Caprice Knows

"i want to bear my testimony by saying i know that this church is true. and i know that temples are special places. and i am glad my mom got to go through for the very first time. and i hopes she knows she has the spirit in her heart. and she will live with heavenly father again. in the name of jesus christ, amen."

-caprice

"all good things come in 3s"

i am unsure where this saying came from, and i usually think it's true. examples:

alexis - caprice - ariana

faith - hope - love

heavenly father - jesus christ - holy ghost

yesterday - today - tomorrow

small - medium - large

1 - 2 - 3 say cheese!

but after tonight, i'm not so sure...

(i apologize for the poor quality, all i could grab was my phone...and it was trying to get me!)

yuck! i know! and he is the 3rd one we have found in our house! and this is the worst one so far because i had to kill it myself. (with jay out of town on business i had no other choice.)

does anyone know of a good way to get rid of these critters?

85024 to 87105

last saturday, we went with our ward for a primary temple trip.

here all all the kids, most of them smiling, in front of the temple.

we watched a video about families in the visitors' center. it was really nice since the primary theme this year is 'my eternal family'. after the video, the sister missionaries divided up the group and took us on a tour of the rest of the visitors' center.

here is some of our group looking at the christus.

after the tour, those who packed a meal headed over to the park nearby for a fun lunch. we had to wait around a bit to wait for jay and some others to finish their temple session.

caprice, ally manwaring, ariana and alexis

hunted for strawberries and counted brides while they waited.

such pretty girls!

they also took in some flower gazing.

after our wonderful trip to the temple, it was time to head home to pack the girls for their trip. in just a few hours they would be catching their flight to new mexico for spring break. they love spending time with their albuquerque family!

and they don't even mind flying alone!

bye girls! daddy and i will see you in a few days!

Spring Training

alexis won 5 tickets to last nights spring training game at the peoria sports complex. the city of peoria gave a few schools in the area tickets to pass out the the kids as they saw fit. oakwood chose the best of the best! (duh...i already said alexis won lol) she had the highest accelerated reading score for her grade! that is one smart cookie! so some plans were changed and off we went.

wait! i thought i only had 3 kids?!

our fam enjoying the game.

thanks alexis! keep up the fantastic work!

Student of the Month

today ariana was recognized as student of the month. she was chosen out of all the kindergarten classes. for those chosen few, they receive a packet of goodies (ie. gift certificates to numerous restaurants, certificate with their picture on it) and lunch with the principal.

ariana and mr. bower.

parents are encouraged to attend the lunch to take pictures and support the children. ariana had so much fun.

congratulations ariana! we are so proud of you! keep up the good work!

Zzzzzzzz

it's slumber party time! alexis finally decided how she wanted to celebrate her 9th birthday...with a sleepover. her talented aunt jacque created and designed the cutest invites (check them out on her blog). and by 4:30 last friday night we were in full party mode.

these girls came ready to party!

5:30 pm - dinner time.

here is my attempt at making a 'giant' cupcake.

6:00 pm - cake time.

6:30 pm - present time.

thank you kate!

silly kate!

thank you parris!

thank you kayla!

thank you anna!

7:00 pm - we headed up stairs for some movin and a' grovin!

they were so silly! it was fun to watch.

when they got tried of dancing, they played a game called dead man, dead man. i have never heard of it but they had a blast.

8:00 pm - movie time!

while they watch the movie and munched on popcorn, each girl had a manicure or pedicure from yours truly.

11:00 pm - two movies, a bowl of popcorn, two bags of cheetos, cake, ice cream, dancing, singing, presents, and a two large pizzas later...

shhhh......bed time.

(all but alexis are fake sleeping in this picture!)

12:00 am - they have finally stopped talking and are actually sleeping!

good night!

Another Year Older and Wiser Too

isn't she beautiful?!

her name is corissa smith. that is her new name, she was married for time and all eternity last october to her best friend, spencer smith. i have known her for 28 years today! for as long as i can remember, she has been by my side as my identical twin sister and as my best friend. throughout our lives i have been able to look up to her for strength, guidance, support, counseling and her never ending love. people always ask what it is like to have a twin and my answer is always the same - what is it like to not have a twin? i am thankful that i never have to find out. it is a blessing and an honor to share this special day with her.

happy birthday corissa! i love you!