He’s here! He’s here! I feel like we’ve been waiting forever for the release of the new American Girl doll, Logan Everett. The rumors have been swirling for months that a boy doll was in the works and I think I got roughly 50 messages asking if it was true. I’m happy to say that the rumors were true, and Logan Everett arrived this month at American Girl on Valentine’s Day. 
If you know my son, you know he’s one of the biggest fans of American Girl that there ever was. It started when my daughter got her first doll when she was 4 and he was only 2, and that love has grown exponentially throughout the years. He was crazy excited when he was given a boy Bitty Twin we scored second-hand, but I always wished there was an 18” boy I could buy for him. 
You should have seen his face when his sister and I surprised him with his own Logan Everett doll at the Seattle American Girl café last week. Not only was he over the moon excited, but so was his sister who has been dying for him to get his own doll for years and years. She had been plotting since before Christmas about how she could get him a doll if they came out with a boy and Logan was everything she had hoped for for her brother.
News & Reviews
The perfect bread machine white bread {and how to keep it fresh}
I’ve gotta brag for a moment: I haven’t bought bread in over 5 months. If you know me, you know that I’m simply not a baker. I can cook, but baking is just too technical for someone like me that has problems following directions. So, the fact that I’m baking all of our bread is a really big accomplishment. And, the fact that the kids like it is a small miracle. 
My intro to baking started as a quest to find a decent sandwich bread that I could make in the bread machine, and I just wasn’t finding anything awesome and the kids were very disappointed with the results. I wanted our weekly loaf to be soft enough that it would make a good sandwich loaf, but also dense enough so that it didn’t just fall apart when you spread peanut butter on it or sliced it thin.
So, using the handwritten notes of my grandmother scribbled in the margins of the bread machine cookbook she gave me, I decided to modify the recipe we liked the best using a little trial and error and a lot of help from grandma. Thanks, grandma!
Admittedly, there was quite a bit of error, but it was actually kind of fun trying out different ingredients and measurements. While doing this process I was really glad I was using the bread maker, as it took me out as a variable and made it easy to pinpoint ingredient and measurement changes because the process was so uniform.
When we finally hit on the perfect recipe, we were high-fiving in the kitchen as we enjoyed our now-famous loaf fresh out of the bread machine. The kids have now memorized the recipe and can basically do every step of the process, they just wait for me to plug it in and set it on the correct bread setting and loaf size.
10 winter activities for families in Mt Hood, Oregon
The south slope of Mt. Hood is home to Government Camp, a gorgeous alpine village at an elevation of 4,000 feet. The average snowfall is close to 300 inches which gives you a great chance to enjoy some fun, snowy weather activities for a day or two, or you can plan a longer stay and enjoy all that Mt. Hood, Oregon has to offer.
Here are 10 of our favorite things to do in Government Camp that are kid-approved and fun for families:
The LEGO Batman Movie hits theaters today!
The newest LEGO movie is out today, and kids everywhere are busy trying to talk their parents into taking them to see the LEGO Batman Movie. So, I’m 
betting you’re wondering if you should take your children to see it in theater or just wait for it on DVD? The short answer is yes, you definitely should schedule a theater date.
When the first LEGO Movie came out, we were all big fans. In fact, we’ve spent way more time singing “Everything is awesome” than I’d like to admit, as well as having added “Kragle” to our regular vocabulary. The LEGO Movie was one of the few movies that parents, grandparents, and kids could all agree on, and as a result it quickly became a must-own DVD when it was released.
In addition to introducing us to exciting new characters and taking us deep into the world of LEGO, another standout part of the first movie was the inclusion of the beloved LEGO Batman. So, as soon as we heard a LEGO Batman Movie was in the works, we were all very excited to see it as soon as possible. 
The Mitsubishi Outlander 2017 makes all of our dreams come true
A big thank you to Drive Shop USA for this test driving experience. All opinions are 100% ours. 
Do you remember when I made the announcement that the Mitsubishi Outlander was the car for me? Back in 2016 I told you that if I were buying a new automobile, I would buy a Mitsubishi Outlander. It’s now a whole year later and it still rings true. In fact, I’m even more certain about it now than I was back then.
It started with the love of the 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport and then that love was eclipsed by the Mitsubishi Outlander. I admit I got sold on all the luxuries of the bigger CUV size, but also on the adaptability of the third row seating that is perfect for our on-the-go lifestyle.
10 things you need to stop saying now
In looking back at my 2016, I see a trend starting that I would like to stop immediately. I am realizing that I have a hard time giving bad news, saying no, or asking for things, and I tend to add qualifiers or say things I don’t mean in order to soften a blow or decline an offer.
So, I'm writing myself this post that contains a list of things I will stop saying in 2017 as a reference for myself. Starting now, I will start approaching each interaction with confidence and/or honesty and stop diminishing myself or making excuses.
Microsoft Lumia 950 from AT&T makes it easier than ever to switch to Windows
If you’ve read any of my cell phone reviews, you already know that I’m a Windows gal through and through. It started back when I was switching from my business-issued Blackberry all those years ago and I debated whether I was going to go with an iPhone, the new Android device, or something else. It turns out “something else” is where my heart was, because I love my Windows phone.
I’ve already talked about why I love the Nokia Lumia 1520 from AT&T, but for those of you loved the features but who were worried about the Phablet size, the 5.2″ Microsoft® Lumia 950 with Windows® 10 from AT&T is definitely for you. Still not sure if Windows is the way to go? Here are just a few reasons why you should consider switching:
Happy Holidays from Rave & Review!
I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing Christmas and are planning some fun while ringing in the New Year. This is my favorite time of year and I love that everything is pretty magical with these three. This year, Santa brought the kids some toys they have wanted for months: A Playmobil Police … Read more
What I wish I knew going into Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Lucasfilm’s highly anticipated, first-ever standalone Star Wars adventure, ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY is in theaters today! So, I bet you’re wondering what the probability is that you will like Rogue One? It’s high. Very high.
In an effort to be surprised by the film and not have it ruined by spoilers or fan theories, I have stayed away from social media for the past few days after the LA premiere. Waiting until I got a chance to see it this week at a prescreening in Seattle was torture, but I’m happy to say that I went in knowing absolutely nothing about the film other than the character’s names {which I couldn’t shield myself from since they are fully saturating the toy department and have been for weeks}. 
That being said, I do wish there were a couple of things I did know going into watching Rogue One, and they are as follows:
The perfect Christmas gift: The new and improved Lundby Dollhouse
As parents, we categorize toys into four main groups:
- novelty toys that are fun for a bit and then get abandoned within hours
- toys that kids play with for days and then ditch before they have even been in the house a month
- toys that don’t get played with every day but are still returned to month after month
- and, finally, those special toys that are an essential part of play nearly every single day, year after year.
As you can imagine, there are lots and lots of toys that fall in those first two groups, and not so many that fit in the third group. As for that fourth group? It’s like a rare unicorn and you never know when, or where, you will find it. 
For us, the Lundby dollhouse is one of a handful of toys that squarely fit in that fourth group without ever wavering. From the moment the kids opened the Lundby dollhouse all those years ago, they were hooked. And then, with all the redecorating, DIYs, and crafting we have done on it throughout the years, the Lundby dollhouse just kept getting more and more beloved as we all added our personal touch to the house. 
So, when we got home from Boston and were greeted with a huge package from Lundby that contained a brand new Lundby dollhouse, the sideboard/TV set, and the awesome Lundby remote, it was declared as the best.day.ever. Ever since we saw a sneak peek of the newest Lundby items on social media and got wind of the remote, I was dying to try it out.