July Birthdays

One Saturday morning, some of my DeBry cousins were in town. Marilyn and David invited us over for breakfast to say hi to Mark and Malinda, and Emily and Darren's family. Seeing cousins is always so nice. I love them, and that never changes, even when we don't see each other.

David and Marilyn restored this little camper, and I was in love with it! They made it so cute. Their plan was to take it cross-country to Illinois, where their family participated in the Nauvoo pageant. I hear it was a great success, and I'm eager to hear all about it.

Saturday night, Scott grilled some meat for us. If there's anything sexier than a guy doing housework, it's a guy grilling meat, and Scott does both, so he's doubly sexy. :)

Sunday:church. Victor joked that he had geared up for the three-hour church block by going to a longer mass.  He was ready!  Scott and I got to teach Sofia in our Sunday School class.  And there were brownies and cookies in all the classes, so everyone was happy.

Olympe had arrived the day before, and stayed home from church recovering from jetlag.  When we got home, we all went to Coco and Bill's to watch the finals of the Euro Cup.  It was France vs. Portugal, and Portugal won at the last minute.  Olympe was bummed because her boyfriend back home was going to be upset by France's loss.  For us, there were other things to celebrate!  First, the arrival of Olympe.  Yay!  Secondly, Dopp July birthdays at Clint and Nikki's BRAND NEW house,  They moved in Saturday and hosted a party Sunday.  Yes, they are super heroes.

And their house is incredible.  They designed and built it themselves, with the help of Clint's building company.  Every detail was perfect.

This pan of cookies will go down in history as the best one Marlene has ever made.  We don't know why, because every pan of goodness she makes is heaven, but everyone kept asking her why they were so good!

Sofia was added as a Dopp kid and got presents for her 15th birthday.  Thanks, family.  You are so generous.

Isabella

Austin

Ptolemy

Chase

Olympe gave us a little sample of her brilliance on Nikki's piano that she refinished with chalk paint.  It looks so good!  I love how Scott and I have families that take in everyone, no questions asked.  I had texted Nikki something like, "Sofia has a July birthday.  No gifts necessary, but we could include her in the Happy Birthday song. :)"  She rewrote the text and sent it out just saying, "Sofia is also July."  I knew everyone would bring her a gift.  Our families give us a lot to live up to.  They are generous and loving.  Nikki and Clint are perfect examples of pure generosity, to open their home to the whole fam damily the day after moving in.  They made it look effortless, too, and never gave the impression they were the least bit bothered by the swarm of Dopps descending on their pristine new abode.  Thanks, guys.  We loved being there and anticipating all the future gatherings that will see the changes our family will confront in the coming years.  Here's to new beginnings!