Greater Los Angeles Area trip!

We had a wonderful overnight trip this past weekend! A 24 hour vacation period is the perfect amount of time for our family right now. There was limited whining and we had a fun night in the hotel and then everyone is back to their own beds.

The first major event on our trip was Medieval Times and it was definitely the favorite part of the trip for us all. If you have not been (you are missing out) it is a jousting/sword fighting tournament and dinner. Dinner is delicious and eaten without silverware. Our knight was the valiant Blue Knight and we almost lost our voices cheering for him during competition. Our cheers were rewarded when he threw the 3 McKenna girls a flower. We all had a great night and then everyone crashed at the hotel after a few rounds of giggles!

Our 2nd day of fun began at the famous Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles. This restaurant is the first place to serve chicken and waffles on one plate and matthew has wanted to eat there since moving to the west coast. Daddy had his plate of chicken wings and waffles and Roscoe's did not disappoint!

We of course could not come to LA and not be a little bit touristy! So we stopped and took pictures in front of the Grauman Chinese Theater, our favorite celebrities' handprints and the walk of fame. (Sorry about the underline not sure how to fix it!)

Then we headed over to the La Brea Tar Pits because the girls are all about dinosaurs and fossils lately. We had a great morning there. When we pulled up there was a line two blocks long. We were pretty worried but found out Tim Burton was doing a signing at the art museum which was next door.

We finished our mini-vacation at the Rainforest Cafe. One of the girls favorite places to eat. Although this time Loganne decided she was afraid of the gorilla and covered her ears every time it began to make noises.

John 3:16 and so much more!

"We are Sparks for Jesus. Sparks to light the world..."

The girls had a fantastic year in AWANA! Kaleigh was a Spark and Loganne loved being a Puggle! Kaleigh was able to finish her book, then she reviewed it and then she completed an entire extra credit book! We are so proud of her and especially excited that our 5 year old has already made a commitment to memorizing God's Word! It's also been fun to watch our kids enjoy the same program that Matthew and I attended together! Tuesday night was Awards Night and Kaleigh was so excited to receive her ribbon and extra credit pin.

Major Events We have Missed

Here are just a few events that I should have written about along the way. Not included are a lot of trips to Sea World, the Sparks A Rama, St Patty Day parade and party and oh yeah Matthew's unexpected 3 week trip to Japan!

We spent a long weekend in February up at 29 Palms visiting Kari and AJ. They were such great hosts and our trip included bowling, snow and a trip to Joshua Tree. The girls loved climbing the rocks and are begging to return!

LOGANNE TURNED 3!!! She is a spirited child who does most anything with quite a bit of intensity. She loves, plays and lives hard! She keeps us busy and challenged but she is so funny and lovable! We celebrated her birthday at a local park with some wonderful family friends!

Kaleigh and Matthew went to their first Daddy/Daughter dance! It was a mad hatter theme so Kaleigh had to get an outfit that looked like Alice and daddy of course rocked a cool hat! The pair had quite a good time!

My brother and Sara had a new baby boy, Drayton Leon! I was able to fly to the East coast in the beginning of January to meet my new nephew and to congratulate the wonderful parents. It was a great visit and now the girls cannot wait to meet their new cousin! Drayton was one of Kaleigh's 1st big prayer requests that has been answered!

We celebrated Christmas 2010 with my cousin, Kari and her husband AJ! It was so much fun and the girls absolutely adore both of them!

We have had an adventurous few months and so much more is to come!

God is so good!

So we are a few months behind...

Trolley outing!

S'mores in the backyard!

Easter Sunday!

Photoshoot at La Jolla Shores!

So now I am regretting not keeping up with the blog but our busy lives in San Diego took over and keeps me away from the computer. We are really enjoying it here. Love our church, mom's group and Kaleigh's school community. So although we were expecting to leave sooner our recent extension here until next June is not the worse news! So the past few months have been filled with outings and good times with great friends!

Time is flying...

Our new distraction technique with Loganne is asking her to show us a specific emotion on her face. It's amusing for her but I think more amusing for us. She can get pretty creative!

This is happy,

surprised,

and of course angry!

Kaleigh competing at the AWANA Grand Prix

AWANA uniforms! Both girls love having a "special uniform" just like their daddy!

Well with everyone here in a full holiday preparation swing our time is flying by. Here in San Diego the children get an entire week off of school so as of Friday Kaleigh begins her 9 day vacation. She will miss learning but is excited for the time at home. Both girls are excited about Thanksgiving but much more excited about their Christmas lists. I have been busy buying presents, ordering Christmas cards and all the fun things that come with this season. The weather is getting chilly and that's kinda nice for the holidays since Christmas in Texas is like 90 degrees. The girls have had a very chill schedule recently and their only big event during the week is AWANA and they LOVE it!!! Matthew and I were blessed to attend AWANA and now it is so cool to see my girls really learning about the Lord and memorizing His Word! These past few weeks have allowed us a lot of family time and a great time evaluating priorities! It's always wonderful to be reminded of what's important and gain a new perspective about life. God is good!

Fall has arrived in San Diego

Fall is here in San Diego. We recently went pumpkin picking at a local pumpkin patch and had our first AWANA Grand Prix. We learned a lot of lessons about what's required to complete a car......and what will make you have the slowest car on the track. Here are a few pictures of our latest adventures.

Starting to get a Routine

Bike riding at the park

Kaleigh and I ready for the Jonas Brothers concert

Loganne ready for gymnastics

1st day of Kindergarten

So September was all about getting into our new schedule with Kaleigh in kindergarten. After a month getting up early, changing nap time and homework are finally becoming the norm around here. Kaleigh loves school and Loganne and I are enjoying time together and fun outings! The girls are participating in gymnastics class as well as AWANA! Kaleigh especially enjoys memorizing her verses and game time. Loganne loves her puggles class and learning about God! We are now preparing for the Grand Prix! Matthew is liking work and enjoys quite a bit of family time and is hard at work making Kaleigh's car. AWANA pictures and our recent air show pictures to follow!