Splash Park

We have this great park near our house with a splash park! It was pretty fun! Addie loved running around and even Leah liked playing in the water. 

There were lots of bigger kids, and the only bummer was that this gang of 9 year old boys would cover up the different water features as they turned on. One boy announced as he stood on a water feature, "this is the best time to go to the bathroom!" I'm sure his mother was so proud. 

We parked at the school next door and there was a willow out front with hundreds of origami cranes hanging from the branches. It was pretty cool and both girls loved it. 


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Happy Father's Day!

Mike is the best dad for our kids. Leah always gets so excited when dad gets home from work. He is the parent of choice for her. It is very sweet. Mike always takes time to teach Addie or spend some special time with her, wether it's painting nails or cleaning up the back yard. I love seeing Mike with our girls. I am excited to see what the future holds for us. 

Mike is a great dad because of his father. I knew what kind of man I wanted to marry because of my dad. "There are only two kinds of people in the world: Doty's and everybody else who wishes they were Doty's." (my dad said that all the time, and about 5 other key phrases when leaving the house for school or anything...) They both have taught us so much. It is a treat when we get to see our dads. 

Thanks to all of the great men in my life for all you have done for me. Happy Father's Day! 

This Week

Addie got her first BIG GIRL haircut! She did so well. I took her to the salon were I used to work. She was so cute in the chair. I should have taken a picture, but the stylist saved some of the curls for me. She was born with some of the hair that was cut off, so I was a teeny bit sad. But seriously, she looks so stinkin' cute! 

We also enjoyed Cold Stone. Is it sad that Addie knows that when we go to the mall, we usually get ice cream? 

And Leah took her first steps on Monday. She has a while to go before she will really walk, but she is quickly growing up! She will be one in a month. What the.... bring my baby back!

Funny story of the week:

I hate crunching noises while chewing. I hate it when I do it, I hate it when others do it. The hate is especially magnified when the mouth is open..... At dinner one night, Mike was eating some baby carrots. And he chewed a bit with his mouth open. I gave him the look, and he quickly exaggerated the open-mouth-chewing and I seriously almost lost it. A few minutes later, Addie sweetly asked for a carrot. Surprised by the fact she asked for one, I passed it right over. She took one huge bite, leaned towards me and with a smile and her mouth open, began to crunch her carrot obnoxiously at me! She thought she was being hilarious. We laughed about it for the remainder of dinner. 


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Stake Conference

Tonight, I went to the adult session of our stake conference. A lot of the talks focused on family and youth and how its very hard to be a teenager now with all the bad in the world. It got me thinking about my teen years. 

I had the best group of friends. Not all of them are pictured up there, but each of them played a huge role in who I am today. The girl I am sitting by, Laura, saved me. And I don't think she even knows it. When I was 13, my family moved and I knew no one. At a Young Womens activity one night, I was sitting in the foyer, alone, listening to the other kids play and have fun. I remember she came out and said something like, "We need you to come play, too!" So I did. And she became one of my best friends through junior high and high school. Through her, I met everyone else. 

We did some crazy Mormon kid stuff, like lighting off fireworks, playing fugitive, day long dates, mafia, water uno and fun random dance parties. We also did more important tings, like seminary, firesides, youth conferences and temple trips. I had the best group of friends. Without Laura, I really don't know if I would be in the same place I am now. 

One thing that was spoken of tonight was how teenagers alway feel the need to fit in and are unsure of myself. Now, while some serious kudos go to my parents on this, a lot go to my friends. I always felt welcome and accepted as who I was and they still pushed me to become better. They always supported me in what I chose to do, which in large part because of them, were mostly good things. 

Would I do high school over again? Yes! And I wouldn't change a thing. It was fun. I learned a lot about me and who I wanted to become. 

I am still friends and keep in close contact with most of these kids, and if we don't, its not because of a falling out, but rather our lives just went down different roads. 

I really love and respect these people and all of the choices they have made. Thanks! 

I also hope my kids have friends like I do! 

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Happy Birthday Mom!

This picture was a few years ago (Christmas of 2007) but I love it. That had been a perfect day. I took a drive with my siters and came home to a yummy Christmas Eve dinner prepared by my mom. She is really good a cooking comfort foods! 

Mostly, I love that we all look so happy.

2007 was not the easiest year for the Doty family, but one were we grew together a lot. BUT it ended much better than it started. I learned a lot about and from my mom that year. 

-how to stay strong

-how to deal with a certain boyfriend (who later became my husband) and our ups and downs

-how to take care of a sick husband (the heart attack really took a lot out of my dad)

-that the best things will happen even if you need to put them on hold

-that family is most important

-enjoying the small blessings in life

-money is not the most important thing, but you must take care of it

-when all else fails, put your pj's on and watch Return To Me, even if its only 6:30.

I love you mom!

Happy ___th Birthay! 

(pretty sure you are 40 this year???)


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Fishing!

Our morning plans fell through, so we needed an indoor activity a bit different than usual. Thanks to the rain, going outside to play is off our list. 

After some quick thinking, we decided on fishing!

I cut out some fish and glued a paperclip to the back of each one. I also cut out a worm and glued a magnet and string to the back. I tied the string to a stick (which happens to be the middle section of my Swiffer; it has holes in it, so it made it easy to tie the string). We got out the USS Laundry Basket, laid down a blue blanket for the ocean and let Addie go to town.

She needs some help hooking her fish, but she thinks its so fun! Fishing quickly led the way to cooking the fish for dinner. Cooking and tea parties are her favorite activities lately. I remember doing this as a kid and loving it. I am glad she likes it too! 

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Funny Addie

Addie says some of the funniest things. She keeps us guessing sometimes, but always funny. 

Today she said her bum her and I asked her what we should do about it and she said put "doin-doin" on it. She then grabbed the A&D ointment. 

Yesterday she announced she wanted to go to Idaho. 

"Idaho?" I asked

"Idaho!" she replied.

"U-daho?" I asked.

"no, u-daho, mom!"

I visited my family last week and Addie had a blast playing wih Uncle Mitch. Although, he did something she did not agree with and promptly told him to put his nose on the wall. (can you guess what method of punishment we are using? She hates it so much, but it is working!)

We looked though the temple Ensign and Addie loved it. She can point out he Tabernacle and tell you it could move around. She points out "Josep Smip" (used to be "missy joe"). She also tells us that she will get married in the temple to a prince (cue my melting heart). 

My favorite thing she says is "boogies." No, it does not mean boogers, it means boobs. She was standing in the fridge the other day looking for cheese and the door closed in on her and pushed her into the shelf a little (for the record, it didn't slam, I was right there helping her find the cheese and it closed when I grabbed a towel or something....) anyway, when she was all up in the shelf's business she said, "it's touching my boogies!" I was crying from laughing so hard. 

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