Thomisa Posted Aug 20, 2012, 4:43 pm |
Hello My name is Mini Marshmallow. This is me:
And this is me with two future ToyVoyagers - Noodle the Dog and Wilfred the Owl. I live in Hertfordshire with my mum, dad, brother and sister. We live just north of London, where my mum grew up. We have lots of fun together but I'm very excited to be off travelling soon. My mum has always loved travelling and she wants me to experience lots of things in the world too. I told Mum that the thing I want to do most is eat lots of marshmallows. She wasn't too impressed... So she's helped me come up with 4 other life missions as well, which she thinks will help me grow as a person/marshmallow. PS I need to figure out how to put photos in the right places in my travelog |
Thomisa Posted Aug 20, 2012, 8:00 pm |
Well, I have just got back from my first family holiday! We went camping in Cornwall, in the south west of England.
This is me in the car just about to begin the long drive. I found the marshmallows but Mum said I wasn't allowed to eat them as they were for a yummy treat when we're there. Here I am on the beach: It was a lovely sunny day. I did a bit of sunbathing and turned a fetching, slightly darker, shade of yellow. Then the sun disappeared... We just managed to cook our bananas with Nutella chocolate spread and of course, mini marshmallows, before the rain came down and we had to run and hide in the car! It was rather delicious anyway though! Another day we went to Land's End, which is the furthest westerly point on the mainland. It was soooo windy. I very nearly got blown away a few times, but Mum held on to me tightly. That building in the distance is the first and last house in the country! It was so much fun on holiday. I can't wait to start my world travels. Mum said I can go soon, but not just yet... |
Thomisa Posted Aug 21, 2012, 4:26 pm |
When we got back from holiday, we found that Krümelknirps from Germany had arrived! I was so excited to meet him. He's from Nuremberg, which is a place my mum has visited. I'm looking forward to Krümelknirps telling me all about it.
Here we are watching TV together: I'm sure we'll have lots of fun. |
Thomisa Posted Aug 21, 2012, 4:35 pm |
Today we went to my grandad's birthday party. Lots of family were there. It was nice to see them as it's been a while.
It was such a hot day, we just ate cold meats and salad: Very delicious! No marshmallows though... |
Thomisa Posted Aug 22, 2012, 3:24 pm |
When we went to my grandad's birthday party today, we stopped off at the postbox.
This has been painted gold because a local person won a gold medal at the Olympics. There's another one in Enfield somewhere too. This is me with my new friend Krümelknirps. I'm very excited as Mum told me I'm allowed to start my world travels very soon. I have a host mum in Germany waiting for me, so I'm going to be off at the weekend. I can't wait!! |
Thomisa Posted Aug 29, 2012, 3:17 pm |
Oops, Mum wasn't very happy with me today. I was just walking up the wall and got stuck...
I had marshmallow on my feet! I should've eaten them more carefully and Mum would never have known I'd found them in the cupboard. Anyway, Mum says I'm off to Germany on Saturday. I need to start packing... |
Thomisa Posted Sep 2, 2012, 7:31 pm |
Well, I'm off! Wow, I'm so excited to be going on my world travels.
Here I am getting into the envelope. I'm on my way to my host mum's in Germany. Mum is very excited for me as she loved it in Germany. I hope I get to eat some marshmallows soon. |
olgamaus Posted Sep 10, 2012, 5:24 pm |
Hi Mummy,
I arrived at host's home today. Three ToyVoyagers, HolgiHH, MuhKuh, Emma Squirrel and my host Katja gave me a warm welcome. I took a look out of the kitchen window - there is a small park just opposite of the house! Now I'm going to explore the apartment. Bye MiniMarshmallow |
olgamaus Posted Sep 17, 2012, 1:01 pm |
Hi Mummy,
today we visited an arboretum in Wuppertal, the "Staatsforst Burgholz". An arboretum is a collection of trees, sort of a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study. We went to "Staatsforst Burgholz", a woodland area which is situated in both urban area of Wuppertal and also the urban area of Solingen, but only a small part of it. When World War II was over, there were nearly all trees felled for rebuilding of destroyed city areas and also as firewood. Searching for fast-growing forest species trees from foreign counties were planted than in this area to study their growth in local weather conditions. Plants from North America, South America, Asia and Europe were planted. There are several walking paths through the arboretum, of course we chose the longest of them, about 6 km long, displaying a variety of trees from Europe, America and Asia. At the parking lot we found a map of the arboretum area. We decided to walk along a path showing trees of Northern America. In the background, along the slope different kinds of conifers were planted. This is the sign we had to follow. You can find informations about the foreign trees. The path was covered with clover. Yellow flowers ... Our path is meandering through the forest. Look how good "Chief" Emma Squirrel was looking! Finally we saw sequoia trees. This was a very interesting trip. Bye MiniMarshmallow |
