McKenna's Birthday Celebration

I gave McKenna the choice between a birthday party (in which all school classmates would have to be given an invitation) or a day with her family eating out and doing fun things of her choice.  She chose the latter.  We went to Lancaster/Palmdale for lunch at the Olive Garden followed by fun at Build-a-Bear Workshop and a trampoline park.

McKenna's 9th Birthday

Monday, April 16--For dinner, McKenna requested spaghetti, green beans, Kings Hawaiian rolls, and sparkling apple cider (including flavored).  She designed her own cake from several images we saw on the internet that were rainbow themed.  For presents, she asked for a spiral notebook, an electronic boogie board, a unicorn fingerling, and a teddy bear that she could lay on.

Outdoor Senior Photos

Sunday, April 8--Allison had outdoor photographs taken for her senior year in Tehachapi by Stacey Herrera.  All of these are unedited.

Easter

Easter was very unique this year.  It fell on the first Sunday of April.  Within our world-wide church, the first Sunday of April and October are set aside for General Conference.  So, we did not attend church services or go to the building, instead watching church officials speak from Salt Lake City via satellite in our home.  This also meant that there were no special dresses or coordinating outfits...or special pictures.

We did have the Easter Bunny visit with baskets and plastic eggs.  Given the age of our kids, we did not take any pictures this year.  We ate our General Conference snacks most of the day.  We had ham, mashed potatoes, rolls, and Sparkling Apple Cider for dinner.  We did make our annual Easter Bunny Cake who probably would have cooperated more if he had been placed on a different plate.

And oh by the way, it was also April Fool's Day.  No tricks here this year.

General Conference

Saturday and Sunday, March 31 and April 1--We watched the 188th Annual General Conference from home.

Many special things happened in these sessions.  1.  Solemn Assembly to vote in and sustain Pres. Russell M. Nelson, Pres. Dallin H. Oaks and Pres. Henry B. Eyring.  2.  Two new Apostles:  Gerrit W. Gong and Ulisses Soares.  3. Dissolution of the ward High Priest Group with integration of the High Priests and Elders into one quorum.  4.  The retiring of Home Teaching and Visiting Teaching with the change to "Ministering".  5.  The announcement of seven new temples, most excitedly in Bengaluru, India and "a major city yet to be determined in Russia" but also in Salta, Argentina; Managua, Nicaragua; Cagayan de Oro, Philippines; Layton, Utah; and Richmond, Virginia.

Our annual traditions of special snacks and fun printable packets:

Spring Break--San Diego--Day 6

Friday, March 30--We spent several hours at the USS Midway before heading home.  The simulator was a lot of fun!