Avery Sax Man

So after hearing all of Kimaree's sax man stories, my mom arranged for Avery to play this prank on her after Grandpa's viewing. I have actually been wanting to hear Avery play for a really long time. I got to hear him during this prank and then also at the cemetery. He is really good. Typical of my mom, she is still able to laugh and be happy even during sad times. I am so glad I have been able to see so many cousins with Grandma's funeral last month and Grandpa's funeral this month. I have such an awesome family.

Sexy Sax Man

You have to watch this you tube video. Click on the "play" button on the middle of the above picture.
Kimaree keeps us all up to date on cool you tube videos. She has a professor that loves funny videos and shares one every day in class. This video is really popular right now and on Halloween a bunch of the BYU saxophone players re-enacted this you tube video all over campus. There was even a guy on the roof top of one of the buildings. AND.. to top it off one of the sax players came in to her class... the same class with the professor that always shares you tube videos. Her professor was delighted, to say the least, that they would choose his class to prank (unlike the professor in the video)!

Watch this video today, and tomorrow I will post a little treat for you to watch. You'll be glad you did!

FINISHED! and Brookie update

We finished potato harvest today about 1:00 PM. Exciting! We are usually done by the 10th of October so this is really late for us. We had a lot of snow and rain that kept us from finishing on schedule. We had a harvest "party" which basically was just feeding everyone lunch.

Our menu:
Cafe Rio burritos (meat rice and the Cafe Rio dressing)
Chocolate Cake
Oatmeal Cookie bars

What a relief to have the potatoes out... now we just need to finish beets at the other farm. And we need to have that finished in time for Cody's wedding (Mark's younger brother is getting married Nov 4th in Twin Falls).

Brookie update:
Brooke was scheduled for her final chemotherapy treatment on Thursday (the 19th). When she got there they determined that she has lost too much weight and also had swollen lips and a little bit of a red eye. It was determined that she was not well enough to receive the treatment. They decided to give Brooklyn a feeding tube (in the nose, down the throat, into the stomach). They said she would only be bothered by the tube for about 6 hours, and then she would be great... and that was the case. She is doing well with the tube so far. A syringe connects to the tube and that is how they push medicine and nutrients into the stomach. Brooklyn is glad to not have to take her medicine, it can go in the tube now. She can still eat and drink anything just like normal, but this will just help her to get back some energy and weight. She also had another hearing test where they determined that she has a loss of some of the higher tones.
Brooklyn will go back next week to see if she is well enough to receive the last chemotherapy. 3-4 weeks after her final treatment they will do another MRI and also another hearing test. If the hearing test does not improve they will get her into some hearing aids. Hearing loss is a complication caused by some chemotherapy treatments. Her last hearing test came back pretty good, so who knows if this is just a crazy bump in the road or if she truly will have to wear hearing aids.?.

After the results of the next MRI they will make a new game plan and see what they want to do. Derek and Angelie are planning to go to Disneyland in December through the Make A Wish program. They will go after Derek finishes school and before Christmas. We hope that Brooklyn will be feeling better and that not having chemotherapy treatments every other week will give her the strength and energy to go and have a great time!

I will keep you posted on how her appointment next week goes.

Arco's Flash Flood

A lot of you saw on the news that we had some weather action over here in the desert on Monday. Here is a look at my yard and house after the heavy rain and hail storm.

Isn't that soil supposed to be in the flower bed? My flowers were looking SO good before the hail storm and flood. Mark had used some special fertilizer from the farm and they were so pretty. Oh well we will try again next year.

Luckily we did not get any water in our basement, but our driveway is destroyed. The asphalt is washed away in places and rock from the hill above us is scattered everywhere in the driveway. It literally looks like craters of the moon in my driveway. It is so uneven and the remaining asphalt looks like a lava flow. I guess we will be replacing our driveway this year :(

(Notice my new vehicle in the driveway next to the 'ol Alero. We sold the pickup I used to drive and got a Nissan Pathfinder!)

The "new" river bed in my driveway. You can see where it tore away the asphalt from the retaining wall.

We ended up with a big sink hole where the water was pouring off of the hill.

Relay for Life 2011

"Man Talk" (plus Sicily)

Sorry, picture out of order. The day after Relay Lance took us to American Falls to do some boating. I was glad for the kid size life jacket. We found out Sicily has no fear of the water and ran out into it as soon as we put her down. She loved playing in the sand also.