olgamaus Posted Sep 17, 2012, 4:13 pm |
Hi Mummy,
after attending a birthday party and eating far too much we felt an urge to take a walk in the late afternoon. First we went to the municipal park, only a few minutes to get there. On our way there we came along those nice dwellings. This is the police headquarter with a little park in front of it. We went to the municipal park than. In the entrance area you can find the observatory. We enjoyed the lovely weather. We left the park to reach the historical district Hasten. Here many lovely old houses remained after large parts of the city centre of Remscheid were destroyed in WW II. There are calm streets to live in . I like those traditional houses with their green shutters. This Patrician villa was built in the late 1790 years. Nowadays a museum is situated in the building. The German Tool Museum (Deutsches Werkzeugmuseum) is also situated on this estate. Here you can see some of severeal outdoor facilities. This looks like some kind of weird instrument of torture Another calm residental area ... From here we had a good overlook to the green surroundings of Remscheid. Remscheid is an old industrial city. You can often find industrial complexes - often historical ones - among dwellings. This is a famous producer of car seats. We decided to take a longer way home, through another park. My current home is in the house just beyond the park. It's really nice to look into the trees flooded with sunlight (or rain ). Bye MiniMarshmallow P.S. Until today my host did not make any effort to buy marshmallows for me. She seems to be a person with more healthy food preferences. What a pity! |
olgamaus Posted Oct 1, 2012, 3:01 pm |
Hi Mummy,
today I had a look at Katja's larder. As if there was only healthy food Peanut butter, more peanut butter, chocolate, honey, cans ... and ... marshmallows! Katja's dauther was here on a visit, she helped me to make the perfect BBQ marshmallows. Than she even had a better idea: We made marshmallow-banana-shashlik with chocolate! YUMMY! Love MiniMarshmallow |
olgamaus Posted Oct 2, 2012, 1:10 pm |
Hi Mummy,
we took a short walk in the late afternoon in the surrounding forests, most of them are nature protection areas. Summer is over now, have a look at the fruits of a plane tree. The path was following a railway track for some time. Once more we walked through a housing area with those lovely houses. We had to hurry home than, it started to rain again. Bye MiniMarshmallow |
olgamaus Posted Oct 6, 2012, 8:07 pm |
Hi Mummy,
we are having lovely weather today - a good opportunity to take a walk in the surroundings of Remscheid. There is a lot of green around, several outskirts are hidden there. Turkeys ... they will probably end as a thanksgiving dinner! Not so at my host's home - she is a veggie The sheep did not recognize us at all. We found the remains of a villa hidden in the forest. The house is no longere there, but those stairs. We walked through a rural area than. We enjoyed the sunshine Back in the valley we found some old mill ponds. This is the creek the valley was named after - Morsbach. From here we had to walk uphill for some time to get back home. Why does my host has to live on top of this hill? Bye MiniMarshmallow |
olgamaus Posted Oct 12, 2012, 9:18 pm |
Hi Mummy,
today there is a national holiday in Germany - it's German reunification day! This means my host does not have to work, but to take a walk with the TVs instead We went to the neighbour city Solingen to take a walk in the outskirts. First we walked through a forest for some time. We reached a more rural district than. A lovely medieval castle came into sight than. Although it seemed to be rather close to us my host told me that we'd had to walk some minutes to get there. Time for a rest Than we reached the castle. Katja told us that it was originally built in 12th century by one of the former reigns of this county. We took a look at the courtyard with many shops. Here you can buy wine and several spirits. One of them is called "Hexenschuss" - German colloquial speech for low back pain. This memorial is showing Adolf IV, count of Berg who originally built this castle in early 12th century. In the following centuries it was enlarged, destroyed an rebuilt until nowaday'Äs appearance. You have a stunning view to the surrounding valleys and forests. I bought a post for you, Mummy. I'm going to send it next week. Love MiniMarshmallow |
olgamaus Posted Oct 13, 2012, 9:39 am |
Hi Mummy,
