Missing a friend.

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So often I lay awake at night and my mind turns to Ali… So often I see something pink, something frilly, something yummy, and I think about Ali…. So often I just have those moments where I’m left shaking my head in disbelief that Ali, my friend, is gone.  Today I had one of those moments and I just needed to write about her…

I have so many wonderful memories of Ali.  We were friends for a long time… through grade school, high school, college and then as wives and mommies.  I remember Ali’s grade school birthday parties (in particular her Naked Gun 2-1/2 party, which I was not allowed to go to because the movie was rated PG-13… thanks Mom and Dad).  I remember playing soccer with her at Victory and Seton –she always laughed while playing, which probably drove the opponents nuts.  She’d laugh and steal the ball from you at the same time!  I remember her dancing – she was such a naturally good dancer… kind of made me jealous.  I remember her waterbed and the weird hand sculpture in her room that held her jewelry!

Ali and I were probably closest in high school.  We spent every day of our senior year eating our lunch together in the balloon shop. I remember confiding in Ali with so many of my worries.  She always made me feel better… just by listening. We bonded in our faith in Christ.  We went to mass together before school started.  We prepared for Kairos together.  One of my strongest memories of Ali was when it was my turn to practice my talk before our retreat… I was nervous, but Ali was there.  She was first to hug me.  She was first to shed tears with me.  It was so comforting to see her face first.  And to see her tears… it meant she understood me and that my talk was worthwhile.

Ali and I went to Xavier together.  We commuted our first year and hung out together in the “Commuters Lounge” inbetween classes… it was kind of lame… which is why Ali decided to dorm the next year.  I transferred to the Mount.  We lost touch with each other.  Ali graduated from Xavier and moved out of state.  I graduated from the Mount and got married.

Just a few weeks before I got married, Ali’s Mom showed up at our house.  She had a wedding present for us… from the Tracy family… and from Ali who was still living out of town.  She told me Ali was disappointed that I didn’t invite her to our wedding.  I felt awful.  That has been one of my only regrets in life thus far.  Thankfully Ali came back home and we reconnected.  We began meeting for dinners.  She would talk about meeting a good man to marry.  I would talk about my infertility.  It was like old times.  I apologized for the wedding invitation.  She forgave me J

Fast forward a few years and Ali got married.  I had some kids.  We continued to meet every once in awhile for dinners, but not as often as I now wish.  We reconnected one last time when she was pregnant with Olivia.  I remember the day she decided to take a home gender test to see if she was having a boy or girl.  It said she was having a boy.  Her reaction was priceless… poor thing tried not to be upset!  Thankfully the test was wrong and Ali had a girl!  I had my third child just weeks after she had Olivia.  We began meeting for “play dates”… LaRosa’s pizza was always involved!  Ali always had to have a gumball out of my gumball jar after lunch… NO ONE ever took a gumball out of my gumball jar!  I think most people thought they were fake!  I love looking at my gumball jar now.

Ali made my day when she asked me to make Olivia’s first birthday cake… something that I will forever be honored to have done.  I prayed over that cake… I wanted it to be perfect in every way for her.

I miss Ali, but I am thankful for these memories.  I am so thankful for the constant reminder to cherish my husband and children.  I am just so thankful…

~~~~

I want to make fun of Carrie’s shirt, but I’m pretty sure I saw the same one at Forever 21 last week. 😮

 Carrie bought a stone in memory of Ali in St. Jude’s prayer garden on the Westside. So thoughtful of you Carrie. Thanks for doing that sweet gesture. 🙂

Thanks for sharing Carrie. Xoxo. Love, Melanie.

 

 

i thought of you…

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…Each time I drop my phone, which is like 8 times a day, I laugh and think about all the cellphones you destroyed. You had a special skill in breaking those things.

…At Olivia’s second bday party it was hard to avoid the elephant in the room. Instead of feeling the void, it was easier to embrace the angel in the room. Olivia sat in the same seat at mom’s as you did together, when she helped you blow out your 31 candles last year.

…Recently we may or may not have left Lilo outside our house while we were on our way to the airport. Reminded me of the it happened so much I couldn’t begin to guess a number of how many times you left Hula outside. Sometimes your were still home and forgot you let her out to potty (unleashed), sometimes you were pulling away and the owner of the house you were at was chasing your car waving their hands yelling, “wait! you left Hula!!” Sometimes it was even in the snow and 10 min after you had left, I’d hear scratching at my door. “Ohhhh Ali forgot to put Hula in her car. Again. SIGH.” You unintentionally did it everywhere but mom’s. You most definitely did it on purpose there because you didn’t feel like taking care of her for a few days.

