors meant that we couldn’t perform Kit’s (Margret’s)… rather interesting play. Cécile and Eden were glad about the opportunity to do their own creative thing. They are the biggest history buffs I know, after all. They wanted to keep the bulk of their performance secret, but I did hear that Cécile was going to recite the Gettysburg Address. Four score and seven years ago…

          It was Thursday, and the extravaganza was coming together more than ever. That’s when my other BFF, Logan, asked:

          “What exactly is an extravaganza?” 

^Ignore the fact that I’ve been wearing the same clothes the whole post. Dolls don’t need to change every day and this outfit is particularly awesome. 

         I rolled my eyes. “CLEARLY, it’s something totally epic… something extravagant.” I was proud of my fancy choice of words. 

           “Actually,” Claudie said, “what is an extravaganza, exactly? Like, what are we supposed to do?”

            “It’s an extravaganza, guys! The word speaks for itself!” I said, apparently unconvincingly. 

            Claudie whipped out her phone and typed something in Google. “An extravaganza is an elaborate and spectacular entertainment or production,” she read. “So I see how you’re kinda doing that with the play, but what else are you going to do?” 

^That’s totally not the phone I was using earlier in the post. Shhhh….

         “It’s a secret,” I admitted. I had only wanted everyone to know their own parts, not what the whole extravaganza would look like. “But Claudie, since you’re my event planner, and Logan, since you’re my best friend, I’ll tell you guys. Here’s what we’re going to do…”

         After a weekend of hard work, it was finally President’s Day! Are you ready to know what the extravaganza looked like? 

         Lea made this awesome graphic for me to use on this post! 

          Lots of presidents have famously enjoyed ice cream (AS THEY SHOULD), so we had some delicious vanilla ice cream! Thomas Jefferson is credited with writing the first ice cream recipe in American History, so Grace and Blaire followed his recipe! Here’s a link if you want to make it yourself: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/thomas-jefferson-s-vanilla-ice-cream/ (Don’t worry, it’s been adjusted to modern measurements and techniques!) 

^Yummy Ice Cream!! 

         We ended up doing a different finale, so the play was next! Eden and Cécile did a great comedy sketch, which I’m going to guess was Eden’s idea. Cécile did recite the Gettysburg address, which is probably the most Cécile thing in the world to have memorized, so nobody’s surprised. She recites it quite often to get on our nerves, actually. 

^I had to sneak this photo of the performance! You’re not supposed to have your phone out during a play!

         Speaking of memorized- our new finale was memorizing all the presidents of the United States! This was totally Claudie’s idea, I’m going to admit, and Logan found the best president song! Let me tell you, these two are pretty awesome. They may even be as awesome as me some day. I wish you guys could see us singing it, but here are the lyrics instead! 

(To the tune of Yankie Doodle)

America’s president, number one, Founding Father George Washington

John Adams, second president, the very first White House resident

Thomas Jefferson, number three, doubled the size of our country

James Madison, number four, led us through the English war

James Monroe is number five, his Monroe Doctrine still survives

Another Adams, John Quincy, rose to the sixth presidency

Seven, Andrew Jackson, was a frontier common man

Eight, Martin Van Buren, first president born an American

Nine, William Harrison, passed away, one month after Inauguration Day

Then John Tyler, number ten, ended war with the Indians

James K Polk, eleven, looked to westward expansion 

Twelve, Zachary Taylor, of the Army, nicknamed ‘Rough and Ready’ 

Thirteen, Millard Fillmore, in his eyes, best for all was a compromise 

Fourteen, Franklin Pierce is here, the Civil War is drawing near

James Buchanan, fifteen, the one bach’lor we have seen

Sixteen, Lincoln, ‘Honest Abe’, signed the law that freed the slaves

Seventeen, Andrew Johnson, started reconstruction 

Eighteen, Union General Grant, Ulysses led troops with good judgment 

Nineteen, President Rutherford Hayes, pursued the south in many was

James Garfield, number twenty, killed while in his presidency

Chester Arthur, twenty-one, sought reform and got it done

Grover Cleveland, twenty-two, remember him, ‘cause he’s not through

Twenty-three, Harrison, comes again, William’s grandson, Benjamin 

Grover Cleveland, twenty-four, expanded Civil Service, elected once more

William McKinley, twenty-five, Spanish-American War arrived

Teddy Roosevelt, twenty-six, ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick!’

