The First Day of School

I know it is alittle late to be posting these pictures, but better late than never.

To fill everyone in on how it all worked out: I went into labor early the morning of August 14th. The kids were supposed to start school that morning too. So I was worried. I layed in bed planning to take them to the first day of school with J.D. and then head to he hospital. Well, it became evident that I needed to head straight to the hospital. I didn't want the talk to be "Hey the new kids mom had her baby in the parking lot this morning." Consequently, I had the mommy guilts, nothing had been smooth about getting the school year started. They started a week after everyone else, at a very big new school, with no mom around, but they did awesome. So I don't know what I was worried about. Things worked out and thank heavens kids are strong! So anyways here are the first day of school pictures from San Tan Elementary home of the scorpions - "Where we sting with pride!"






I

It's A....GIRL!

Reese Kennedy Dockstader
August 14, 2007
7 lbs. 5 oz 20 inches

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YES!!! The Fresno house is under contract!!!

Just a little update for those of you who may actually care and wonder what is happening with the Dockstaders.

We got an offer on the Fresno house on Saturday, we countered on Sunday, and they accepted this morning!!! YEAH!!!!! So we close September 5th. Our California cash cow didn't payoff like we had hoped when we bought that house almost 3 years ago, but our friends and experiences in California did.

We can't thank everyone enough for the many prayers, fasting, listening ears, shoulders to cry on, and advice that helped us through what has been a very long process. We feel very blessed and grateful!

For the update on Arizona, we are looking at a couple of houses and working out some details. Needless to say, we won't be in a house by the time the baby comes within the next couple of weeks, but I feel like we made it through a long hard time and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks again to everyone and especially to our families that have been so helpful, loving, and giving through all of this. We can never thank you enough and express how much it means to us.

Stay tuned for baby news!!!

Our GREAT time in Utah

Well, the kids and I have been in Utah for two weeks and we are on our way back to Arizona today. I have to squeeze in one more blog session before I am without a computer again. It has been a GREAT trip. With life so crazy right now, it has been nice to spend time here with so many friends and family. We have crammed so much into the last two weeks, there was never really any down time. I wanted to put together some pictures to share some of the fun. We had a wonderful 4th of July. The kids had a blast having sleepovers and video game time with cousins and friends. They played on the water slide, in irrigation water with our friends, swimming, and yesterday we played at Lagoon. I got to spend time with some of my Los Alamos friends, and our great friends that we left here when we moved. We even hooked up with the Jensen's from Fresno, they were visiting too. Thanks so much to all our friends and family for the support and the great time.

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A quick update

I decided to do a little blogging to let everyone know what has been going on with us. We made the trip to Arizona, where it is very HOT!! I know it is hot everywhere right now, but imagine being 7 months pregnant and having a bad case of the kankles in 112 degree Phoenix weather. We stayed there for 2 weeks between "the trailer" and my sister's house. The kids do love the daily swimming that comes with living in Arizona. Then we came up to Utah for a couple of weeks to visit J.D.'s family. We will head back to Arizona on the 14th, and then I will have to stick it out until the baby comes. No "bites" on the Fresno house. We continue to fast and pray that something is going to happen before school starts and a baby comes. We are doing good and would love to hear from everyone. We miss everyone so much. So don't hesitate to email, call, write, or whatever. Check out the following posts to see what has been going on.

We love the 4th!!

We had a great 4th of July. It is one of my favorite holidays because it is always packed with fun - friends and family, BBQs, rodeos, fairs, parades, and fireworks. We spent it this year with J.D.'s family - grandma and grandpa and his brother Jeff's family. J.D. and Kandiss ran in a 5K. We cheered them on. When in Utah for the 4th we like to go to a rodeo. This year Tyce did mutton bustin - which is bareback sheep riding. It was so much fun to watch him and hear him talk about it. Check out his cool hat and boots! He placed 8th out of 36 kids ages 5-8. He had so much fun! (So did J.D.) We squeezed in a parade and some water slide time too. And you can't forget the sparklers!!

