The Banks' Space

ASKING HELP FOR LONNIE

2010-03-30T20:08:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family.

Lonnie has the great opportunity to get a computer that will allow him to communicate via voice text, phone and internet. This device is call a DynaVox. It will hook both to his wheelchair and bed. It is activated/used by Lonnie using his eyes. He will be able to communicate with people without my assistance. This will give him the opportunity to have some form of freedom/independence that he is craving. You all know how much the computer means to him and so you can just imagine how excited he is to get to have one.

Heres our problem. The computer cost 13,000. The insurance will only cover 10,000. We lost VA funding so we no longer have that income/insurance. It's hard for me to ask and you know how important it is to Lonnie when he wants me to ask everyone who's wanted to help if they would like to donate to cost of the remainder we have to pay.

It would mean a lot to both Lonnie and myself. If you have any questions, please contact me and I will answer your questions if I can.

Thanks so much for caring.

Lonnie and Cari

Cozumel, Mexico

2009-11-27T22:57:00.001-08:00

Boy am I behind. We had such fun on this trip. It was an adventure for all of us. Erik, Katherine, Baylee, Bob and Jen Peacock, and Lonnie and I went to Mexico for a weeks vacation at the hotel Iberostar. It was really a fantastic time.

Lonnie and Bob hung out and watched all the "pretty ladies" while Jen and I got dive certified. Of all the things I thought I wouldn't do, that was one of them. It was scary at first when you think you should not be breathing under water and then you see how incredibly beautiful it is and think how could I not do this before. We had some fantastic shots of underseas animals. Enjoy the pictures.

Here is one the sea turtles we saw. Baylee would call him Crush (from Nemo) and if you asked her what he says she'll say "Righteous and Dude". Of course it's make the turtle pictures all them more fun.

Bob and Lonnie had lots of fun at the floating bar in the pool. It was really nice to be able to swim right up and get what you wanted to drink.

Katherine and Baylee had a blast in the swimming pool. Baylee has definitely been watching Nemo too much because she was turning into a little fish. She loved the water and the pool.

Here is the Jenkins' family having a little pool time.

All in all, we all had a great time and a lot of adventures. We took a ton of pictures, bought dopey stuff, met nice people and in all made great memories.

ANYONE OUT THERE?

2009-09-21T23:28:00.000-07:00

Lonnie and I were just wondering if anyone is reading our blog. We haven't seen comments for a while so I'm not sure it's being looked at. Let us know if you're looking at it..... Thanks, us

OUR NEWEST ADVENTURE - Scuba Anyone?

2009-09-11T06:18:00.000-07:00

This is our latest adventure. Sorry that the pictures aren't that clear but we were trying a new underwater camera, so chalk it up to user error. We decided to take Lonnie to Dive Utah and see if he could float before our trip to Cozumel, Mexico. He was nervous at first but trusted Bob and had a great time. He was able to stand a little bit and he was amazed how he could use his arms. Brent, from Scuba Utah, was an awesome instructor. We really liked it but afterwards we all had some form of ear problems. Would we do it again, YOU BET!

Cody and Jana had a great time. Check out the peacock Blog for their scuba photos.

I think Lonnie and Bob have the best adventures.

OUTLAW CREW TURNS ON ONE OF THEIR OWN

2009-07-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Bob and family took Lonnie on an outing to Lagoon. I think Lonnie was out numbered. He had a great time though.

DADDY'S LITTLE HELPER

2009-07-14T20:57:00.000-07:00

Baylee just couldn't wait till daddy finished her new car. Regardless of the instructions, it was not fun to put together, just ask Erik. But Baylee loved it.

LONNIE'S DREAM ELK

2009-07-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

This was by far the most impressive animal that I saw at Yellowstone Park. This guy was still in velvet and he had a hard time keeping his head up. Lonnie always wanted to hunt something like this.

BISON EXPERIENCE

2009-07-14T20:46:00.000-07:00

The end of May, we went to West Yellowstone with our friends the Olschewski's. We stayed in the cabins at Campfire Lodge.

I thought the sign said it all...I think these guys could hurt something.

BILL AND DOT

2009-07-14T20:07:00.000-07:00

Bill and Dot are two of the most wonderful people we met on the ship. They are in the picture between Lonnie and Bob. They've been married 63 and 3/4 years. Bill is quite the pot stirrer. His favorite line on the ship was "are you a Liberal?" That basically got everyone going. We were very fortunate to make such new good friends. We keep in touch and we plan to drop in on them in California.

MOM...CAN I BORROW YOUR CAMERA?

2009-07-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

There are times when my kids can even surprise me. I never know what will be on my camera when Erik and Katherine borrow it. But I love the surprises.

