Trip to Washington for Cousin's funeral

 

This was a great looking barn outside the Best Western Hotel in Sunnyside Washington. We stayed there for the Memorial Service of my Cousin Steven Heckert. 

These are two of my cousins, Left is Tiffanie (Grimmer) Bodine, and Amber (Grimmer) Berg. They are my dad's brother Dwight's (and Dana) daughters. Tiffany is a school teacher in Sunnyside. Amber is a school counselor.

On the left is my cousin Tyson Heckert, his father Randy, younger sister Whitney. 

In the center is my cousin Randy Jr and his wife is in the pink.

Chelsea Heckert is on the left, Amber in the middle, and Cody Heckert on the right. The Heckerts are kids of my dad's younger sister Diane.

My aunty Diane and her husband Reggie. They live in an apartment built in the shop of my cousin Casey, their second oldest son.

My cousin Casey and his younger brother Tyson.

This trip was very interesting. I haven't seen most of these cousins in almost 25 years. My mom and I made the drive from Idaho Falls, to Sunnyside. The Heckerts are amazing and I love them dearly. Casey and his sweet wife Sarah have 11 children. I believe they adopted 4 kids, had 4 of their own, then adopted Steven's kids when he was too far spent with drug addiction. Casey and his wife truly exemplify the Savior's commandment to love your neighbor. 

 

11/06/2025

On Friday 10/25/25, Amanda and I were both out of town. She was in SLC on a Girls Trip with her besties and I was on my way up to Sunnyside, WA for my cousin's funeral (Steven Heckert). Ashlyn and Marley were both at the Thunder vs Rigby Football game when Ashlyn was clocked in her eye by a flying elbow from a fellow cheerleader. Amanda's brother Wyatt came to her aid and took her to the ER. Ashlyn had a concussion along with multiple fractures in her orbital floor. She was leaking fluid into her sinus cavity, making her congested and difficult to breath. 

We were able to get her into surgery on Monday 11/3 with Dr. Ryan Hall. This week, Ashlyn has slept... a lot. We're hoping to get her into school maybe tomorrow. She is supposed to perform in Miss Thunder Ridge on Saturday. I think the concussion symptoms have mostly worn off, but it's hard to say. She is still a bit swollen and mostly over her concussion symptoms. She has difficulty seeing out of her eye. At dinner tonight she made a comment that she didn't think she'd be able to do the full competition. 

Ashlyn is a trooper for sure. I'm not sure what the correct plan of action is. She also needs to get ankle surgery for a collateral ligament tear. If we get the surgery done before the end of the month, then insurance will cover it. If she does get surgery on her foot, then she misses the rest of the cheer season, but would make it for track season. 

It's a tough way to go through a Senior year of High School.