Anime Town Convention

On Friday we went on an impromptu field trip. 

We heard there was an anime convention about 45 minutes away from us. We weren't sure about going because the girls don't watch all anime; they just have a few shows they like. They watch Pokemon, Yu-gi-oh, Beyblade, and a couple others that are cute. 

One of the voice actors from Yu-gi-oh! was there, so at the last minute we decided to go. I'm glad we did. There was only a few times when I had to warn the girls to look the other way as passing some questionable art booths, and we had a great time. 

I took this picture as we were waiting to go in...

We shopped for awhile, picking out a souvenir for each girl. We lucked out as we found Maddy something that she had wanted that was way too expensive online, and Abi something she had asked for at Christmas but couldn't get as it went out of stock. 

After shopping and walking around we got in line for the voice actor they wanted to meet. We waited for quite a while as her plane had been delayed. 

We waited for her to set up her table and then asked if we could purchase the autograph and picture, but then also buy a Yu-gi-oh card she had in the display that they wanted. She said sure. 

Abi brought a short story she had written and illustrated featuring the character that Tara Sands had voiced, and she wanted her to autograph that. She looked through it and exclaimed over how awesome it was. She wrote Abi a note on it, but then told us she would not charge us for signing that. We were stunned. So, we picked out a larger card for her to sign and she dedicated that one to Maddy. Then we got a picture with her. She was so nice, and it was an amazing interaction. 

I took a picture of the two things she signed. 

 There were a lot of cool cosplay there, but this was my favorite....

Last few pictures of spring break

Random moments from spring break: 

Abi reading to me from one of her books....

Our school white board gets drawn on a lot. I erase it as we start each term, but I have to take pictures of whatever is on it before I do.

I spent time during spring break planning the rest of our school year. Only 7 weeks left! (though there were eight when I planned..)

I took this picture on the first day of the new term last Monday. 

 

Easter Sunday

Sunday morning we got up early and got ready for church. The girls and I got new Easter dresses for the first time in a long time. 

We went to our church for a very nice Easter service. 

After church we colored Easter eggs and relaxed. We watched some Easter shows. It was a very nice Sunday. 

I made a nice dinner for Easter, and we did Resurrection Eggs with a Bible story. It was a wonderful Easter, and we are so grateful for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

 

Easter weekend: Saturday

The girls asked for the Easter Bunny to visit on Saturday instead of Sunday so that Sunday could be more Christ-centered. 

They got some pretty full baskets this year. 

Abigail's basket...

Madeline's basket....

My basket...

Doug's basket...

Their stuffed animals were in the hallway near the bottom of the stairs with little trails of jelly beans leading from them to the baskets. 

They were pretty excited when they came down and found them. 

A little while later I had zoom book club, and then we drove south to my parents' house to do an egg hunt and have lunch with them. 

 

Spring Break week one:

Our spring break started with my birthday weekend and Palm Sunday.

We spent the week relaxing, complaining about the never-ending snow, cleaning, and spending time as a family. Maddy and I went on an outing to a new bookstore and Hobby Lobby. She made a flower arrangement for her room. We also began a two week period of time where the girls are responsible for all of their own cooking. Maddy's first meal of choice was pancakes. 

 

My 46th birthday

On the Saturday, April 1, I woke up to find that Abi had delivered Birthday Bear to the chair by my bed. 

My mom made a birthday cake for me (it's adorable!) and I had some more books and craft supplies for my birthday. Such a fun way to start the day!

Maddy made me a cute little present.

My mom also bought breakfast for us, so we had donuts on cute Easter plates!

We watched the last day of the Abide Conference, and again, loved it so much. It was much needed for encouragement and edification. We have talked about it so many times since, remembering the important and bold truths that were shared. 

After the conference my mom went home. Then I just spent the rest of the day with Doug and the girls, we got takeout for dinner, and we watched Beauty and the Beast. It was a great 46th birthday!

 

Abide for Women weekend and Birthday outing

I bought a virtual ticket to the Answers in Genesis women's conference, Abide. It fell on the days leading up to and on my birthday. I talked my mom into coming over to watch it with me all three days and to do our traditional birthday outing on one of the evenings. 

It was so awesome. The speakers were fantastic, and we both got so much out of it. 

After we were done with Abide for the day on Friday, March 31st, she and I headed out to Barnes and Noble. She bought me three books!

We grabbed some dinner on our way home and then we ate and relaxed whilst watching Green Dolphin Street. I had read the book this is based on by Elizabeth Goudge a few years ago, but didn't know until recently that it was made into a movie. It was pretty good.