Grandparents taught me this

2009-07-14T15:56:00.000-07:00

Grandpa and Grandma taught me this. Isn't it awesome! Drool and all

SAWYER GLACIER

2009-07-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

Even though we live on the wasatch front, the mountians and scenery were just amazing. The weather was so wonderful and mountains looked so crisp. The ship went all the way up to the glacier and we got up close and personal with the glacier. I was surprised when the captain stopped the ship so we could take it all in. The blobs on the ice are seals.

ALASKA TRIP

2009-07-14T15:23:00.000-07:00

I know...it's about time for the Alaska Trip photos. To update, our family (and that includes the Peacock's) went of a cruise to Alaska. We started the trip with a quick trip to Deception Pass and partook in a "beach" day. The weather was wonderful and really enjoyed it.

We left from Seattle, WA and we went up the inside Passage. It was incredible. Below are some of the pictures and faces we had on the trip. The next post will have more pictures too. I can't seem to figure out how to put more than one collage on a post so bare with me.

The first adventure we had was the zip line for the kids and Bob and Jen. By the photos we saw, they had a great time.

LONNIE'S "GUYS" WEEKEND

2009-05-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Lonnie went to Elko to "hunt" with his family. I sure there are some great stories they can tell. Travis said "Jeff Foxworthy would be proud of the redneck rampage". This is the first time Lonnie and all his brothers, father, and nephews have been together in quite some time. Below are some of the pictures that were taken.

How redneck can you get. Sitting in a lazyboy on a trailer with folding tables. All that is missing is the fridge but I was informed they had an ice chest. Lonnie was unable to hold up his gun so this is what they came up with. I think it was very ingenious.

This is the whole crew. Looks like fun was had by all.

Next Item on the List

2009-05-04T13:52:00.001-07:00

Keep checking the blog because we have a fantastic item we will be checking off here in two weeks........

Bryce Canyon - Another Check on the "Bucket List"

2009-05-04T13:14:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we checked another item on Lonnie's bucket list. We went to Bryce Canyon with our friends Brent and Roma Lambsom and it was amazing. Neither one of us had seen it before so Brent and Roma were wonderful tour guides. They made sure we saw all the important sights so we both were totally blown away about the HooDoo's. It was really windy and cold. We even had snow. But the trip was well worth it.

This isn't a bad photo, it was one taken during one of the snow squals they had. The bridge was really neat so regardless of the snow, a picture was a must.

Hidden Mickey in the mountains? All in all we had a wonderful time.

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T17:24:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! There is nothing more darling than little babies in their Easter finery. Baylee was so precious! Great choice on the dress Katherine. It was a nice day today so we had a little Easter egg hunt for Baylee. This is Baylee's first Easter where she could participate. It was fun to watch mom and dad teach her to gather the eggs. Once she saw what was inside of them, she was all about it.

She spotted the Easter bunny on the steps, out of her basket, and decided it had to help her collect the eggs.

She even enlisted Grandpa's help with the eggs.

Happy Easter everyone.........

Our Trip to Zions' National Park

2009-03-29T21:18:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun this past weekend. Lonnie and I have a "bucket list" of things we want to see/go to before he isn't able to travel any longer. Zion's National Park was one of items on the list so we were so excited when Bob and Jen Peacock invited us down to Zion's National Park with their family. Since I haven't ever been there and Lonnie hasn't been there in lots of years, we decided to take them up on their offer. It was a beautiful weekend. The weather was fantastic so we didn't need the the winter clothes we packed. I have never seen such beautiful scenery.

We had lots of "critter" interventions. They sure were cute and they obviously didn't fear us too much.

We took a trail that Lonnie was able to come on. He had a riot racing the kids. Some of the people we passed were surprised to see him in his chair on the trail and were impressed. I think it will take a lot to slow him down.

I have a real think for windmills, wind socks, etc. When we drove by this place I just had to stop and check them out. I really wanted a small one of these but the prices just blew me away. They started at $700 and went up from there. Maybe someday....

Once again, we want to thank the Peacock family for a wonderful adventure.

Keep checking back as we check things off our list.

Spring is Coming

2009-03-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

Spring is coming and as you can tell Baylee is excited to be outside. This is the little battery powered ATV her Grandpa got her for Christmas. She doesn't know how to steer yet but knows where the power button is and how to use it.

We all are a little ansy for nicer weather. As Lonnie and I walked outside yesterday, we noticed how well the plants made it over the winter and can hardly wait to see what grows this year.

Disneyland - March 2009

2009-03-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

This past week we had a small family reunion in Disneyland and it was really fun. We spent the time leisurly strolling around the park with an occasional ride. Laura and her family, Russ, Torry, Tyler, Joe, Weston, and Katelyn partied with us too. Lonnie's brother Wyatt and his wife Tasha and son Rowdy joined us too. Lonnie's sisterLaura showed me a few "back ways" around the park that I didn't know about. All in all - a lot of MEMORIES were made and will stay with us for a long time. Chiro time!!!!