Paxton lounging with Aunt M'Lisa. He was a very good baby during Relay and the remainder of the weekend. He is spoiling me!

2 sleeping kids at Relay for Life. We did a few laps as a family and soon after both kids fell asleep.

Luminaries around the track. The Luminary Ceremony was very special. They lit all the luminaries and then had everyone walk a lap in silence to remember those who have lost the fight.

Dad's luminary

Our Booth & Decorations at Relay For Life

The coolest picture ever! As part of the decorations there was a picture of Cinderella (Brooke's favorite princess) and Brooklyn. I think there is a story behind how Angelie ended up with the picture, we will have to ask her for details!
Angelie made this banner. It really sums up why we did Relay this year.

Our booth won best decorated! Very exciting! We also sold cotton candy for our on-site fundraiser. This was such an awesome event to participate in!

Kids

Brooklyn holding Paxton. She loves him and can even say his name really well! It is so cute. Brooke never has to be reminded what his name is, and she seems to be drawn to babies. This picture was taken right before the 4th of July. You can see a few strands of Brooke's hair in the picture. Her hair had started to fall out in big clumps and so she was wearing a scarf all the time to catch the hair and also cover her head since she looked a little crazy with her hair falling out in patches. Shortly after we took this picture I took Brooke out on the deck and cut the rest of her hair off. She hasn't seemed to mind too much, and Angelie dresses her in the cutest scarves and hats. Derek and Porter have also been wearing their hair shaved off. Angelie said that Brooke wanted to take her Cinderella doll's hair off the other day. So she is aware that her hair is gone, but as long as she has a scarf or hat she isn't too self conscious about it.

Sicily has finally taken an interest in her baby doll. We got it for her last Christmas and she has never been that excited to play with it. Ever since Paxton came along she is constantly taking care of her baby doll. If she is not rocking the baby she is putting it in Paxton's bouncer chair or his swing. It is so cute to see her singing, rocking, and reading stories to her doll.

We have been having a great summer! I got my double jogging stroller shortly after Paxton was born, and we have walked all over Arco! I have really enjoyed taking walks and have even started a little jogging on the cooler days! Both kids enjoy the stroller so that is a plus.

Sicily's hair has started to get a little longer so her pigtails stay in much better.

Sicily loves her brother! She brings him toys, bounces him, "helps" him all the time. I have to watch her really close because she plays a bit rough still. Usually Paxton is fast asleep in his swing or bouncer chair and she is still talking and singing and trying to get him to play. In this picture she had gotten the box of kleenex and was wiping his nose! I can't believe he slept through it all. Needless to say we put Paxton in another room for his nap, and hid the Kleenex box from Sicily!

Relay For Life

Our family appreciates the concern, love and support we have felt from you with regards to our sweet Brooklyn and her ongoing care. Thank you! We have decided to participate in Pocatello's Relay For Life. Relay for Life gives us the opportunity to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost and fight back against the disease.

We have the opportunity to raise money for that cause.Our family is selling bracelets as part of our fundraiser. They have been designed with Brooklyn in mind: Gold and Gray, symbolizing pediatric and brain cancer. We are wishing "Success for our Princess"

We are offering two sizes: Child $6.00 and Adult $7.00

Any who is interested in a bracelet may order through their Paypal account by logging onto www.Paypal.com, then click on send money, enter the amount, and send it to Kimaree's email: kimareewalker@gmail.com.

Also please include the description of your order (how many child/adult bracelets you want) in the optional message box before sending your order and we will get them to you soon!

Money donations could be made as well.

Thank you again for your prayers.

Paxton Van Telford

Sicily loves her new brother! She has been very sweet to him and is adjusting very well to all the new changes in her life! (Sicily's new Rapunzel dress-up is on constantly, but only over 1 shoulder!?!)

Mark is very concerned about the pink chair! I told him Paxton will forgive me I'm sure, and as fast as he is growing up... I'm sure he won't be in the pink chair for very much longer. Paxton is 2 weeks old in the "pink chair" pictures.

Pax is a very good sleeper already! This mom has had a lot of R&R the last couple of weeks. Just what the Dr. ordered!

