Barbie: Beyond the Trip

The Curious Case of Mr. Carpenter, Part 1

"Skipper! Stacie! Chelsea! Make sure you get all your last-minute things loaded up tonight so we don't have to worry about it tomorrow! Remember, we're leaving bright and early, 3:00 am sharp!"

"Coming mom!", shouted Stacie from the top of the upper balcony, lugging along her suitcase and other bags for the long trip. She pressed the top button of the stairs and rocketed down the instant slide, jumping with a hefty grunt at the bottom. When she landed, Margaret gave her daughter a huffy glare.

"Stacie... You didn't pack anything yet?!"

"Ugh...", Stacie grunted, heaving the luggage past her mom and through the front door, "Nnnnope!", eliciting a single frustrated eye-roll from her mother.

"No no no! Ugh... Mooom!", shouted Skipper, clearly not as perky as the pony-tailed sibling as she peered over the top railing. Her frown made her mother aware she was upset about something, "I still can't find my good hoodie", she pouted at the top.

Mrs. Roberts smiled knowingly, raising her hand to reveal the exact article of clothing the oldest daughter present was trying to find. Skipper gasped and thanked her mother, walking down the steps to accept the parcel, don it, and then trek over into the kitchen.

The school year was officially finished... for both Barbie, Ken, and the Roberts sisters. It was the beginning of June, and both Roberts and Carson families had decided to take a conjoined vacation together to the sunny, remote island chain of southern Florida.

"I can't wait!", Chelsea bounced on her bottom from her seat at the craft table, "We haven't seen Barbie in a month! I'm making her and Ken a card saying how much we missed them", she informed everyone, diligently working on a very large 'we missed you' piece of visual art complete with paint, glitter, and sequins.

Skipper chuckled, nodding in agreement, returning from the kitchen with a smoothie to glance over her not-so-little soon-to-be-fifth-grade sister's shoulder at the work of art, "Wow, Chels, looks nice! Although as much as I love Barbie, I'm really looking forward to doing absolutely nothing except relaxing on the beach! I'm finally free from high school forever!", she shouted excitedly, throwing her hands in the air.

The brunette Roberts had officially graduated from high school! 'Two down, two to go', celebrated Mr. Roberts... The parental units had wanted to give Skipper something as a graduation present, but the tech genius sister had chosen a family vacation rather than a physical gift, much to the delight of the parents.

The Florida Keys!

"You said it. Although, I'm looking forward to both", Mr. Roberts concurred with both the notion of seeing his oldest daughter for the first time since the family made an impromptu visit out to New York in April and taking a week to soak in the sunny American side of the northern Caribbean. "If all goes to plan, we should be meeting Barbie and Ken at the Key West airport around 1:00. We'll meet up with them, grab our rental cars, and then all head out to the resort", George instructed the girls from his vantage point on the couch.

Both California neighbors agreed to fly out on their own and meet up with the New York couple at their vacation spot in the scenic Florida Keys. Barbie and Ken had elected to fly down together separately and meet them there; easier to do when you share a coast with the Keys.

Not to mention, on the way home, Skipper had chosen to fly back to New York with Barbie and Ken. She was offered a meeting with a competing tech giant in the city a week after their vacation for her app, Match Mutts, along with two more apps she was working on: Babysitters, Inc. and Purrfect Friend, an app similar to Match Mutts but for cats. So, rather than flying back to the West Coast with her family, she was joining her older sister on the flight to the Big Apple.