…You and I have this (slightly disgusting) habit of leaving half used tissues laying everywhere. As I just blew my nose once and left the tissue with 3/4 of it still usable sitting on my desk, I smiled and thought, “wow that’s so gross of me.” But why should I waste the rest of the tissue when I will need it again within the hr, or maybe tomorrow? There were even still half used tissues waiting on your nightstand for you to come home from the hospital.

…I bought a pair of teal skinny jeans. I needed to call you to get your opinion. I couldn’t decide if you would think I’m too old for them or I needed to be more hip so I just assumed you would tell me to get them. Remember those furry lined clogs I used to wear in the winter? Whenever you would see me out in them you’d say, “HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO STOP WEARING YOUR HOUSE SHOES IN PUBLIC??” You even tried to hide them once at my house.

…I was talking about Sam’s Club the other day with friends and all I could think about was the many hilarious trips we took together. We’d go after church and fill ourselves up on samples. And God help us, if there ever was a live infomercial salesman, we had to stand and watch. And how often did we HAVE to buy it. By that I mean, you’d convince me I had to buy it so you could use it at my house. One trip we came home with 6 new knives, 2 veggie choppers and two mini juicers. Ben and Adam told us we weren’t allowed to go alone any more. Oops!

…Over the weekend I was cutting the grass in a slight hurry. Remember when we used to push the mower so fast we were almost jogging? We considered it a workout and if my neighbors were lucky, one of us would just keep going yard to yard. And isn’t it so cute how Nori follows along with her mower now? She is so proud to be helping.

…Every time I go to the zoo I think about the times we went there together. This pic below was from when Nichole was in town to see you. We made plans to go to the zoo with all of our kids and on the way there you got sick. We had already been there waiting so you insisted on still coming. I’m very thankful you did. I have some cute videos of you and Nori as well as precious pics like this one. She wanted to sit on your lap the whole time but it was hot and too much. So she just had to hold your hand. That was well over a year ago now, I can’t even believe it.

i thought of you…

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…Nori has become slightly addicted to “flavor pops”.  It seems as though the only way to stop the battle to eat her dinner every night is to bribe her with a popsicle. Actually, now she tells us, “I will eat 5 more bites, and then I will have a popsicle. Ok?” Once I taught her the correct way to eat them, she enjoys it much more. Remember when we used to use that little silver hammer our folks have to smash the popsicle? The handles to the scissors work too. We wanted it to taste like a slushie, so we would beat the crap out of it before opening and tada!

…I was greeted at the entrance of a client’s wedding reception with a frame that stated they made a donation to your Rock Pink account instead of having favors. I had no idea they were doing it. As I read it, I stood there and cried. Then the bride’s father came up to say how honored he was to do that, then he started crying too. Unexpected.

…On your bday all I ate was sugar. Britt and I discussed how interesting it is that you either ate a pile a sugar for a meal OR a pile of veggies. One extreme or the other. Strange.

…With all the pink I have in my wardrobe, I can’t seem to wear anything pink anymore without Nori asking, “you rockin’ pink for Ali?” Somehow you have taken ownership to the color pink even though I’ve always worn it as much as you. You just prefer baby pink to my hot pink/fuscia.

…I keep twizzlers on my desk and while I work I munch. Some days I just want to bite off the ends and drink mountain dew through it like a straw. I can’t remember if Britt or Dad taught us that, but regardless it’s delicious.

…Every time I drop off Rachel at her XU dorm I think of you as a young college freshman living in the same building as her. She’s got multiple people in her hall wearing tutus now, you know. They even wore them to the Red’s game and scored a spot on the Jumbotron!

…The watermark perfect smiley face you left on Adam’s computer couldn’t have been more obvious evidence to us that you are always right here. (Especially since we don’t put glasses on our computers!!) He left the whole circle and face there for a couple months and it saddens me to see it’s disappearing.

While Ali lived with us she was notorious for leaving behind crumbs…everywhere, especially on our computers. Finger prints, smudges, you name it, you didn’t need CSI to prove she was on your computer. I love that fb allows her profile to stay active. I can just pull up her profile when I need a little encouragement to smile instead of be sad. I can hear her so clearly yelling at Adam. (Click the image to make it bigger if you can’t read it.)

