Big day #1!

Neeley had her big tumbling recital last night.  I thought they had the most adorable outfits.  Neeley has been talking about this for weeks and she couldn't wait for it to get here.  She did such a cute job, especially with her cart wheels!  She actually does them about like I do but she is 4 and I'm 33 so I would say she is off to a great start!  (I never have learned how to do those things!)  She enjoyed herself so much on stage that she was the last one there standing and waving as everyone left the stage!  Kayla was thrilled at the performance and waved at Neeley profusely! Even though she is off to a great start as a tumbler, Neeley informed me last night of her aspirations in life to be a mom, an angel, Little Mermaid, Snow White and of course Hannah Montana when she grows up!  Then she dropped off to sleep just as we pulled into our neighborhood.  I guess it was a tiring day.  She informed me that she didn't fall asleep in the car because big girls don't do that.  Well, I was glad to have the picture to prove it!

Summer shower!

On Saturday we had a bridal shower for my niece Katie (yes, my niece! I know isn't that crazy that I have nieces getting married already!) at our house. I have to say it was one of the best showers we have ever had. Every one pitched in to make it a success! The food tasted as good as it looks in the pictures and we played some really fun games. "The Price is Right" was our favorite! Thanks JoAnn, Suzy, Charlotte and Mom for all the fun games. After that we had plenty of time to hear all about "their" story of how they fell in love and how he popped the question. Everything was so beautiful I took plenty of pictures before it started to document the occasion but then forgot to take more with actual people in them because I was having so much fun. It is so awesome to have tons of sisters to be able to experience life's big moments with!  P.S. Special thanks to Mom Dopp for making the beautiful cake too!

The Men in Our Lives

My heart is full of gratitude as I think about the wonderful men in my life.  I was blessed to grow up in a home that was overflowing with love from my parents and with the protective power of the priesthood.  I was then blessed to find a wonderful man that brings me so much love and happiness who just happens to have a great dad himself.  My own children have that same love from their dad as I did from mine.  I know this will make such a difference in their future, just having a daddy and two grandpa's who are such wonderful examples for them and who love them no matter what!

Jeremy, watching you be a dad is one of my most prized things to do.  Here are some of my favorites:

*  Taking the girls into the ring for tickles.

*  Secretly watching you sing songs and tell stories to the girls as you tuck them in.

*  The silly songs you create about every day life and the new lyrics you make up for songs on the radio.

*  Watching you mow the lawn with the girls on the mower.

*  The way you hold our new born babies and that cute little voice you use only then.

*  Watching you change the babies diaper.  A task you hate, but do your awkward best at.

*  The candy in your pocket at church that you sneak to the girls, yourself and me!

*  Special dates with the girls.

*  Always remembering slurpee day!

*  Shopping with you to find the best cloths and toys for the girls.

*  The cute presents you bring home from plane rides to the girls and the way you make them sit down and shut their eyes when you give it to them.

*  The good example you show them by treating me so well and loving me too!

*  The priesthood blessings you give them and me!

*  Their baby blessings, you always get so nervous but do a wonderful job.

*  The patience you show the girls and teach me.

I couldn't have asked for a better husband and father of my children.  I fell in love with you from day one but never imagined how deep that love would grow!  You are such a wonderful daddy.  Thank you!  You really do have three little girls wrapped right around your little finger!

Dad, I have so many wonderful images in my mind of being with you. Here are a few of my favorite while growing up:

* Your whistle, that distinct sound that told me you were around and looking for us. Still to this day if I hear this my ears perk up and I immediately look for you! ("whee, whee, WHOO, WHOO")

* Shoulder rides.

* Your big hand reaching back for me as I would run to reach up and hold it.

* The way you used to reach your leg around the back and kick me as we were walking. It took me a long time to figure out who was doing that!

* The fun songs you would always sing like "Water".

* All of the things you taught me about nature like "F" is for flat is for Fur trees.

* My interview to get baptized. You were my bishop and we had that interview in your bedroom. I remember feeling sooo lucky to have it at home!

* Your wisdom, the way you taught me to notice things around me and to hypothesize or figure out how they work.

Dad-in-Law, I feel blessed to have inherited you as my second Dad.   I have never hesitated to call you "Dad".  It's always been so easy for me to do so because I consider you to be just that.  I have many special memories with you.

* The countless hours you spent making the beautiful fishing tables and other fishing things for our first home.

* The special priesthood blessings you have helped Jeremy do when I or the girls were sick.

* Days at the lot.

* Fishing.

* The stories you tell the girls about Josie and the Whale and others.

* Putting the girls in pickles.

* Trips together. Among my favorites is our trip to Oregon.

* Watching you with Jeremy, especially when you fish together.

* I love to hear stories from the past about you from Jeremy. He has so many special memories to speak of.

Giddy' Up Cowgirl!

Today started out with a wonderful performance of "Max and Ruby" directed by Golda Dopp, co-directed by Ruby Dopp and co-staring Neeley and Kayla Dopp.  The girls LOVED their acting camp this week and showed off their stuff during their final play performance today.  The bunny ears and noses made it just perfect!  Thanks for a fun week Golda and Ruby!  

After the play we went down to Wheeler Farm for the festivities!  Neeley screamed about a dog that was 200 yards away but couldn't wait to get on this horse.  Go figure.  The kids had the best time playing in the bounce houses, being cowgirls and seeing real bunny rabbits.  Mom, Dad, Nikki, Clint, Cade, Austin and Jake and of course all of us were there to join in the fun!  