today I helped Katja to make pancakes. The receipe is 6 eggs 200 ml milk or milk with water 200 g wheat flour salt Mix everything and let it rest for about 15 minutes. Than preheat a pan with oil and make delicious pancakes. Help! There are furry little aliens running around, trying to pinch my feet! Hell! What was that??? Ferrets! Katja told me that she liked her pancakes filled with tomatoes and cheese. What would I like? I had an idea .... MARSHMALLOWS! I took strawberry jam and a few marshmallows ... While I was waiting for my pancake I saw that the pile went higher and higher. Ready! Bon appetit! Bye MiniMarshmallow |
olgamaus Posted Oct 20, 2012, 12:08 pm |
Hi Mummy,
the weather has gone crazy - we are having sunshine and about 20°C. This was a good reason to make an excursioin to one of the touristic highlights of this reason. Because my host does not have a car, we took a long walk through lovely rural areas and forests to get there. Katja's son accompanied us. We walked to a distrcit in the West of Remscheid and reached this lovely point soon. We went into the forest than. Oh, what a lovely view, all those golden leafes! We rested on a bench for a moment. This is an extremely large beech - Katja loves this tree. This tree is showing several route markings. The encircled "R" means Roentgenweg. It is following the border of the municipal area of Remscheid, about 62 km long. It is named after the founder of the X-rays who was born in Lennep, one of the historic districts of Remscheid. We simply had to follow our path downhill to the bottom of the valley. River Wupper is flowing in the valley. I saw a cute little outlook pavilion at the opposite side of the valley. Katja told me that you had a spectacular view to our destination from there. We were visiting Muengsten Bridge, Germany's highest railway bridge. It is connecting Remscheid and the neighbour city Solingen, overspanning the valley of the river Wupper. Here it came into sight. The bridge was built of steel in late 19th century, it is 465 m long and 107 m high. You can find more information here in English. The bridge is so wide that it is nearly impossible to take a proper photo of the whole bridge. Of course our host knows the location where she could take a halfway proper picture. On our way there we had a look at the leisure park which was built under the bridge some years ago. You can find large lawns with benches for relaxing, playgrounds for the kids, a crazy golf course and riddles. We preferred sitting on a bench, enjoying the lovely surrondings and the sunshine. Isn't it looking fantastic? We had to walk back home than, uphill this time. We came along a stadium, construction works were taking place there. Can you see the church tower in the background of the photo? This is where I am living at the moment, another five minutes walk from this church. I am terribly tired and my feet are aching - I will fall into bed immediately Bye MiniMarshmallow |
olgamaus Posted Oct 26, 2012, 3:23 pm |
Hi Mummy,
we took a walk along river Wupper today. We went to Solingen-Unterburg and than into the forest. Katja showed us a weir. Following the river was fun. We found an ear trumpet which intensifies the sound of water running down the rocks - in rainy months a waterfall! ] Where are my ears!? Later we left the river bank and went uphill into the forest. Here we found fly agaric. .. across the valley of river Wupper. Later Katja showed me lovely old houses in Unterburg when we went back to the car. Most of them were built in 18th und 19th century. That's all for today. Love MiniMarshmallow |
olgamaus Posted Nov 6, 2012, 8:12 am |
Hi Mummy,
today I packed my things and hopped into an envelope. I am now on my way to the USA, paradise for marshmallow lovers Have a look at the ugly weather! So I said good-bye to my friends here in Germany. I hope this trip will not last so long. Bye MiniMarshmallow |
Chloe09 Posted Dec 5, 2012, 10:06 pm |
Hi Mom!!
Greetings from Minneapolis! I've arrived here safely! I was scared to come out of the safe envelope but was greeted by NoMi and a few furry friends! Now I'm off to a great Thanksgiving dinner with Chloe and her family! Can't wait to see what kind of dinner I get to try! Much Love, Mini Marshmallow |
Chloe09 Posted Dec 6, 2012, 5:23 am |
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!
NoMi and I ate, drew pictures and had fun! We met a bunch of other Toy Voyagers at the Thanksgiving Get Together!! Shopping is next on our agenda! Can't wait! Much Love, Mini Marshmallow |
Chloe09 Posted Dec 6, 2012, 5:55 am |
We went shopping today!! I didn't buy anything but I found cute things! We first went to Crate & Barrel, Coach and Hardware Restoration! These were some pretty cool stores and fun stuff to see! There were so many cool things I wanted but couldn't get.
Next on to the Coach store........ |
Chloe09 Posted Dec 6, 2012, 6:05 am |
Now the Coach Store!! So expensive purses, wallets and more but soo cute!