 

 

 

 

Bw3’s Supporting Ali’s Legacy.

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Looks like Adam and I will be eating a romantic dinner at b-dubs on the night of our 5th anniversary. Sounds perfect to me! MMMMM mini corndogs.

Feel free to print a flyer off HERE and hang it in your office! All the money raised will buy books, receive Ali’s label and be given to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. AWESOME! Be sure to tell your server you are there for the fundraiser. Locations listed on flyer.

Thanks Reader’s Hideaway for continuing to work so hard for my sister’s legacy!

Tutu Hero: Corey.

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I don’t know Corey but through facebook I have seen all kinds of support out there for him. I don’t know if you were aware of the movement there was for Ali when she was in her last days, but everyone changed their profile pic to a white and pink image of a cross that read “praying for Ali.” It was an amazing sentiment that I was overwhelmed with the amount of people who did that for her. In fact, there are still people with it as their profile. But maybe that’s just cause they’re lazy? There was a movement months ago with people changing their picture to an image representing Corey and his fight as well. I would be lying if I didn’t say I was very confused why everyone was suddenly so into the Hunger Games Mocking Jay. Ha. And that’s when I personally learned about Corey. 🙂 And his RISE AND RISE AGAIN slogan.

I’m certain he must feel the love, if not just from fb alone! You look great in that green tutu buddy! I love it!

Name of tutu recipient: Corey Hoover

Age:32

Diagnosis: Non Hodgkins Lymphoma, Chronic Lung Disease Bronchiectasis

Age at Diagnosis: 19, then again at 32

Date of Diagnosis: August 1999, October 2011

Treatment Center: University Hospital Cincinnati

Treatment Plan: Chemotherapy (R-CHOP for short) and a lot of Ass Kickin

Favorite Songs:  Anything Hip Hop (Can you blame me?)

Favorite TV Shows: Reds Baseball

Favorite Books: The Alchemist

Favorite Activities: Reds Baseball, Getting Tattoos!!!!!

Favorite Colors: Green and Blue

Favorite Foods: Mexican and Italian

My Support Team:  Rise and Rise Again Foundation

Inspired By/Role Models: My Family

What else do you want others to know about you? I Don’t Quit, I’m made to get Back up!!!!

Corey and his sisters and nieces.

Corey and friends. I just love that he wheels the oxygen around town. Nothing stoppin’ him! Well done!

Thanks for sharing Corey. You are our first boy who proudly wears a tutu. 🙂 We pray that you are able to heal up and get back on that donor list soon. Keep up the hardwork and positive attitude! God be with you.

our memories will last forever…

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“Ali was not the most timely when responding to texts, unless it had to do with books.   She loved to make recommendations for our nephews and nieces.  She always knew to ask age, reading levels, and what interested them.  Fancy Nancy was a favorite the past few years; our niece’s learned to read and host tea parties.”

“Whenever Ali would see a little girl without a bow on her head, she immediately would say, ‘What is wrong with those parents?! Where is the bow that little dollbaby’s head?!”

“Ali craved attention and persuaded many of us, unwillingly, to participate in games and actives we never would have imagined. In 1999 (give or take a year) Ali wanted to model –in the historically black sorority Delta Sigma Theta’s fashion show – she just would not to it by herself.   For whatever reason, I caved and we catwalked our way through the evening.   How did she convince us to do these things? It must have been love and friendship.  You may reference the airbrushed t-shirt on Ben in another post if you need proof.”

“Have you ever tasted a vodka spritzer?  Well, it is best served in a coffee mug with a single berry and enjoyed as the sun rises. Several of the girls road tripped to Buffalo for the weekend. After closing the bars, well after they were legally required to close, we returned to Katie’s house.   With a desire to continue the party, Ali served delicious spritzers. With nothing to mix with the vodka she just threw in a gently smashed strawberry!  We sang and danced until the neighbors left for church.”

“When I was pregnant with Nori, the little brat was breech. We were at a family function and I was joking around with Ali. Our family has a natural inclination to punch someone if they are within arms reach if they say something we don’t like. (Ali was also known to BITE people if their finger was too close to her mouth. This was still happening while she was in the hospital and of course instigated by both my parents.) So I teased her and she naturally punched me. In the stomach. NORI’S HEAD. After I screamed in shock, she felt bad but couldn’t contain her laughter.”