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Tyce's 7th Birthday

We were in Arizona for Tyce's birthday. He had a good day, but it was a little weird not being settled and surrounded by our Fresno friends. We did have a fun BBQ with a couple of friends from J.D.'s job. He got to swim, blow out candles and open presents with a crowd, so I think all in all it was a good day. Here are a few pictures.

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BIG BAD BOOMERS BIRTHDAY!!

Okay, so here is another birthday party from the Dockstaders. Tyce's birthday is at the end of the month, and I didn't want him to miss out on having a party with all his good friends from Fresno. So I crammed one more activity in for the week. Tyce went with 8 friends to Boomers, which is one of those activity centers that has it all - mini golf, laser tag, go-carts, boats, climbing wall, and video games. They got to do whatever they wanted for 2 hours. It was a blast. The boys were running around trying to get everything in. Here are some picts.

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The Last Week at Riverview Elementary

Last week was packed with end of the school year stuff. Stuff like awards, parties, and talent shows. It was a very busy week, but so much fun. The last day of school was hard for Jagen and I. We are the emotional ones. I got to school to pick the kids up and Jagen was sobbing as she hugged her favorite teacher. Miss Kruser had tears rolling down her cheeks too. Tyce on the other hand said, "What is she so sad about...IT'S SUMMER!!!!" Here are some pictures of the activities and a video of Tyce doing his take on the now famous German Song, for the talent show. Enjoy!!

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Asey's big day!

Asey is three! I think she had a good day. It involved end of the school year stuff like talent shows and running for teacher gifts. But it also included fun times with friends and presents in the end. She is such a good girl and so fun to be around. This is a fun age, because she is so funny and doesn't even know it. Here is a little slide show with a glimpse at Asey's day. Thanks for all the birthday wishes from everyone!

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Asey's going to be 3 - We had a party!

I can't believe my little Asey is going to be 3 on the 8th. Time flies. She has some very good friends here in Fresno, so I decided I wanted to have a little birthday party for her before we leave. It was so much fun. It was a princess party. Lots of pink and girlie things. We decorated princess hats, and made necklaces. The girls played pin the horn on the unicorn, and a few games of find Cinderella's slipper. Every party has to have cake and presents. It was so much fun and Jagen was a great helper. Here are some pictures of the fun!

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Locks of Love

Locks of Love is an organization that uses donated hair to make hair pieces for underprivileged children with caner. Jagen has been saying for a while that she wanted to donate her hair to Locks of Love. Well she finally pushed me hard enough this week to take her in and get her hair cut. You have to donate a minimum of 10 inches. Jagen had no hesitations, (although her dad and I did). But it turned out really cute and I think she will enjoy it in hot Arizona this summer.

Before the chop all done up.

Before the chop all combed out.

THE CHOP
Wow that was a lot of hair!





After the chop with a cute little bob.

Pismo Beach

J.D. was home for the long weekend, so we decided to go to Pismo Beach with some friends for a couple of days. We jam packed the weekend with fun - swimming, the beach, shopping, bowling, the Strawberry Festival, the list goes on. We had such a great time and made many memories with the Grants and the Jensens!! We love you guys!! Check out our fun.

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Tyce finally lost his first tooth!!!!

Tyce is a week and a half away from being a 2nd grader and he has finally lost his first tooth. He has been bummed for quite some time, because all of his friends have lost some teeth. The other day while talking with one of Asey's friends, who is in kindergarten, she informed Tyce that she had lost 2 teeth. He was sad. We are happy to report that while dad was home this weekend he pulled Tyce's tooth. Tyce was so excited to put it under his pillow and the tooth fairy left him $2. Now he thinks he is rich. Losing a tooth and getting 2 whole dollars, childhood is bliss. Here are a couple of pictures.

Tyce's tiny tooth




The toothless look.

She's got German in her

Jagen had to do a report about a country that featured some family history. So she picked Germany where my mom's mom came from when she was only 8 years old. I was frustrated about having to pull this report together, but it turned out to be so much fun. Jagen really enjoyed learning about her Great-Grandma, her history and life experiences. I (with some help from my brothers and sister) even taught her a song that my Grandma used to sing to us. She dressed up for the presentation and we even found some German cookies to share with the class. It was really cute and I wanted to share it with you all and especially dad, since he missed all the fun too.

