Hanna's 14th...With a Surprise Ending!

For her 14th birthday, Hanna wanted an outing in Wichita with Destini, Jenny and Allee at the Mall and Texas Roadhouse. A couple of memorable moments: at the mall the girls took pics in a photo booth that swallowed their money and didn't spit out the pics; at Texas Roadhouse, the waitress brought large drinks for everyone and a kid's cup for Hanna - she was not happy! On the day of her actual birthday, we did donuts and presents in the morning and had plans to do her favorite dinner and have family time in the evening, but sometime around noon, Nolan showed me a screenshot of the text he had received from the church saying his mission call was ready to open. After that none of us could think about anything else! But I managed to focus enough to finish a birthday video for Hanna which we watched way at the end of the night, after the highschool choir concert and after all our friends came over and after Nolan opened his mission call to the California Roseville Mission! Hanna was a good sport about sharing her spotlight with Nolan. My heart got a good workout that day!

Spring Break in Branson

So good to have the whole crew together. The VRBO was a pleasant surprise on arrival - absolutely perfect, great view, nice pool. Silver Dollar City was too crowded to be very enjoyable, but the weather cooperated beautifully for us - sunny and cool. The live play "Jesus" at Sight and Sound Theater was sensational - worth the whole trip and all the cost. And the new Aquarium was also great. I think we squeezed in all the excitement we possibly could in a few short days. Fave part: watching the kids play and bond with each other, especially in the pool.