“The Owl.  Long before Ali had to relinquish ownership of the red owl lamp, we understood their parting would be emotional.   Jackie and I found a small white owl lamp, with a shade, to give her after Martha received the original red one as her wedding present.  Beautifully adorned with pink ribbons, it rests on Olivia’s nightstand next to the rocking chair.”

The XU girls with the red owl lamp at Ali’s wedding. I believe the lamp has made it through most of these girl’s possession.

The new white Owl.

 

 

Asuman Zura.

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I’m having major technical difficulties on this blog so I had to post about this over on my Loft3 blog. Click on that link to read the whole post and see videos of the child we sponsored in Ali’s name.

Remember when all of us gorged ourselves with Orange Leaf for a week straight? Well I received some info on the little girl we sponsored awhile back but I had been waiting to introduce her here on the blog. Connie, the founder of Unified for Unifat, recently made her annual trip to visit the sponsored children in Uganda. While there, part of their mission is to get to know the children and take pics and videos for the sponsors back here in the States.

Asuman Zura is in the middle in pink, then Grandmother and little sister Miriam.

Here are ways you can personally help Unified for Unifat.

Donate to the cause. Once on their homepage you can chose where/what you want your money to go. This isn’t a big organization. In fact, it’s really just a handful of local high school’s service clubs who came together to help save the invisible children of Uganda. Your money will actually go directly to that specific cause. Actually, one of the original students that started this org moved to Uganda after college! So Connie and him talk daily about all things happening with the American donated money!

August 18th from 12-5 The Sandbar: a fun sand volleyball tournament fundraiser.

September 14th (7-11pm) Purcell Marian Ladies Night Out, there will be a U4U booth set up with Ugandan merchandise for sale, typical items include jewelry, purses, coin purses, laptop cases

November 10th Rusty Ball. Ever heard of the Rusty Griswalds? Apparently they put on a huge, always sold out, benefit every year at the Duke center.  Contact Connie directly for a ticket. CRing@moeller.org  Her ticket sales will benefit U4U.

Jewelry Party. Connie always brings home tons of jewelry etc. from Uganda and then has people host parties at their house. She says it’s great quality and really beautiful. If you are interested in having one email her. CRing@moeller.org

Tutu Hero: Holly.

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This is a gal whom I’ve never met but I’ve heard so much about. When Ali was sick I heard that she received this handmade “Olivia doll.” It was sewn with much love by Channing and Holly. The concept of the doll came from when Holly was given poor prognosis while pregnant with Sophie. The doll gave much comfort to Channing while waiting for his sister to be born. During the 7 months she blessed their family, she kept the doll with her. When she became an angel, Channing took care of the doll once again for his sister. So Holly wanted Olivia and Ali to have a connection with this doll as well. Ali loved dolls even as an adult (sounds a little creepy, it wasn’t like that) so she enjoyed having the doll at the hospital with her. Thanks to Holly, Olivia has this special little doll to keep now. So sweet.

I try hard to keep up with her witty and inspirational blog. IDon’tKnowHowSheDoesIt. Man, being pregnant is it’s own battle some days, but adding cancer, always the constant grieving over her daughter, and a rambunctious little boy…WOW mama, you are super woman. I told her in an email, “I hate that people like you and Vannessa have to face such uphill battles while others coast through life 🙁 ” Her response, “To me, it isn’t uphill.  Uphill was fighting every minute of every day for all I believed in Sophie.  She, according to the doctors, was ‘not compatible with life.’  They said she’d never survive my pregnancy.  The biggest compliment I was paid during her short sweet life was by her ENT, Dr. Sidman.  He applauded Michael & I for treating her as if she were perfectly healthy until she proved to us she needed to be treated otherwise.  I still take great pride in that.  Our bitty girl, she exuded big love & I know she’s up there watching over her mama.” GAH!!! What an amazing outlook. Here I am complaining to my husband about my whopping 3-4 hrs of sleep I get a night and here is this mom with REAL struggles, acting like it’s no big deal. Talk about making me feel like I need to be kicked in the butt.

You are incredible Holly. I hope we meet one day soon. I can’t wait to hear of the arrival of your sweet baby boy! Too bad you don’t live closer, I would LOVE to shoot that birth! So thankful everything has gone so smooth with the pregnancy! Ali and Sophie better see to a smooth and easy delivery for you!!

