Florida Wish Trip - Days 5, 6,and 7

DAY 5
For Saturday, our last day at Disneyworld, we once again chose to visit the Magic Kingdom. Part of Tay's wish was to meet Ariel, so that was the first thing we did. We also met other princesses and went on the last of our rides. Plus, we survived a massive rainstorm, which was a nice change from the heat. :)

Meeting Eric and Ariel

My princesses with Cinderella; Trex w/ his CARS ears

Tay with her princess ears; Kin with her pink ears

One last look at the Magic Kingdom


DAY 6
On Sunday we got the privilege of going to church with our friends the Jacobsens. It was so nice to see them and catch up. Plus, the yummy food - especially dessert - was great too.

Our kids w/ their much older kids; Jeep and I with Renee and Erik


DAY 7
Checkout day was bittersweet for us. We were homesick, but we loved staying at Give Kids the World. We ended up staying as long as we could. We went swimming again, played on the playground across from our villa, and ate ice cream one last time. It was such a magical place and definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We really feel we were able to close this chapter of our lives on a positive note. We're ready to start the new chapter and look forward to the future. THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP AND LOVE - WE COULDN'T HAVE MADE IT WITHOUT YOU!!!



Kam was excited to come home, too :)

Florida Wish Trip - Day 4

On this morning, we woke up a little earlier; we rode on the carousel and went swimming at the awesome pool at GKTW. It was fun-as you can see.

Carousel time:

Fun at the Pool:


Our cool surfing pictures:




Next, we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios. The kids loved this place. We saw an Ariel show, went to Playhouse Disney, met Handy Manny plus Lightning McQueen & Mater, played in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids park, and just had a great time.

Handy Manny; a cool photo op

Riding on "Antee"; Trex is star-struck by McQueen and Mater


This is what they looked like after - notice it's still light outside :)



Since we had the tickets, we decided to check out Seaworld for the first time. We just went for a couple hours in the evening, and we're glad we did. The kids, especially Kinley, really liked it. We went on the sky elevator and then watched the Shamu show.
Whoa! That goes high!

Waiting to get splashed:

Florida Wish Trip - Day 3

On this morning, we slept in, which was as good for the kids as it was for us. We woke up and headed to Universal Studios Orlando. This was a new experience for all of us.

Some of the fun things included (pics in order): Trex meeting Diego, Tay riding her favorite roller-coaster - Woody Woodpecker, Kinley playing in Fievel's Playland, me seeing the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (we got a special pass the day before the grand opening - it was so cool! Yup, I'm a Potter-nerd), seeing the Simpson's part (Tay's pointing out the Kwik-E-Mart), and Jeep shooting some baskets to win a prize - nice form, hun!





We got back to Give Kids the World to find out that's it's Christmas there every Thursday. So the kids got presents and got to see Santa - so fun. Then, we went to the castle where each of the kids made their own pillows, and Tay wrote her name on another star, which will always hang in the castle. Now she'll forever be a part of Give Kids the World. Such a neat place!

The pillow-making machine


Tay writing on her star

Florida Wish Trip - Days 1 and 2

We had such a wonderful time in Florida. Although we never want to fly with small children again, :) we are thankful for such a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. Everything about it was so special, and I was again reminded of how good my life is.

After the trauma of security check, the kids were actually good on the plane. They had some fun activities from the Make a Wish people. Plus, we had a life-saving stroller borrowed from Charis (THANKS SO MUCH), which helped through the terminals :)

The whole time people stared at us like we were crazy, and I don't blame them. :)

Once we arrived in Florida, we got our baggage, rental car, and directions to where we would be staying. We stayed at this amazing non-profit organization called Give Kids the World. They have so many wonderful things there. Lots of toys, rides, a pool, programs, presents, and about 1,500 volunteers a week. It has such a special feeling there... it's hard to explain, but when you have that many volunteers willing to help, love is what we felt. Here are a few pics:

The welcoming sign; Where you check in


Our villa in the daylight; The Spauldings on our check-in night


The next day we headed to the Magic Kingdom at Disneyworld. Tay's first request was the Dumbo Ride. Next, Kin wanted to go on "It's a Small World." We got to see fairies, including Tinkerbell. Then, we saw Minnie and Mickey's houses and even Minnie and Mickey Mouse. We had a VIP Pass and didn't have to wait much, which was nice with FOUR kids :)

Jeep w/ the kids on Dumbo; Kin and Tay on "It's a Small World"


My kids with Tinkerball; Then sitting in Minnie's kitchen


Minnie hugging Tay - Awwww...


The Spauldings with Minnie and Mickey (Trex was star-struck; he loves "Mouse")

All of us in front of the castle towards the end of our first magical day...