Cole's Eye Surgery

Cole had surgery today for a blocked tear duct. I took him to the doctor on Monday to have it examined and they were able to fit him at the end of the week. Cole couldn't eat after midnight, so he was hungry in the morning, but he still stayed happy. All of nurses came in to see him, because he was so cute. We went to surgery at 10:00 and was back at 10:30 ready to eat. I fed him and then we went home. Cole was tired when we got home and took a long nap. I am proud of how well he did.

Family Fun

Well, tonight we all went to a Regional Track Meet at North Central High School. It was quite fun. We all got there about 6pm for the start. Lori and Cole had to leave early to get him home and put him to bed but Anna and I stayed for the whole thing. She loved it....she would clap and yell at the runners..."RUN FAST!" It actually took me back to the days when I used to run. Those were good days, however, I would not trade my life now for anything. I feel soooooooo blessed to have Lori and the kids in my life. I do love them dearly...they mean everything to me.

Poopy Experience!!!

Well, it has now been quite the experience....Lori tried to potty train Anna with no luck....however, we have noticed one new aspect that is not so promising....twice now in three days Anna has decided to take manners into her own hands (literally tonight) and either take her diaper off and get crap all over in her room or as she did tonight, run in and grab me from her room to tell me she went #2! Well little did I know that she had been finger painting with the crap that was all over her hands, which she decided to put stick into my mouth before I could realize what had happened....needless to say, that was not very tasty....we are trying, but I think she is winning.

Cole went to the pediatric opthalmologist today, who stated that he needs his tear duct (lacrimal duct) probed, as it is clogged, hopefully we can get that done before we have to split for the summer. He is such a cute little fellow, and there is no doubt about it when you look into his beautiful brown eyes.

We just got back from Utah, as Lori will write about, as Cleve passed on from this life. Lori said he seemed peaceful, and I am happy for that. The trip was nice, under the circumstance and it was nice to see the family and let the families see the kids. Anna and I spent a night with my father in Panguitch, which was a great time. She enjoys Dad and Kaelyn. They enjoy her. Now I think I am just along for the ride, it is all about the grandkids, which is should be.

I posted some cute pictures from this last week.....finger painting, time at the zoo, bath time and little princess.....

Good bye Grandpa Esplin

On Mother's Day I got a call from my sisters saying that my Dad was in the hospital. Each day I would call to check on him and every day it seemed more things were wrong. Wednesday evening, May 11th, I got a call in the evening from my Mom. She said my Dad's blood pressure had dropped and they thought he would die that night. My family was there, except me. I cried and cried that night, because I wanted to be there with my family to say good bye to my Dad. Corbin got tickets to fly to Utah the next afternoon. When I called the next morning they said my Dad was doing better. He was still critical, but his blood pressure was up. We flew out Thursday morning. My family decided to remove all life support that day and we weren't sure how long he would survive. We were about 10 minutes from the hospital and my sister called to say that my Dad had died. Corbin dropped me off and took the kids to my sisters. My mom and sisters were around the hospital bed when I arrived. The first thing I wanted to do was hold my Dad's hand. His left hand is missing the ring finger and was obviously unique to him. I guess I wanted to make sure that was still the same. It was after midnight and the hospital was quiet, except for room 333. We were all laughing and telling stories about Dad. Finally around 2:00 we thought we should go home and get some rest.

On Monday we drove to Mt. Carmel. I went to Kanab to help my family dress Dad for the viewing. That evening we had a family viewing and burned the brand on his casket. Everyone told stories about things they remembered about Dad. I told about how Dad would bring home doggy lambs for me to feed. We would keep them in a box by the stove to keep them warm and I would give them warm cow's milk several times during the day and night. I guess Dad thought this was something I was good at, because I seemed to be the family member how always got this job.

Tuesday was the funeral. I got a chance to see so many people that I had not seen in a long time. It was really good to find-out where people were at and what they were doing. Ann, Eric, and Kline talked. They all did a great job. We buried Dad in the Mt.Carmel cemetry under a pine tree facing the mountains. I think Dad will like this spot.

The rest of my family had to go back home after the funeral, but Corbin and I were able to stay with my Mom for a couple of days. It was nice for me to spend some time with my Mom. I have often felt like I didn't know what to do for the family when someone dies, but having my Dad die has helped me see how to help others. People were so kind to our family. People provided food, cards, kind words, flowers, hugs, and telephone calls. All of them were appreciated. We will miss Dad, but I know he is happy where he is at.

I ran the Half Marathon Today!!!!

Well, today I did it, I ran the mini-marathon in Indianapolis. It was quite an experience. I am not in running shape AT ALL. I have to admit, I am in pretty decent shape as I do the stairmaster for 40-50 minutes four or five times a week but that is far short of being in shape for the mini!!!! I ran it with one of my co-chief residents at the OMFS program and I did finish it in 2 hours and four minutes, however, the last 80 minutes of the run was totally in pain as my feet were killing me. There were two problems that I noted:
1. My shoes are five years old and have many stairstepping miles on them
2. I have not run forever!!!!

Eventhough that was the case I finished it out, however, every muscle in my body now aches, I don't look forward to tomorrow!..