We wish you nothing but the best in the days ahead. God clearly has big plans for you and your family. Prayers from our family are always headed your way. XOXO. Love, Melanie.

Name of tutu recipient:   Holly Flynn

Age:  37

Diagnosis:  Breast Cancer/Invasive Ductal Carcinoma

Age at Diagnosis: 36

Date of Diagnosis:  December 2011

Treatment Center:  Piper Breast Center/MN Oncology

Treatment Plan:  Lumpectomy, January 2012, Chemotherapy (FAC), March 2012-July 2012, Double Mastectomy/Reconstruction, ‘When the dust settles’

Favorite Songs: Red Umbrella, Faith Hill – It is the song that popped into my head as Dr. O’Leary gave me my diagnosis.  The Red Umbrella has become the symbol of my journey.  I don’t like pink.  Sorry, Ali.  ; )

Favorite TV Shows:  I watch a lot of Food Network & HGTV late at night or when Michael is on the road.  Secrets of a Stylist-Love it!  Big Bang Theory-Oh how those boys crack me up!  Penny too!!  Grey’s Anatomy.  Yes, I’m still stuck on that old drama.

Favorite Books:  Anything I can read to Channing while snuggling him.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE snuggling my little man and reading.  Currently, we’re stuck in a rotation of Fox in Sox, Alexander & the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Sight.  Shaun Tan’s The Red Tree is a good one for inspiring hope, again a children’s book.  Michael & I are currently reading The Hunger Games trilogy.  We read aloud to each other in bed and sometimes in the car, a habit we started before Channing was born.

Favorite Activities:  Sewing!!!  Creating/crafting, Decorating, Cooking & Baking, Blogging  I have just a slight addiction to Pinterest too.

Favorite Colors:  Wagon Red, Apple Green, Robin’s Egg Blue.  No, I cannot just answer with a simple red, green and blue.

Favorite Foods:  Graeter’s Black Raspberry Chip Ice Cream, Cheese-especially Brie & Bleu, Butternut Squash Ravioli, Caprese Salad, Key Lime Pie & Michael’s Grilled Buffalo Chicken-drumsticks, not wings.

My Support Team:  Michael, my husband, Channing, my son, Sophie, my bitty girl & angel, Doug & Meredith Kuehl-my parents, Walt & Kathy Flynn-my in-laws, my siblings, Michael’s siblings, their spouses & kiddies, a whole slew of friends too numerous to name

Inspired By/Role Models:  Michael, Channing, Sophie, Leanne Miller & Amber Johnson, Kelli Bosholm

What else do you want others to know about you? I’m pregnant!!  Michael & I were trying to conceive when I received my diagnosis just after Christmas.  My first question was not, ‘what’s going to happen to me?’ rather it was ‘How does this affect my baby?’  I was so fearful of the answer to that question and almost instantly relieved when Dr. O’Leary indicated both surgery to remove my lump and chemotherapy were ‘OK’ for expectant women.

At the point I was given my diagnosis, it was too soon to know.  The following week, on the very first day I could possibly test positive for pregnancy via a blood test, we learned I was in fact pregnant.  The following day, I had a needle biopsy of my lymph nodes.  It came back negative.  The day after that, under mild sedation, I had a golf ball sized tumor removed from my left breast.  Then, the waiting game began.

Women can be treated with chemotherapy while pregnant.  Who knew?  Certainly not me.  However, it is best to wait until the second trimester.  The plan was FAC-six infusions over a period of 15 weeks.  My first infusion was on March 30, 2012.  Every three weeks, I returned to the infusion suite for another transfusion, Michael by my side.  My last treatment was July 13.

Through Piper Breast Center, I met Leanne Miller, who was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 19 weeks pregnant with her son.  Through Leanne, I met Amber Johnson, who like me, lost an infant child, and was also battling breast cancer.  These ladies are amazing.  There are not words for their poise, grace and ability to help guide others on this journey.  Talking to them, prepared me for the ins and outs of chemo.

With their advice and a whole lot of support from my team, I made it through.  In fact, I’d say I rocked chemo.  The side effects, for me, were minimal.  I lost my hair.  I was more constipated than I knew was humanly possible.  I was tired.  Yes, it is true.  Taking a shower can be an exhausting task.   My labs rarely fell below normal, if at all.

My friend, Angie, joked that she was happy my hair fell out.  It was proof they were actually giving me chemo drugs.   She teased that she thought they’d been giving me water.