Jagen all dressed up for the presentation.

Jagen presenting.

I had to video the song for everyone to see and hear. I know there is probably not one German word that is correct, but she learned it exactly how I taught her, which is from memory by non-German speaking people (me and my siblings). Check this out. Brave little girl to sing in front of the whole class. (Oh...and turn up your sound.)

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It's a...

You know better than that. Believe it or not, I wanted to find out what it was this time around, but J.D. didn't. Since he wasn't here for the ultrasound, he didn't want us to find out. So we are going to make it a surprise again.

With the new insurance stuff all worked out, I finally went for an ultrasound. It is fun, because all of a sudden it makes it very real. I am not just getting fat, there is a baby in there. Here are the pictures I got. I, of course, think it looks so cute. If you haven't seen many of these, it may all just look like a blur. Many thanks to Heather for going with me and holding my hand. Nothing worse than doing this kind of stuff alone, and Heather wouldn't let me do that. See paybacks are coming around Heath.(During day time hours. Ha ha)


A little profile with the hand by the mouth.

Another profile with the foot pulled up there.

Profile with the body and arm visible.


This is looking at the bottom of a foot. The big toe is cranked out to the side. The foot is 4 cm long right now.

The Party

We decided to do a special birthday party this year, with the move and all. Jagen invited her two best friends from Fresno and we partied all afternoon and into the evening. The girls took pictures, developed them, and then made collages. There was some other fun mixed in there too. It was a lot of fun, and very memorable for Jagen. She has the collage to make sure.

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Happy 9th Birthday Jagen!!

I can't believe that Jagen is 9 years old. My oldest baby is almost in double digits. I think she had a good birthday. J.D. surprised us and came home last weekend for a quick visit. That was probably the best present of all. So we had some early birthday fun while he was here. Then I made her a cake and she got to open more presents on her real birthday. All in all I think she had a great time and was spoiled. Jagen, we sure do love you!!!


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Super Dad and Super Dog

I have to blog a really cute school project that Jagen had to do. Background: For St. Patricks day they had to decorate a potato and write a story. So the following is Jagen's story and some pictures. I thought it was pretty cute.


The super dad and his dog. By Jagen Dockstader


One day in Docville, there live a super dad and a super dog. The dad's name was J.D. and dog's name was Ripley. In Docville everyone was happy except Rondald Durkin. He was not happy because he got kicked out of his house by his mom and moved to Docville. Now that he was mad he wanted to burn the city up, but super dad and super dog wouldn't let that happen.

March 26, 2005

It was 2:00 a.m. and J.D. and Ripley got a call from the fire department. Ronald Durkin had struck. He had started a fire at Cherry Street house 2299. " Ok I'll be right there!" J.D. said. They jumped in the car and drove to the scene. The fire was almost to the top level of the home. A mom and her 2 daughters and a son were trapped on the top level. There was no way down. So super day and super dog flew up to the window and saved the mom and kids. The mom thanked Super dad. Super dad and the mom fell in love and got married and lived happily ever after.



Jagen with Super Dad and Super Dog


Looks just like J.D. and Ripley.



Do you think Jagen misses her dad?

The Daddy-Daughter Dance...without our daddy

One of Jagen's favorite events of the year...The Daddy-Daughter Dance. Sadly this year our daddy is in Arizona. So Jagen had a substitute daddy. Maggie's dad, Jared, added Jagen for a total of 4 daughters for the night. Many thanks Jared!!!!

It was a lot of fun. Jared took them shopping for new dresses, and to get their nails done. Then I did everyone's hair (Misty was out of town) and they were off for dinner and a night of dancing. Jagen had a good time, but at the end of the night she came right home and called her daddy to tell him she missed him and it wasn't the same without him. We miss you babe!!

Here are the glamour girls.

Taylie, Maggie, Jagen and Ambree

Best Friends - Jagen and Maggie

The Jensen Girlies

Pretty nails.