The "hospital shot"

Well better late than never.... an update about our new baby! Paxton was born June 18 at 11:09 a.m. He weighed 8 lbs. 9 oz. and was 20 3/4" long. 2 days later we had his first check up and he gained 2 oz and was 22 inches long. My mom has used the analogy of those memory foam mattresses with Pax: "once you take them out of the package they just never fit back in there the same". I was in total shock when he was born about how much bigger he was than Sicily. I know we didn't break any "big baby records" or anything, but he is just so much bigger and more advanced physically than Sicily was at this point.

My labor and delivery went good. 6 hours start to finish and I was sure glad I was in Rexburg when I started having contractions. Mark just about didn't make it... we both thought I was in for another 15 hour labor like I had with Sicily. Needless to say I think he broke the record for the fastest time crossing the Arco desert. He was going to just check all his water and then come over to Rexburg, but we quickly called him and told him to just COME! No time for an epidural or an IV... so all natural. After Pax was born it was discovered that I had a membranous cord insertion. That was an AWFUL experience and I have had a hard time even talking to my mom about it without crying. It would have been nice to at least had an IV or something for the pain. Thank goodness we had a great doctor. Mark and I both thought he was great and really helped me through the whole ordeal. About 1/2 hr to 45 mins. after Pax was born we finally got to see him and hold him, and that made all the pain worth it!

We aren't quite sure who he looks like yet. He does share some similarities with Sicily, but mostly we think he is just his own little person. He has been a blessing to our lives and we just absolutely adore him! I am feeling great and feel lucky to have such a healthy, good natured little boy.

Brooklyn is out of ICU

Brooklyn was moved out of the ICU after her MRI today. She has also been eating a few things and drinking lots of juice. Derek said she even tried eating a cupcake tonight. (She loves cupcakes!) The MRI shows that they were successful in removing the entire tumor. Hopefully we will continue to get good news like this each day until she is released. Derek guesses that if Brooke continues to make good progress tonight and tomorrow, they will be released some time this weekend. Then she will get a 1 week break at home before starting chemotherapy. Let's all hold on to the saying "third time's the charm". This was her 3rd surgery, combine that with the chemo and we'll hope for the best. Good Luck Brookie!

XOXOXO

Brooklyn and PICTURES!

Sicily at the Princess Party

Brooklyn sword fighting at the Hall Reunion

Princess Brookie at the princess party

A true pirate never sheds the outfit. Sicily has much to learn....
Brooklyn and her pirate loot.

The bike brigade (with Port in the background. He is just biding time until he can ride a bike with the girls and show them how it's really done)

Sicily loves to play the piano WITH Brooke. I'm not sure how much Brooklyn enjoys it, but she is nice and sits on the bench with the wild cousin Sis.

One of 2 family BBQ's we had over the weekend complete with Dallin's dutch oven cooking!

Brooke and Sis waiting for Uncle Dallin at the airport coming home from his mission.


My mom came home from the hospital last night. Brooklyn was still in the ICU, and they are going to be doing another MRI today to see how things are going. She is very sore. This time the Dr. went right in the back of the head so Brookie does not want to move around much at all. She did give my mom knucks so that is improvement from the day before! Brooklyn is not wanting to swallow so she has a lot of stuff in the back of her throat which they had to suck out a few times yesterday. It is unclear if the lack of swallowing is from the tube she had down her throat from surgery making her throat sore, or whether it is a negative side effect from the surgery. We are hoping it is a temporary setback. Her recovery is going a bit slower this time around, but we are hoping she will continue to progress and at least be moved out of ICU today. Thank you for all of the texts and calls. We appreciate all your love and support!

Brooklyn's Surgery

I thought I would make a quick post to update everyone on Brooklyn's surgery today. In case some of you don't know anything about this, here is a little background: On May 11th Brooklyn had a MRI as part of her preparations for chemotherapy. At that MRI it was discovered that the tumor in her brain had returned again, even while she was receiving radiation. As you can imagine that was a huge blow for all of us, but especially for her parents. Her last surgery was only in January so to have it return so quickly was really a shock. Her oncologist and surgeon determined that they would again remove the tumor, and then start in on the chemotherapy treatments. Today was surgery day. After talking to my mom around 8:30 PM, she said that Brooklyn was in her room waking up from anesthesia, but that she was mostly "sleeping" it off.

The surgeon reported that he was able to remove the entire tumor. Brooklyn also received her port (on her chest like my dad had) while in surgery. My mom was/is anxious to see how Brooklyn is doing in the morning when she has really recovered from the anesthesia. We are all hoping and praying for her speedy recovery. Thank you to all who have kept Derek's family in their thoughts and prayers. Brooklyn will start chemotherapy about 1 week after she is released from the hospital. If everything goes well, she should be released in 3-4 more days.

