S.O.M.

It was 100 degrees at 8 a.m. that day and Kayla couldn't stand the heat!

As a mom there is nothing better than to get a call from your child's teacher telling you how much they enjoy having your daughter in their class.  First was Neeley's teacher.  She said that Neeley is very responsible and follows directions and is a joy to have in her class.  Next it was Kayla's teacher who called to say that Kayla was the best example of someone who displays courtesy in the class and was chosen as student of the month!

B.F. has a really cool tradition of a flag ceremony out back every morning.  The classes all line up.  Then they have a student lead them in the pledge and give a thought having to do with the theme of the month, followed by a skit or something else to illustrate it and a patriotic song.  On this particular morning Neeley had the opportunity to give the thought in front of the entire student body.  And since it was a surprise to Kayla that she was getting the award of student of the month it was a perfect excuse for Mom and Dad to come to flag ceremony without her knowing.  She didn't even look nervous and did a fabulous job.

It was fun to see the look of surprise and bewilderment on Kayla's face when they called her name.  I'm so thankful for good girls who conduct themselves well.  It makes the sting of getting a note home from another teacher for a daughter (who shall remain anonymous) who just can't control her humming in class a little easier to handle.  Lets just say two out of three ain't bad!

Dirt upon Dirt

 This child was so sad to leave.  We had to bring her home and throw her in the tub to make sure she really belonged to us!

A picture with Ol' Smokie for Grandpa Greyhair

It's no secret, Dopp's are wimps when it comes to camping.  Maybe it's because we are so spoiled with Grandpa's custom built cabin! But each year we venture out in a tent for one night and one night only.  The yearly ward campout is the only thing that we can justify camping for.  As we drove higher and higher in elevation we were elated to see the temperature go down with each passing switchback.  It brought back many memories of a time we went to the mountains in Vegas just to escape the heat.  The brisk air and beautiful surroundings welcomed us in!  And the dirt, lets just say Lilah was a magnet for it!  The girls enjoyed playing in the fairies house which consisted of an exposed root system of a large tree and a  ditch.  They even built swags of wild flowers to decorate it.  It truly was fun to see the girls enjoy nature but seemed like a heck of a lot of work for one night.  Not that that was enough to convince us to stay a second night.  As we drove away Neeley went right to work using the commitment pattern to lock us in for next year too.  And as for roughing it, lets just say the fire pit may or may not have been a gas operated fire...

76 a beautiful number!

Today is pretty much the first time i have seen the temp in our house below 85 degrees since we got here! Windows open, breeze blowing through and so begins bliss! Jeremy and I spent a couple of hours last night laying on the trampoline enjoying the weather! Finally, after almost a year of the kids being confined indoors, they can play outside!  Maybe we'll find out we have neighbors after all!

Saturday Evening Stroll

Out for a drive and we happened upon the Mesa temple.  We quickly turned the car back around and went for a visit.  The visitors center is full of fun things but nothing more fun than seeing Kate's face as she dragged me to the statue of Christ.  She was mesmerized!

A new adventure!

As Neeley gets older she has so many fun new opportunities coming her way.  She decided to play the violin at school since they begin to offer it starting in the fourth grade.  When we went to the parents meeting and came home with a violin she was almost in disbelief.  I for one thought it was pretty cool too!  Although, having played in the band as a child I thought I might be able to help a bit but quickly found out I am completely clueless when it comes to string instruments.  She gets up early each day and leaves just after seven for her class every morning.  I love that she gets the opportunity to go to class every day but getting her out the door before the rest of the crew can be challenging.  Luckily I have a friend that will drive her every morning so I don't have to add a fourth trip to the school every day!

So far she is still learning to pluck but she can't wait to start playing for real.  We can't wait to hear her play her first song, no matter how screechie it may be!

Sending them off in the world!

After their first day I took the littles on a celebratory date!  McDonald's and All A Dollar.  Every little kids dream!

Here we are at the start of another school year.  I can't believe all of my babies are in school!  They all were so nervous and excited to start at a new school.  Each seemed to do well but had their own melt down at various times.  Lilah skipped off to kindergarten without missing a beat.  She looked so cute all lined up as they walked away!  Kayla skipped off to her line, a little hesitant but she put on her brave face.  Neeley on the other hand had the hardest time.  Being the oldest I expected it to be most difficult on her.  She came home the first few days and just burst into tears.  When I asked her how her day went she said it was fine.  Nothing really went wrong, I just think all of the anxiety and fear was overwhelming her.  She just wanted to have a circle of friends just like back home and she wanted it instantly!  Each day we would send each one of the kids to school with a social assignment to help them make friends.  We had them do things like make a sincere compliment to someone new, stand next to someone new in line and start a conversations, ask to sit by someone at lunch, etc.  They each had friends in no time and we have since had several girls from school over to play after school.

As for the school itself we couldn't be happier!  We feel like they are getting a private school education without the expense.  Their teachers are fabulous and the school seems to have a system down that is cohesive from grade to grade which has made it easy to get the system down for the girls and me!  Since you have the option to pick whatever school you want to here, it can make for an overwhelming choice.  But I also think it makes schools perform at a higher standard to keep their enrollment up.  I definitely think we made the perfect choice!