Shishing, shishing, shishing!

Okay, I had to blog this right away. Ben has been taking Cash fishing the last few days because Cash inherited a fishing pole from Grandpa Dooley. So when Ben took Cash this evening I told him to get pictures. He got one and a great video. Ben told me that this fish was on Cash's pole and it fought like hell. It even jumped out of the water. So when you watch the video you will be shocked to watch this creature lay still and not move. It really looks dead. I guess my son inherited something very special from me and that is creatures of all kinds seem to like us. We have a trusting/kind presence about us when it comes to God's creatures. I am so very excited that Cash has come to enjoy fishing with his daddy. Every morning he asks to go "Shishing!" We love our little man.

Sadness, Easter, and Anniversary all rolled in one...

As you probably all know my grandfather passed away last week. It was very devastating. It all started last Tuesday the 11th. My mom got a phone call,in the afternoon while we were swimming, from the hospital. They said my grandpa got into a serious accident. When we got there, they had decided to life flight him up north due to his injuries. He had brain trauma and his brain was swelling, broken femur, and several fracture ribs and broken ones that punctured both lungs. He was on a breathing machine when I saw him. His accident was in the news because he kind of stopped traffic on I-15 south right at the beginning of the Gorge. So all of my family left the night very late. I had to stay because I didn't have our truck and I had to start a new job on Friday. So I got to say my goodbyes in the ER before they took him. It was very hard for me because my grandpa and I always hit heads. So seeing this man who intimated me all my life, laying there broken and so fragile.
So the next two days were really hard. Harder than I thought it would be. But I was all by myself with my kids with no family and no husband. I called every two hours for those two days. Then on Thursday they told me that they had decided to take him of life support. And when they did he died within 5 minutes. The only man I knew as grandpa had passed away. I was very grateful when I got the news that I was with a very good friend and his wife. They made it seem okay. But that night was one of the longest nights of my life.


So, all my family came back on Friday and Saturday because they chose to have the viewing on Sunday and the funeral on Monday. Saturday well all went to Chuck-o-Rama in memory of my grandpa because he loved that place. And all of us wore on his shirts. He loved his wildlife animal shirts! We also just hung out and went through stuff of his and cried and laughed, watched home videos and so forth. We also colored eggs and did our traditional Easter Egg hunt. We do it at dark. So the kids have flash lights and hunt for the treasures in a park. Cash was so fun. He kept screaming, "EGGS!" He had a good time.


Sunday was Easter, of course. My kids woke up and started for the candy. Gabby loved to try to break the eggs open. We got ready and went to the viewing. It was really hard for me to walk by his body. I don't do well with corpses. The reason for it is that when I was 12, my sister and I found my other grandpa dead in his bed. Not a very good memory. So I have a hard time with the dead. It was a pleasant time with everyone there. My daughter got a lot of attention with her glasses. Cash and most of the other kids were in the nursery room. I forgot to mention that it was Ben and I's anniversary that day. Six long years for us! We didn't get to celebrate it and I am okay with that because it was not the time. So we are tonight.


Then Monday was the funeral. I had to work in the morning then I meet up with Ben and the kids at his moms house. The funeral was beautiful. I want to let one person know that his speech really touched me. Larry, when you said goodbye I lost it. I know where you come from and even know that it was not all fun and games with grandpa, he still has a huge impact on us. I love you Larry and Shannon. You mean so much to our little family. Thank you for all that you have done for us.
Anyways, my kids were the loudest and naughtiest of all the kids. Cash almost knocked the coffin over. Go figure! At the burial site they did a 21 gun solute and the folded the flag. It was really hard when they did that. Military funeral's are always harder for me. So we all put a flower on the grave for him. I also found out that day that my son has the chicken pox. Yay for me!
I just want to say that I loved my grandpa with all my heart! He made a difference in this world. And one thing that I will never forget was that he loved my children. And he was so happy and glowing when he saw my children. That made up all the hard times between him and I. He always kept bugging Ben to take him to Alaska. So I was planning a trip for those two to go.
Here is to you grandpa, a sunset in Alaska. I love you so very much. I will miss you. (My sister made a video of my grandpa that I can't top. Just click the Dockstader family.)

Spring and Family

Me, Gabby, Ashtyn, McKenna, Branson, Cash, Donnavon, Jayden, JaNeil

Well, this last weekend some of my family came down. The Strong's and all there kids, but one. And my Aunt Karen and her kids. It was a good weekend. We went to Town Square and let the kids get their feet wet. And, of course, my son loves water. He couldn't even wait to get his suit on to get in. And Gabby had fun, too. The water was cold but the kids didn't mind. That is really the most exciting thing we did. The rest of the time we spent with my grandma. She is not doing well and she doesn't leave the house. So we spent a lot of time in the house. We went through old pictures. Some really neat old pictures. We found this one of my great great great grandpa working on the rail roads. It was a good time.


Monday, I took the kids for their shots and Gabby's 1 year check-up. Cash didn't even cry. And he is growing well. He had an ear infection, though. I didn't even know. And well, Gabby gave us a scare. She has not gained weight for 3 months now. So the doctor wanted to do blood tests. So on top of her shots she had to get blood drawn. We found out that everything was okay. We just have to take her in every month to check her weight. She is only 17.5 lbs. She is in the lower 4 percentile. We also went to the eye doctor and he said we won't be needing surgery on her eyes. The glasses work. So for now she has to do the patch and for the rest of her life she will have glasses or contacts. So all in all good news.
But on Thursday after lunch when Gabby woke up, she wouldn't stop throwing up. She has been real sick with a fever of 102 or higher. But this morning she woke up and kept her small amount of liquid and food down. So hopefully she is on the mend. Cash, I am glad to report is potty trained. Yay for Cash! The only thing we are working on is his night time stuff. He is getting better at waking up and letting me know he needs to go. I don't expect his night time potty training to be complete for a couple months.