The last store we went to was called Restoration Hardware. VERY unusual stuff to see or buy and it's awesome!! Had so much fun shopping today! Yay!!! Much Love, Mini Marshmallow |
Chloe09 Posted Dec 12, 2012, 4:49 am |
Snow, Snow, Snow!!!! First time we get to see the snow! yay!
Kibblet, Franz-Ferndinand, Pit, Kasimir and I played in the new fresh snow and even got to shovel a little bit!! That was hard!! Can't wait to go play, sled or build a snowman in the snow!!! |
Chloe09 Posted Dec 21, 2012, 7:26 pm |
We said goodbye to our friend Franz-Ferndand. Hugs go around. He is off to a Bali Christmas!
I'm now off to a fun movie/craft night with Mini-Marshmallow. Had a wonderful cup of tea, that Chloe received from a swap on swap-bot.com! It was delicious! We enjoyed popcorn while we watched The Princess and the Frog, as well as Tangled! Wonder what's going on next.......so much fun! |
Chloe09 Posted Jan 5, 2013, 12:08 am |
Merry Christmas!
|
Chloe09 Posted Jun 17, 2013, 4:13 pm |
Hello!!!
All of us toy voyagers were there. All 12 of us!! We had cake, went jumping on a trampoline and presents for Chloe’s mom, Grandma and aunts! =) HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY, MOM!!! Much Love, Mini Marshmallow |
Chloe09 Posted Jun 24, 2013, 8:04 pm |
Yay!!! I'm on my way to Iola, KS!!!!
Much Love, MiniMarshmallow |
MamiTig Posted Jun 27, 2013, 1:29 pm |
MiniMarshmallow arrived safely in Iola, KS! |
MamiTig Posted Jun 27, 2013, 1:31 pm |
We had to pick up kids at the airport, so of course we took advantage of being in the area to feast at the Ghengis Khan restaurant! The host family LOVE this place because you can create your own meal and watch them cook it on the giant grill stone! |
MamiTig Posted Jun 28, 2013, 4:50 am |
Host mom took us out to the community garden at about 10 pm to look at the supermoon, since there were too many trees around the family's house. It didn't seem that enormous from where we stood, but it sure was a pretty orange! |
MamiTig Posted Jun 30, 2013, 3:56 am |
Today's adventure involved playing with baby hedgehogs! They are so prickly, but adorable |
MamiTig Posted Jul 1, 2013, 8:37 pm |
Host mom's project today was to make 2 pairs of blue slippers, to go with the cosplay costumes she is making. They turned out to be adorable! |
MamiTig Posted Jul 2, 2013, 4:54 am |
Today host mom took us to Chanute to run some errands. She stopped to show us the lovely, historic down town area. The yellow brick building called the Tioga Hotel has a wooden elevator much like the one featured in the old movie The Shining, but we didn't have time to go in and look at that part. |
MamiTig Posted Jul 7, 2013, 4:53 am |
I was so excited to be on vacation with my host family, at Broken Arrow Ranch in north central Kansas. We are here for a week of family camp, with about a dozen other families. The first thing we did when we arrived was unpack and make ourselves at home in the cabin. Next, we spent some time playing in the recreation area. In the evening, we enjoyed a campfire service on a bluff overlooking the Tuttle Creek Reservoir. Sunset was stunningly gorgeous! |
MamiTig Posted Jul 7, 2013, 7:09 am |
On the second day of vacation, we started the day with a worship service in the Green Cathedral. Then, went to the beach. Later, we enjoyed an outdoor cooking lesson where we made foil-wrapped packets with olive oil, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, yellow and red bell pepper, onion, fri-chik (vegetarian meat substitute), sage, salt, and pepper, that we roasted on a fire. |
MamiTig Posted Jul 13, 2013, 4:52 am |
We celebrated the Fourth of July (American Independence Day) with an All-American (though, all vegetarian) luncheon. In the afternoon we had another cooking with Travis lesson, and learned to make baked cinnamon apples on a camp fire. In the evening, we had a campfire worship service that was followed by fireworks over the beach! |
MamiTig Posted Jul 14, 2013, 6:48 am |
The host family started the day with ziplining, but we didn't get to go because host mom was afraid she'd lose us. After that was a yummy lunch with veggie burgers. Then host mom took a picture of the view from the cabin on the way back to take a nap after lunch. After our nap we went to play in the recreation room |
MamiTig Posted Jul 16, 2013, 5:21 am |
On our last day of camp, they brought us breakfast in bed... a basket full of cereal, milk, orange juice, and fresh, hot scones! It was a great way to end a wonderful week. After that we packed up, and we stopped to take a look at the tall grass prairie and the Flint Hills at a vista just outside of Broken Arrow Ranch. |