My mom (and Dallin) decided they really wanted to stay another night so they can visit Brooklyn again tomorrow. I will update everyone how her night went and any other updates my mom gives me.

On a lighter note... we had an awesome weekend filled with Princess Parties, the Hall Family Reunion aka: Pirate Party, 2 Larry Walker family BBQ's and generally just a bunch of fun. We made a lot of memories, and Sis and Brookie played so hard together for 3 days straight. Most of the things we did were just spontaneous, last minute things. Normally we don't just "fly by the seat of our pants" but I'm glad we took advantage of every opportunity. It is the memories we made last weekend that will sustain all of us through the next few hard weeks and months ahead. So my Scoutmaster's minute of the day: Take advantage of every opportunity to sit back, relax, and enjoy the company of the ones you love. It's FUN!

Elder Dallin Walker is coming home!

Exciting News!!

Elder Dallin Walker has completed his 2 year mission (Fresno California-Spanish speaking) and is returning home soon. We invite all family and friends to join us in any and all of the following events:

Wednesday, May 4, 5:40 p.m. Idaho Falls Airport Arrival

Saturday, May 7, 6 p.m. Welcome Home Party at the Mill Hollow building. We will start with dinner and then Dallin will speak to us about his mission experiences. Then we can visit and enjoy gym activities. Dallin’s family will provide the main course and drink. If you want, bring a salad or dessert.

Sunday, May 8, 1 p.m. Dallin speaks in Sacrament meeting at the Mill Hollow building.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Pirate Island & Arrrrrrcade!

Brooklyn, Porter, Kimaree, Angelie, & Sherri (Angelie's mom) went to Pirate Island last night. The atmosphere was fun, and Brookie loved it. There was also an "Arrrrcade" where they played a few games. They taught Brooklyn to bend her pointer finger to make a hook, just like a real pirate.

(Notice Brooklyn is still sporting the super hero cape with a new addition of princess shoes!)

One Happy Pirate!

Can you tell how good Brooklyn seems to be feeling? Derek has mentioned to my mom that they have started talking with the doctors about the chemotherapy plan. It is so hard to swallow all this cancer talk when you see how "healthy" and happy Brooklyn is. Derek told my mom that he really is not looking forward to any of the chemo, because he (like the rest of us) is worried that the chemo is what will take her back to feeling crumby again.

The tentative plan for this weekend is that the "Larry Walker" clan will be getting together on Sunday for conference. I will get more details of the chemo plans then. I will be sure to take pictures and interrogate Derek & Angelie for any more or new information.

Derek has applied for a few internships and there is one in particular that seems like it could be such a great fit for their family. We are all waiting to hear back on that! He has had a really hard time finding very many opportunities in this economy! We are all so proud of Derek for pushing through with school this semester even though it has meant not seeing his family during the week. If all goes as planned, he should graduate next December. We have not only been praying hard for Brookie, but also for Derek to be blessed during this crazy time of life.

And then there is Angelie. She is always so positive and such a good mom to Brooklyn and Porter. I don't know many girls her age who have faced these kinds of trials! She is an example to all of us. Sometimes when I get to worrying about Brooklyn, Angelie will make a comment that just sets me at ease. I always think...." Shouldn't we be the ones that are offering her comforting words?"

I feel blessed to have Derek & Angelie in my family! They are pretty awesome!

Last Week: Derek's Spring Break

Thumbs Up!!

Well so far Brooklyn is having a "thumbs-up" radiation experience. She is doing so well.

Last week was Derek's Spring Break, so he got to spend it with his family and help take Brooklyn to treatments. They finished out their week in Island Park on a family snowmobiling trip with some of Angelie's family. Angelie also celebrated her birthday while in Island Park (complete with Cocoa Bean cupcakes!!) We met up with Derek & family on Friday as they were heading up to IP. We went to dinner at Gringo's. Brooklyn was such a happy girl! She seems to be doing so well! (Sicily on the other hand was quite the handful at dinner. I ended up with an entire pitcher of ice water on my lap!)