Now the girls are all tucked in bed fast asleep.  Neeley fell asleep during our movie tonight (a rate occasion lately) so she must have been tired!

Now THIS is Summer!

On Monday we all got together at my sister Shauna's house for a summer party.  We rented the big blow up water slide for the kids and they spent about 8 hours wearing themselves out on it along with the trampoline and bikes.  We had a barbeque for lunch and ended up staying so long we had to order pizza for dinner.  It was a relaxing day, just sitting around chatting with my sisters while the kids completely ignored us!  I loved it!  Neeley thought her older cousin Linzie was the greatest for catching her every time she came down the slide.  I tried going down a few times with her but couldn't stand the freezing cold water! There is just something about watermelon stained faces, wet towels and the smell of a grill that says, this is summer!

The world on my shoulders rant!

I've been kicking around a lot of feelings in my mind lately that I just want to get out.  Sometimes I wish you could just go back to being a kid with kid worries.  You know those simple worries like what kind of juice you want in your sippie or whether or not you can skip naps.  But being grown up brings grown up worries.  I remember when Jer and I were first married, any time I did something I would think, this is a grown up thing.  Should I really be doing this?  I can't believe it! I remember having that feeling the first time we painted a room in our house.

I think for the most part the world is good.  We are surrounded by good things, good people and good activities.  But for some reason our minds are trained to see all of the bad.  I have a dream to create a news show that covers all the good in the world.  You may think this is a tainted view through rose colored glasses, but I see it differently.  When you watch the news today it is all the bad they can find.  When, really, do they focus on all of the good that is around us.  Just yesterday, I am positive, there were thousands of births, thousands of performances, thousands of service projects, people saved, money given, trips taken, family get togethers, people cured, accidence avoided, and the list could go on forever.  But yet the news could only cover the handful of murders, the economy going bad, the houses on fire, etc.  Not that knowing these things are bad, but they are not all that the world is made up of.  The media causes much of the frenzies that are around us.  Think back to all of the scare for the bird flu.  They covered it and covered it.  Everyone was terrified and the world was coming to an end the next time a bird flew south.  When was the last time you heard anything about THIS?  I am sure the same degree of danger still exists unless someone magically solved this problem without me knowing.  But people aren't flocking out of their homes to buy masks any more.  The media caused this fear inside us.  Why do we pray on others misfortune.  It is like driving by an accident and being disappointed when we don't see any action.  We all do this, but really deep down we don't want to see someone be hurt.

So back to my worries.  All I hear about in the media and from everyone around us is the rising gas prices, poor economy, bad housing market, lost jobs, starvation, food shortages and the list goes on.  NO wonder I am scared out of my mind!  I am slowly becoming consumed with this negative information that I can't see the good around me.  I am pretty sure the Lord wouldn't want us to focus on this.  I think his news report would be about the good around him.  In the bible he talks about the creation of the earth and he reports back each day that it was good.  He didn't talk about the struggles he may have had or the setbacks.  He reports it was good.  We each have enough of our own problems that we are struggling with that we don't need to add to them by always seeing others misfortune.  Yes, I agree we need to have sympathy for others, we need to have compassion and we need to serve.  But if I can't get past my own fears and supply my own needs there is no way I can reach out to others.  It is like Maslo's hierarchy of needs (I thinks that's the right guy!)  Until you can get past your own basic needs you can't move to a higher order of thinking and reach out to others.  So until I start thinking positive and get past my own fears I can't reach out.  If I hear someone I don't know got murdered last night, what good does that do me other than to create fear for my own family and say, wow, glad it's not me.  Why do I need to hear this???  And how do they decide which murders to tell us about?  Are the ones that go unannounced less important?

I can't help but think what the world would be like if our news was different.  What if!  What if the news focused on what's right and good?   Would we as a society put an emphasis on this and have better outlooks on life.  I think there really is more good than bad.   The current news casts don't give a fair representation of what is around us.  Yes, things do go wrong.  I can testify of this based on how burned we got in the Vegas housing market.  But now I have two choices.  I can dwell on this and let the good pass be by or I can move on and make the best of the situation.  

So as for us, we are going to start reporting the good news!

This morning we had a breakfast with all of our neighbors.  We all got in and helped and many came.  We visited together and enjoyed one another!

I have three beautiful girls that are healthy!  Their biggest worries today are if the weather will be good enough to go to a swim party tonight.

I am surrounded by people who love me.  I have a roof over head and food on my table.  We all slept in cozy beds and woke up with cloths to put on!

My laundry is done!  washed, dried, folded and put away!!  Now THAT is good news!

LIFE IS GOOD!

For more good news daily visit:  goodnewsnetwork.org

Look at me!

My Aunt Nikki bought me this really cool chair so  I can sit up all by myself now!  I am such a big girl!  I have also grown to really like my cereal and my mommy let me try squash and peas.  I love em!  Last night I rolled over in my bed and got stuck on my tummy.  Luckily my daddy heard me screaming because my mommy just snoozed right through it.  Hmmmm, that's really not like her she must have been tired from our late night at Lagoon last night.  They took me on the train and the merry go round.  What a treat!!  So, I am digg'in this sleeping thing too.  I slept from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.  We'll see if that will become my regular routine or if I was just giving mom a break.  Well, I gotta go eat a rattle or something! Drool ya later!