Twenty-seven, William Taft, you see, biggest man in the presidency

Woodrow Wilson, twenty-eight, thought a League of Nations was great

Twenty-nine, Warren Harding, Post-World War One, ‘normalcy’ promised to everyone 

Calvin Coolidge, number 30, Taught one and all frugality 

Herbert Hoover, thirty-one, the Great Depression had begun 

Franklin Roosevelt, thirty-two, with his ‘New Deal’ the country grew

Harry S. Truman, thirty-three, won with atomic energy

Dwight Eisenhower, thirty-four, commanded in the Second World War

Thirty-five, John F. Kennedy, assassinated in ‘63

Thirty-six, Johnson, Lyndon B., declared a ‘War on Poverty’

Thirty-seven, Richard Nixon, went far, opening China and the U.S.S.R

Gerald R. Ford,thirty-eight, moved the nation past Watergate

Thirty-nine, with all his might, Jimmy Carter fought for human rights

Ronald Reagan, forty, from the west, taught the world that freedom’s best

George Bush, forty-one, with solid form, freed a nation in ‘Desert Storm’

Fourty-two, William Clinton, President through the Millennium 

George W. Bush, number forty-three, strengthened Homeland Security 

First to be elected of African descent, Barack Obama, forty-fourth President 

Donald Trump, number forty-five, Dow Jones, COVID on the rise

The most recent, forty-six, Joseph Biden was the pick

That’s the end of the Presidents Song, until the next election comes along 

Yup, I wrote down all the lyrics! I love to make my life difficult! The lyrics are also in the song, which I’m attaching! 

How’s that for a president’s day special? I think it’ll go down in history, if I do say so myself. Thanks for letting me write this post- I’ll catch ya on the flip side! COURTNEY OUT! 

^Bet you didn’t notice that I started AND ended this post with a selfie! 

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And now a note from the girl that runs the blog:

        

           Hey everybody! I really hope you enjoyed Courtney’s post. She’s definitely something else, and, well… her personality speaks for itself! When she heard that I decided to do a holiday special, her and Molly begged that I do one for President’s Day instead of Valentine’s Day! I’m quite proud of her, actually. She started working on this last Monday (before Valentine’s Day, even)! I think I might just let my dolls write their own posts more often, because I love how much their personalities show through, and it’s a really great way to get to know them even better! Again, I hope you guys enjoyed what Courtney is now calling “an explosion of awesomeness” as much as I did. I’ve been feeling very inspired for posts lately, and made sure to write down my ideas, so hopefully there are even more enjoyable photostories and such in the next few weeks. I won’t spoil anything for now. 

        Also, on a different note, I finally sent Min-Ji to the doll hospital! I also sent Ivy because she had a little accident way back around the time I did a photoshoot with her. If you don’t remember, Min-Ji had silver eye and bubble eye, but I’ve never mentioned poor Ivy’s Injury! It just wasn’t too big of a deal, but my dog got stressed and chewed off some of her foot. They both just got back yesterday/Sunday/the day I’m writing this. I was so nervous, but I’m so happy with how they came back. 

     Ivy got all new limbs that are super tight! 

     And Min-Ji looks so beautiful with her new eyes! And if you’re wondering, yes, they still replace silver eye for free! Just send the doll like normal (you have to pay for it) and the doll will be sent back completely fixed with a note saying the doll was fixed free of charge and you’ll get a refund. 

       They also styled both Ivy and Min-Ji’s hair! 

         A cleaning was also included with both dolls’ packages, but Ivy got all new limbs, so she obviously looks super clean. I had never cleaned Min-Ji before, but I was happy to see that all her marks came off! She’s in perfect condition now! 

        I was pretty surprised that Min-Ji got the full treatment and extra goodies, because I had heard that dolls fixed free of charge didn’t receive that! Overall, I’m so happy with how my dolls look now and would rate the doll hospital 10/10! 

That’s all the excitement for now! Have a great week and remember to eat your veggies! Bye! <3