Make-A-Wish Day 3

OY! This time of the year is absolutely CRAZY!!! I love it, but I never seem to find the time to do all that I need to do. I'm doing the big school count down...only 3 1/2 days of school left (yes, we do go until the 23rd, crazy, right?).

Anyway, I apologize for the extended intermission between photos. So, here is the slideshow from day 3. We had another incredible day. We started off seeing Minnie and Mickey Mouse. They came to GKTW which was SO nice because there was NO crowd. Emma did pretty well with them (as long as dad was right there with her). Owen however did NOT like Minnie Mouse! He kept hitting her in the face:(. I was in awe because....are you ready for this?......they were shorter than me!!! Even with their big heads on they were STILL shorter than me (I'm only 5'3"...on a good day). So, I think they were a little less intimidating to the kids. Then, we went and saw Goofy, Pluto, and Mary Poppins (also all at GKTW). Goofy and Pluto were OK to Em AS LONG AS her daddy was with her:). Mary Poppins was VERY stern:).

After we got done with the characters we went to the Magic Kingdom again. We rode on Dumbo, It's a Small World, the teacups (Owen was GREEN the entire time we were riding it....and so was I), then we went to see Ariel in her grotto. She was AMAZING with my kids. She spent about 10 minutes with them. She kept asking Em if she had used a "dingle hopper" in her hair (because she still had the wild pop-star princess hairdo).

You can go here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCkErs1iHnE to see Owen with Ariel....HILARIOUS!! He was definitely playing hard to get with her.

After Ariel, the kids played in her splash pad and had a blast! We spent a good part of the day at Magic Kingdom. Then, we went back to GKTW and the kids played in their incredible splash pad and pool! It was BEAUTIFUL! By the splash pad there was a place where you could take the kids pictures. It looked like they were riding a wave. Emma had fun pretending to surf:).

It was another fantastic day! More to come soon!

Make-A-Wish Day 2 part 2

Sorry about the pause in postings...you'd think it was the month of December and I teach Kindergarten and 1st grade while raising 2 small children or something:). Anyway...on to the rest of our trip!

As we emerged from the Bippity Boppity Boutique, we found Daddy with a sacked out Owen...he had had it!....to the point that Emma sat right on top of him....and he didn't even stir:). Anyway, we headed back to GKTW to rest (after Emma had her movie star debut). The kids took a nap at GKTW, then we headed back to the Magic Kingdom for the most magical night ever! We saw the Spectromagic parade (it was very difficult to take pictures of) and then we headed down the street to an amazing firework display that was combined with wonderful music. When it finished Emma announce, "That was AWESOME...I want to see ONE more". It was perfect! She absolutely LOVED it!

It was midnight by the time we got home, but seeing all of the lights (parade, fireworks, AND the way the castle changed colors) was DEFINITELY worth it!!!

More to come soon:).

Make-A-Wish Day 2 part 1

We awoke on our 2nd day of the trip to a BEAUTIFUL 80 degree day! I absolutely LOVED the humidity:). The kids took a bubble bath in the enormous bath tub. They loved the bubbles. After that we all headed to the Gingerbread House restaurant inside GKTW. It was GREAT and Emma loved the Christmas tree so much that she had to hug it every time that we left:). You will see a picture of the awesome shaped foliage (the heart shaped bushes). Next, we went to the big Mushroom carousel, and Em loved riding the magical reindeer. Owen and I got to ride the rooster (it was the only 2 seater). Then we went in the castle of miracles. This is a magical place where the wish child gets to put a star in the ceiling that has their name on it (we didn't put Em's star up that day....I will post about that later). However, in the casle of miracles there is also a Pillow factory where both of the kids got to make a pillow for sweet dreams. They push all kinds of buttons, and it plays music and bubbles come out, then a pillow pops out of the bottom. Emma got a pink pillow with ballerinas on it, and Owen got a red pillow with dinosaurs. In the castle of miracles the wonderful volunteers also put on a puppet show for us, and Emma and Owen got to pretend they were the King and Queen for the day:).

Next, we were off to the Magic Kingdom (yes, this was a VERY big day!!....so much that I am going to have to make it 2 posts). Emma had her Princess Make-Over at the Bippity Boppity Boutique. Of all of the hairdos that she could pick, she chose.....are you ready.....the POP STAR PRINCESS that made it look like she had fireworks coming out of the top of her head. Who am I to stop a pop star princess, right?? Her make-over was in the Cinderella Castle, and it created a wonderful memory for all of us!!! On the way there we ran into a parade....where you will see Sebastian the Crab (love him). All of the parades at Disney are AMAZING!! UNBELIEVABLE!!

You will also see a picture of Em riding in a yellow sports car convertible:). Of course it is just a toy....but, they had it right outside of the main building at GKTW!! We laughed about that every day. It was too funny!

I will post more later today, but enjoy these pictures for now:).

Make-A-Wish Day 1

The best word that I can think of for our trip is WOW!!! It was absolutely magical, and I want to remember and share every detail of it. Emma was just a "normal" "typical" kid for a week. No hospitals, doctors visits, therapies. She was a princess in everyone's eyes that saw her. She just glowed the entire trip. She made memories that will be with her for a long time. WE made memories that will be with us FOREVER! I cannot say enough good things about the Make-A-Wish organization. The entire trip was flawless. Every single detail was thoroughly thought out and planned. WOW!

I hope to share on here in the next few days the highlights of every day of our trip. Day 1 was really a travel day. We left our house at 4 am and arrived in Florida at 4 pm (our time). It was a VERY long day, but our kids were troopers. I was very proud of how they traveled there and back. Give Kids the World (the place where we stayed throughout the visit....AMAZING place!) had a greeter (Ms. Dee) meet us at the airport. She helped us find our bags and took us to our rental car....then, we were off!!! Emma really thought we should have a yellow convertable race car, but she settled for our blue mini van:). OY! That girl's got some expensive taste:).

When we arrived at our villa (2 large bedrooms, 2 bathrooms...one with an enormous jacuzzi tub, a kitchen and living room...AMAZING) there were all kinds of snacks in the fridge for us.....and there were gifts for both of the kids! Emma got a plush Mickey and Owen got Shamu. There were also some other gifts there. The weather was fantastic!! 80 degrees...I LOVED it! Tim and I went to an orientation about GKTW that night....then we ran to Wal-Mart. It was the first of many REALLY late nights:).

Enjoy!