March 2014

The month of March started off with a bang.  On March 1st and 2nd we had the Gilbert Temple Cultural Celebration and then the Temple Dedication.  It was so amazing.  

When we first got to the Cultural Celebration we made the youth from our ward stop and take a picture.  We had 33 girls and 37 boys in our ward participate.

Here I am with the 2 other "Captains of 10" who were in charge of all the girls.

I loved spending so much time with Peyton during all of the practices we had.

Peyton and her friend Tatum with their "Live True" shirts on.

Here is Peyton with her costume on right before the dress rehearsal.

This is a picture of some of the kids in our ward holding up their Title of Liberty's that they made.

All the youth down on the field holding up their "Titles of Liberty" during the dress rehearsal.

Here is the final picture during the real performance when it was muddy and rainy.  It rained during the whole performance but it was still amazing.  I will never forget the feelings I had while watching the youth perform.  It was amazing to see the Prophet, President Monson, there watching the youth, blowing them kisses, and giving them a huge smile.  To know he was there just to see them is something that all the youth will always remember.  The dedication of the Temple was so amazing.  The music, the talks, the cornerstone ceremony, and the feelings I had were so beautiful.  It was a weekend that will stay with me forever and I am so grateful for these experiences.

Ryan and I were able to take a trip to Las Vegas for the West Coast Conference basketball tournament in March.  We left on Thursday morning and arrived in time to go to dinner at the RIO Casino and Hotel for their seafood buffet.  It was good and Ryan loved eating a ton of crab legs.  After dinner we went to watch a first round men's basketball game .  On Friday we went and watched the BYU women's team play and also the Gonzaga's women's team play.

On Saturday we went to several men's games but the team we were really there to see play was BYU.

We had great seats and sat near LaVell Edwards, President Samuelson, and Danny Ainge.  Danny Ainge was sitting right across from us so I had to snap a quick picture.  It's not a very flattering photo of him but oh well.

We were able to eat at 5 different places that Ryan picked out from the Food Network.  It was all really good.  We had a wonderful 4 day trip but the girls were super happy to have us back since Spring Break had started.

Peyton was really disappointed that we weren't going out of town for Spring Break so we decided to pick out 1 fun thing to do each day during Addison's nap time (luckily Ryan works from home and listened for Addi so we could leave the house).

On Monday they chose to go to the mall and ride these cute little animals around for 30 minutes.  Peyton and Hailey switched off having Alexis ride with them.

Then we had to stop in the food court for some ice cream.

On Tuesday we decided to go ice skating.  Lexi had never been so I was a little nervous about how it would go.  Well it turns out that Lexi is a natural.  She caught on fast and skated with me for the whole 3 hours.  It was quite the work out.  I was really proud of all the girls and how well they skated.

On Wednesday we went swimming at Val Vista Lakes.  Luckily their pool is heated but it was a perfect day for swimming with the temperature in the low 80's.

On Thursday we went to see the Lego Movie.  The girls loved it and reluctantly let me take their picture in front of the theatre to document it.

On Friday we went to the Arizona Science Center in the morning (Addi got to come on this one) with my sisters and their kids.  I didn't take any pictures of that but I did take a picture of our family dinner at Red Robin that night.  Overall it was a great Spring Break and I think by the end of it Peyton had gotten over her disappointment of not going on a trip.

A few random pictures from March.

Here is Addi in an outfit that Peyton was given for her 2nd birthday.  All 4 of my girls have worn it and it is still one of my favorites.  I just had to snap a picture of her wearing it.

Peyton loves to take pictures on her phone with Addi.  I just love these cute shots she captures.

Peyton set up a tea party for her sisters and took a picture of it.  I love when they all play together and get along (since it happens so rarely)!

I took the 2 oldest to the Women's Broadcast and then we went to my mom's house for dinner after.  Peyton and Hailey had a great time being crazy with their cousin Kate.  I think Peyton was wrapped up in Grandma's blankets.  Silly girls.

Another random photo is from my mom's backyard.  I came over to her house to drop off something and went into the backyard and this is what I found.  2 ducks were just hanging out in the grass.  My mom said they stayed there for several hours.

At the end of March our stake had a youth morning side at the stake center right by the Gilbert Temple to wrap up all of the events we have done over the years focusing on the Gilbert Temple.  This stake has really focused on this Temple over the past 5 years.  We had the new Gilbert Temple President and his wife speak to us and then all of the leaders lined the path to the temple and the youth walked through us to get to the temple.  We then stood in the same spot the youth stood in years before when they had a morning side in the alfalfa fields the temple was built on and sang "I Love to See the Temple".  It was so beautiful and something I will never forget.  March was a wonderful month.