MamiTig Posted Jul 19, 2013, 4:15 am |
The day after we got back from family camp, host mom took one of her sons to summer camp at Hidden Haven. Just outside the camp, she stopped along the road to show us the black-eyed susan flowers that were growing along the road. They are one of the many forms of sunflower that grow in Kansas. |
MamiTig Posted Jul 21, 2013, 11:42 pm |
We joined in the festivities at the Mad Bomber Run (a community event celebrating a piece of local history) by helping the middle and high school band booster club run carnival booths. |
MamiTig Posted Jul 22, 2013, 3:31 am |
We had fun helping to get ready for the Sabbath potluck at church. There were so many fun people and so much delicious food that I had a fabulous time. We got to look at the To Save A Life movie kit that host mom shared with the church elders and got approval to show it at church and do a discussion group with teens this fall. |
MamiTig Posted Jul 23, 2013, 5:29 am |
We got to go to a wedding! Host mom has been friends with the bride's mom for over a decade, and got to watch her grow from a little girl into a young woman. She was such a beautiful bride, with a country style wedding. |
MamiTig Posted Jul 26, 2013, 4:44 am |
I was one of a few special TVs that the host family took on a bus trip to Wichita to see the Drums Across Kansas drum corps competition. We rode on a school bus with other local band kids (and a few parents) to the Cessna Stadium. We got there a little early so we got to wander around and see the bands practicing. Then we went into the stadium to see the show, which was was beyond amazing!!!! |
MamiTig Posted Jul 29, 2013, 4:26 am |
We took a trip to Springfield, Missouri to go on a ghost hunt with the Paranormal Task Force! We stayed at the University Plaza Hotel, which has a reputation for being haunted, and visited the Pythian Castle for the ghost hunt. We didn't experience anything unusual, but it was interesting to explore anyway. |
MamiTig Posted Aug 4, 2013, 4:16 am |
After an exciting night of ghost hunting, we stopped at the beautiful Precious Moments Chapel on the way home. Host mom said she has traveled to many places in the world, and this is one of the most peaceful places she has found. |
MamiTig Posted Aug 7, 2013, 3:46 am |
The host family took us to the Allen County Fair! We saw different kinds of livestock, baby animals, baked goods, and handicrafts that people entered in the fair. |
MamiTig Posted Aug 11, 2013, 5:39 am |
Tonight was our first night in Tulsa... we watched the host family and friends get ready for the rave at the Tokyo in Tulsa anime convention! |
MamiTig Posted Aug 13, 2013, 5:05 am |
The host family were really busy with the convention today so most of the TVs stayed back at the hotel. But I got to tag along and see the prejudging for the cosplay contest, the vendor's room, and to just hang out. When I got back, I looked at the view of downtown Tulsa from our hotel room |
MamiTig Posted Aug 14, 2013, 4:36 am |
On our last day at the convention, we spent some time just sitting and watching the people pass by in the hall, near the artist booths. Some of them were very interesting! |
MamiTig Posted Aug 17, 2013, 5:24 am |
On the way home, we stopped at Red Robin in Owasso for lunch. We love the veggie burgers, but service was crazily slow!!! The table just behind us had 3 sets of customers while we waited for our food, grrr!!! But, the veggie burgers were delicious! |
MamiTig Posted Aug 21, 2013, 1:35 am |
Host mom made this bright and lovely outfit for one of her daughters. MiniMarshmallow thought the color was very cheerful |
MamiTig Posted Aug 21, 2013, 3:09 am |
We went to deliver hedgehogs to PetWorld in Lawrence, KS. It's the best pet store in the world (at least, the host family thinks so). The staff are super friendly and they let you pet the animals and teach you all about them! |
MamiTig Posted Aug 28, 2013, 2:30 am |
After delivering hedgies, we headed about 30 minutes to the east to run a few more errands, then ate dinner at delicious Sweet Tomatoes! |
MamiTig Posted Aug 30, 2013, 4:47 am |
Host mom made a second outfit, for her other youngest daughter! |
MamiTig Posted Sep 5, 2013, 4:00 am |
We took a trip down to the Neosho River to check the water levels. At the beginning of summer, the entire area was under extreme drought conditions and you could easily walk across at hip level. Now the water levels are showing at over 9 feet deep!!! We got a lot of much needed rain this summer! |
MamiTig Posted Sep 9, 2013, 12:39 am |
MiniMarshmallow is ready to travel! |