Here is an excerpt from an email Kimaree sent me last Monday:

"Today we went to Cabelas in Lehi to watch them feed the fish. The fish were huge! At first they would just give them large pellets, which was cool and all, but then they threw in some live goldfish and they fought to get them! It was intense. There was even a kid who screamed and cried because they ate the friendly goldfish. Brookie loved it though. Also we went through the "game room" to look at the animals, and our last stop was at the general store upstairs to eat fudge which she loved. She seriously is a girl because she will never turn down chocolate. In the pictures you can see Brookie is wearing a pink thing. That's her "cape" from Megamind (which is a movie that just came out). She NEVER takes it off. It's pretty cute. One week she is a princess, the next she is a superhero."

This is Brooklyn's third week of radiation. What a beautiful little girl! She still has a sparkle in her eyes.... something that was not present last year during radiation treatments. We really are blessed. Thank you all for your continued prayers. Brooklyn is doing so well.

Here is recent picture of Sicily doing her 2 favorite things: playing in the salon and reading books. She loves to climb up to the sink and pretend to wash all of her toys. We'll be in trouble when she discovers how to turn on the water. It really frustrates her to have my clients receive a shampoo in "her" chair!

I should not have waited so long to post about Brooklyn's treatments! She is just finishing week 1 of treatment. Originally last week was supposed to be the first week, but the radiologist felt too rushed with President's Day so he pushed it back 1 week. He just felt like they wanted plenty of time to get the machine set up properly before administering radiation.

Mark, Sicily, & I traveled down to Provo yesterday to see Brooklyn, Angelie & Porter,
(Also to see Cody & Kimaree). We also went to the BYU basketball game. It was a quick 1 day trip but we sure had lots of fun.


Brooklyn calls her PICC line her bracelet. She is holding it out for me to take a picture. The blue piece hanging out of the "bracelet" is a cap that they remove and then insert the needle. This prevents having to start an IV every day for Brooklyn's sedation. Derek told me they are not supposed to get her line wet, making bath time quite tricky. Here she is enjoying some ice cream! We hope she keeps up her good appetite.

You can tell by the pictures that Brooklyn still looks quite healthy. We hope that is how the next 4 weeks will be for her. These pictures are after 3 days worth of treatments. Angelie tells me that after day 1 last time she was throwing up and had lost all appetite. So it is just great to have her smiling and wanting to eat, no nausea yet, and she was super excited to play with Sicily! These are all blessings and we hope she can continue feeling as good as possible.

Doesn't Porter look just like Derek minus the eye color? He is growing so fast! He is a very pleasant baby. He smiles so big that it looks like it should hurt! He is so very cute. Hopefully Brooklyn's treatments will not wear on him too much. So far he is a trooper!

Sicily had the cutest bow in her hair yesterday. She left in in the whole ride down to Provo. Right as we got into town she pulled everything out. What will I do about this? It makes pictures of her seem "boyish" but still cute! She really seems to know Brooklyn now, and recognizes her as a fun friend. I was worried that she would be too rough with Brooklyn, but so far Brooklyn seems up for playing and having a good time. Sicily loves to copy anything Brooklyn does. They are good playmates. Also something silly about Sicily: she constantly holds her tongue out when she is concentrating. You can see in the picture that she has a big red mark below her lip because of it. I'm sure she'll grow up and ask me why I let her run around looking like a wild child. My answer?......... SHE IS A WILD CHILD! and we love her still the same!

Angelie and her mom kept all the kiddos while we met up with Kimaree and Cody for the game.

WE GOT JIMMERED!

Not such a great game, BYU lost, and with all of the Brandon Davies drama.... but the crowd was still so energized! We had such a good time! Good luck to BYU on Saturday, their last home game.

Mark and I both bought white BYU shirts. Kimaree & Cody said it was supposed to be a "white-out" in the student section, so we were glad to have an excuse to buy some shirts from the Bookstore. We even got one for Sicily! It is so cute and tiny!
Mine isn't quite so tiny, but I thought wearing a tight white shirt with a BIG pregnant belly would for sure get me on TV, and I did NOT want to be on TV looking like that! I can only imagine what commentary they would make as they zoom in on me in the student section, "and now take a look at what the average BYU female looks like her Senior year."

Next week Derek has Spring Break, so he will spend it in Provo with his family. Hopefully they will have some fun times between treatments! Angelie's birthday is on March 12th. I hope they can go on a date or something!

Keep checking back, Kimaree said she will email pictures over the next few weeks and I can post them to keep everyone updated. We sure appreciate all the love and prayers. Blessings are pouring in!