Michael shaved his head with me.  Channing helped.  We made it a family affair.  That was very important to me.  I wanted Channing to understand what was going on, to see my change first-hand, rather than to have the shock of me going out one day looking like me and coming home bald.

Kathy’s stylist came to our house.  We took turns sitting on a stool in the kitchen watching the hair tumble to the floor.  Laura even brought a small electric razor for Channing to use.  He was pretty proud of his work.  It wasn’t too much later in the journey that we were laying in his bed one night, reading.  He was absentmindedly rubbing my head while I read.  His little voice interrupted me, mid-story.  ‘Mommy, I love you when you’re little and squishy and bald and cute.’  Talk about melting a mama’s heart.

Right now, I feel like I’m coming down the home stretch.  Chemo, definitely pre-delivery, but hopefully for good, is over.  The focus, while always more baby-centered than cancer-centered, has definitely shifted.  I’m nesting like mad.  The nursery is coming together.  I’m spending hours in front of the sewing machine.  Channing sits next to me working on his own projects or ‘helping’ me with mine.  He’s getting better at pinning fabric and at keeping the machine going at a consistent speed when I let him be the one ‘to drive.’

My biggest struggle right now is gestational diabetes.  It isn’t fun.  Chemo, or rather the anti-nausea steroid, didn’t help.  It mucks with your blood sugar, something I wish I would have known earlier on.  I have to be very strict with my diet.  I test my blood sugar four times daily & take an insulin shot each night before bed.  I just want to eat.  I don’t want to analyze what to eat or when to eat or how it is going to impact my numbers.

Sometimes, it is hard.  I feel people give me more credit in this fight than I deserve.  I’m just a mom doing my darn best to survive. As Leanne put it, ‘digging in my stubborn heels.’ This is my life.  I don’t know any different.  There’s no ‘how to’ in how I do it.  I just do.

 

 

Rock Pink Tutu Walk= Success!

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We did it! We celebrated my sister by wearing a whole lot of pink and tutus! The walk was actually a great success for our very first year. When we woke up that morning it was storming. I said to Ali, you were a terrible bowler here, now is not the time to prove your new skills with the angels up there. Though she mostly listened (was always a selective listener), we still dealt with a few sporadic showers throughout the event. Thankfully we didn’t have any fair weather fans and a good 200+ people attended the walk! Awesome!! After the strenuous, exhausting, one mile loop around the campus, we were all ravenous. We grilled out, had some games, door prizes, face painting, balloon animals and really just had a great afternoon. Mostly, I held up my end of the “don’t lift a finger, let Laura do all the work” bargain. That was fantastic. I’m pretty sure I was busy showing off my pretty handsome little boy dressed in Nori’s pink clothes the whole time anyway.  I mean, I barely even had time to eat 4 flavor ices, a cake pop (thanks Carrie!) and a cupcake (thanks shannon!), much less work!

As far as I know, everything went smooth and as planned, minus the rain. Laura did an amazing job of pulling every little detail together. I don’t even know the half of what Laura had to do to make it happen (even with the countless emails with outline styled things she  accomplished for the day, probably leaves a bunch out). My family is for reals in debt to her, like forever, though she did keep the leftover buckets of cotton candy so I’m willing to call it even. And to alllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the others who I saw running around behind the scenes, you know who you are, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. So can you help out again next year? Cause I really enjoyed showing up, walking and going home. Oh and also a shout out to Kerry for hooking us up with the place (and whatever else you did, I’m telling you guys, I was barely involved), it was great!

And I must also say that I was impressed with all the pink and tutus. Next year we plan to make it even bigger and will likely sell tutus there, so no “my dog ate my tutu” excuses will work. Even though I know she could see all of us celebrating her in “Ali fashion”, it still hurts to realize we were walking for her instead of with her. All the extra love and emotional support given to us was appreciated.

Thanks so much everyone. We hope to be highlighting a bunch more tutu heroes soon and you can pat yourselves on the back for being part of such a good deed. Thanks! Did I say thanks yet? I meant to. Thanks friends! xoxo. Peace, Melanie.

Enjoy the IPHONE photos below! I’m not pointing any fingers at anyone Adam Pace, but there was supposed to be a memory card WITH the camera we packed. So thanks to everyone who shared their images on Instagram and Facebook! Total fail on the part of the photographers in the family…ahemm…Adam Pace. Search #rockpinktutuwalk for more!