I've never had "ears" with my name on them so Lonnie and I took care of that.

On the last day before we came home, we went to Huntington beach for a little renewal of that ole' ocean feeling.

OUR FAMILY PHOTOS

2009-03-19T18:39:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd share a few of the family pictures that were done by Melissa Sue Photography. I've edited a few but they are just what we wanted.

Clinic Day

2009-02-20T04:31:00.001-08:00

I thought I'd let you know how Lonnie's clinic went.

Wednesday, February 18, Erik took Lonnie to clinic so Lonnie could see all of his practitioners. Dr. Bromberg says he is still declining but not as rapidly as some. That is some good news. The physical and occupational therapists gave him new gadgets to try at home to make his life easier. Some we will hang on to for future use. They gave him new medicine to add to his "hand full of meds" he takes twice a day. All in all, it was a good clinic day.

Dr. Bromberg told him they are starting a new study so we will go to the meeting in March to find out the details and get him signed up. From what he told me, it will involve IV medicine. I asked him how he felt about it and he is all for it. He's willing to try anything (my husband, the rat lab participant) to help other people who will get this horrible disease. We'll keep you posted on how that is going.

2009-02-17T13:27:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

Boy life just can't get more exciting then the last two weeks. Lonnie and I decided that since we weren't working we would join my brother and sister-in-law in Yuma, AZ for the week. We started our adventure on Saturday when we headed to Las Vegas. We were going to spend the night at Lonnie's sister's house.

We stopped in St. George for food and ate at the In - n - Out Burger place. Is sure tasted good until about 6 hours later when Lonnie got really sick. We don't know if it was the food or the flu. It seems that Bob (Lonnie's friend) wasn't feeling good when he came to play with Lonnie earlier in the week. So here we are in Las Vegas and all Lonnie can do is find the choke bowl. So 1 night became 3. We never did make it to Yuma but had a great visit in Vegas.

We got home on Wednesday and Lonnie got his staples out that Friday. I have pictures to post later. He was feeling much better after getting the staples out. This is a pre warning..... we are going to try taking family pictures again on the 28th back at the scene of the crime. Keep your fingers crossed that it all goes well.

2009-02-04T13:34:00.000-08:00

This is the beginning of the story of Lonnie's adventure to the emergency ward. We were having family pictures taken and he fell against the corner of a brick wall. Needless to say there was plenty blood, paramedics and firemen. WARNING.....THE FOLLOWING PICTURES ARE GRAPHIC FOR YOU THAT ARE THRILL SEEKERS and have a squemish stomach

This is Lonnie waiting for family pictures. Sometime ask him about the pee story it's really fun.

This is lonnie doing the dead deer. He hated the collar so they had to put towels on each side of his head and tape down his forehead. He layed on his back for a LONG time.

This is the initial gash along with the matted hair. It is about 5.5 inches long and through the gala. Looks painful.

This is the gash after the clean up and before the stiches and staples. Luckily no brain matter was spilling out.

This is after the staples and before the CAT Scan. Our trip to the emergency room for a "few" stiches turned out to be an overnighter because of a bright spot on the CAT Scan. The next morning the CAT scan showed the spot was brighter so he had to stay another night. (he was not a happy camper)

The nurse asked us what we were doing when he got hurt and what was with everyone wearing black and white. I told her it was for a family picture so she took one for us. Not the family picture I was hoping for.

Lonnie is doing fine now. His head hurts but he would love to hear from you. His email is lonniebanks@gmail.com

2009-01-29T21:19:00.000-08:00

Baylee has figured out what Grandpa's seat is for. She will go anywhere with him as long as she can sit on the seat.

2009-01-29T21:17:00.000-08:00

This is Baylee's 1st ATV that Grandpa got her for Christmas. She hasn't figured out how to steer it yet but she figures what the heck....she knows where the go button is and Grandma will run behind her making sure she doesn't run into anything. We can hardly wait until it is warm enough for her to take it outside where she can go where she wants.

2009-01-29T21:15:00.000-08:00

Once again...Baylee is thinking.....she makes sure that Grandpa doesn't go anywhere without her helping him walk.

2009-01-24T21:04:00.000-08:00

Our Jump into Blogging

2009-01-24T19:39:00.000-08:00

Welcome everyone.....this is the start of Lonnie's and my blog. I can't believe after all the computer work I do, I had a hard time getting this going.

Everyone has wanted us to start this so that they can be updated on Lonnie's condition. He is doing ok. This past week he went on diability. He says that he retired at the age of 45. So if anyone needs someone to bug he'll most likely be at home.

I'm still looking for a job and I've had some great nibbles but no bites.