Moving forward

I could not see how I could continue with my blog without mentioning the passing of Dean's dad, Jeff Dockstader.

He passed away Friday, August 15th at the age of 54. It has been a very difficult time for our family. We love him and will miss him.

I would like to express my gratitude for all of the support we have received during this time. All of the food, prayers and kind words have uplifted us.

Things will never be the same but we hope to move forward with peace we gospel brings. We will see him again.

Cruise

Last week Dean and I went on a cruise. It was a four night to Mexico. We had a great time.

The first day we got on the ship and we did not do much. We had to do an emergency drill and then we walked around the ship to see where we could get something to eat. The food was good and we could pretty much get something to eat any time of the day.

The second day we were in San Diego. The weather was beautiful the whole time, sunny and in the 70's. In San Diego we did a tour of the Midway (an aircraft carrier).



That afternoon we just vegged out by the pool to read. That night was the Captain's dinner so we got to dress up.



The next day we went to Catalina Island. The ship was anchored in the bay so we had to get on a fairy boat to get on the Island.



We had a lot of fun there. We walked around for a little while. Then we rented a golf cart and drove around the Island.



After that we went on a tour of the Avalon Casino. It was not a gambling casino. I guess if you look up the definition of a casino it is a place of gathering and entertainment. It had a beautiful theater and a huge ball room. We really enjoyed that. Then we went back to the boat for more relaxing by the pool.





The next day we were in Ensenada. We went on a tour called a Taste of Mexico. We got on a bus and went on a brief historical tour. After the tour we went to a restaurant. There a chef taught us how to make a couple of things.

This is Dean making Salsa


My first Tamale


Then we ate and the food was really good.

After lunch we had some time to shop. Dean was really excited to get to use his Spanish. It was fun to watch him barter with the locals.

Dean said the best part of the cruise for him was on the tour of Ensenada. We got to see THE BLACK PEARL. It was parked there for some repairs before it sailed off to Panama for the next Pirate's movie.

Observations of a 4 year old

So, Abby says some pretty funny things. She also is very observant. She also loves cartoons.

Abby's conclusion of Carter

"Carter has Mater teeth"

7 Years

Yesterday was our seven year anniversary. We are going on a cruise in two weeks so I did not plan to do much.

Dean is the best husband ever. He told me over the weekend that he wasn't going to work on our anniversary. I told him he should go. (We didn't have anyone to watch the kids during the day. Also, he will be missing a week of work at the end of the month so I didn't want him to be even more behind.)

Before I go any farther, for those of you that have read Five Love Languages, my #1 and #2 are quality time and gifts.

Anyhow that evening my mom watched the kids so we could go to dinner. We had a nice dinner. After we were done eating Dean gave me this. . .



He really caught me off guard so I started crying.

He told me he tried to cut out all of our faces to put in it but he was having a hard time. (If you have ever paid attention to Dean's hands you will know why. Dean has what I call banana hands.) So instead of pictures he picked out a pretty font and put all of our names in it.

So, between Dean planning the day off and the amazingly thoughtful gift my day was an A+.

Dean is an amazing husband and I really don't deserve him. The last seven years have been wonderful.

Girls Camp

Girls Camp was this week. It was a lot of fun. We went up Monday afternoon. I had a cabin with seven girls. I had two YCLs and five 2nd years.

The first day we just settled in. We had dinner, campfire and a night hike. It was nice. Although, that night I did not get any sleep. The girls were excited to be there and we could not fall asleep. Around midnight we we up in our cabin doing yoga and back massages. We were in bed around 1:00am but the beds were so uncomfortable I could not sleep.

Tuesday, we were up before 6:00am for the polar bear plunge. A couple of the girls from my cabin did it. There was a tub of ice water they had to get in an recite the YW values. We were busy all day. We spent some time at the lake, doing crafts, and tournaments. We ended the day with campfire and skits. At 10:00pm all of the women had a party (eating and talking). I slept well that night. Between a long day and the help of two sleepy pills I rested very well.

Wednesday, we went on a long slightly scary hike. During the hike Amy Nielson and I decided to actually get in the water during our lake time. So, after the hike we were swimming in a very chilly Huntington Lake. That night we had a faith walk and a testimony meeting that were very nice.

Thursday, we had breakfast cleaned up camp and I was home by 1:00 p.m.

My house and my children survived a couple of days without me, thanks to my hubby and the super women who took care of my kids. (Lindsey, Jillyn and Sami)

It was great but I am glad to be home.

Happy Birthday Rachel!

Dean's Birthday

Sunday, we had birthday cake with my family. My sister Sam and my mom got Dean a model car kit.



Tuesday Dean turned 32. He took the day off work. We took the kids to the water park. We have season passes and the kids love it there.

Then Tuesday night we went to the Japanese Kitchen for dinner. After that we went to see Kung Fu Panda at the IMAX theater.