Bethany’s Blog: March 2013

I've been off the grid for awhile now. What can I say? Sometimes I get so busy living life that I have no time left to blog about it. But, I do want to catch up on the very important events so that I can hold on to those memories forever.

We just got home night before last from our Make A Wish trip to Give Kids the World Village in Kissimmee, Florida. Just to clarify, it wasn't just a Disney trip (using "just" loosely here); it was a magical week at a 70 acre village designed just for families with kids with life threatening conditions that included the option to visit the Disney parks for free if we wanted. We arrived Thursday afternoon at the village, and we spent that evening enjoying the warm weather and nightly party held there. The night we arrived, the theme was Winter Wonderland, and the village was decorated with snowflakes and all things Christmas. Christmas music was playing over the speakers, little tents with crafts and activities for the kids were set up all along the avenue, and Santa was also there with a toy for each child. We were completely blown away by the effort the volunteers and workers at GKTW went to to make the night special. We quickly realized that they did everything with the same level of extravagance and generosity.

The next day, we didn't leave the village. We thought we would, but our kids were exhausted from the big day of travel and excitement, so we let them sleep in. We spent our morning at the giant Candyland playground. Like everything else at the village, it was amazing and had a story attached to it. Apparently, years ago a family visited GKTW, and soon after their son passed. His favorite game was Candyland, so the family donated "Matthew's Boundless Playland" to the village. It is actually a life sized game board where they hold weekly games. It's also fully handicapped accessible, so there were swings that Avery could swing on and a wheelchair ramp going above the climbers and all around the play area. We spent the early afternoon at the zero entry, heated pool, which my kids loved! Avery splashed and giggled. Then there were the rides on the Enchanted Carousel, activities in he Castle of Miracles, evening party, which was pirates and princess themed. Oh, and I can't leave out the food, which was delicious and always available, and the ice cream palace that served ice cream from 7:30 am to 9:00 pm, as much and as many kinds as one could possibly want. I admit, I ate ice cream every day! My kids and husband had it more than once almost every day!

SeaWorld was our first park outing. Bryson was amazed by the whales! If you know him at all, you understand why. We enjoyed the walrus and otter show and especially the dolphin show. The weather was perfect, and we got back to the village with sunburns and sore feet, and after a brief break in our villa, we headed out for the evening festivities.

We did visit Magic Kingdom. We loved the parade and the Show in front of the palace. With our Make A Wish buttons, we were fast passed in every line and taken aside for photos with the characters. Avery loved the characters! At one point, he had ahold of Goofy's hand and wouldn't let go. It was precious! Em was terrified of them all, so we had to hold her the whole time. While we enjoyed our time at the Magic Kingdom, we were all ready to get back to our village. Yes, you've probably figured it out by now that there was another big party, more fun, games, food, ice cream and characters.

And I can't leave out the Gift Fairies! Each day while we were out of our villa, the fairies would come and leave gifts for the kids on our table. Really nice gifts too! Needless to say, we brought home MUCH more than what we took with us!

We required another day off from parks on Monday. Yes, they were fun, but with small kids, it is pretty exhausting as well. Not to mention there were so many things we wanted to do at the village. So Monday was another pool day and party evening.

Tuesday, we went to Disney's Animal Kingdom, and I think we enjoyed it more than Magic Kingdom. The Kilamanjaro Safari was awesome with all kinds of animals literally feet away from our safari truck. Avery's wheelchair was able to be strapped down on the truck, and it was a fantastic view. We saw the Finding Nemo musical and The Festival of the Lion King show as well. Both were amazing. Of course, there were characters to see and a few rides as well. Like before though, we were ready to get back to the village.

We spent most of Wednesday exploring a few things at the village we hadn't had a chance to yet, like the Dino Putt Putt course and the game rooms. Our flight didn't leave until 6:30 that evening, so we had a lot of time left. We got back into Dayton around 9:00 that night, and the temperature change was shocking! Our limo was waiting for us ( oh yeah, I didn't mention that a limousine was our ride to and from the airport), and we officially said good bye to our vacation as we pulled up in from of our house.

I know I left out some things like the Magic Pillows my kids got from the Magic Pillow tree, the horse back rides my boys took, the visits from animals, school bands and choirs, trick or treat at the Halloween Party, and a bunch of other things. Let me just say, it was a vacation that we'll never be able to top!

We were surrounded by so much love and kindness while we were gone. There were a lot of kids there with all kinds of health issues and special needs, and I couldn't help but get teary a time or two as I watched these precious kids and their families enjoy themselves. At Give Kids the World, they recognize the life changer that having a sick child is for the entire family, how every decision and action is premeditated and planned around him or her and the amount of stress that goes along with the endless appointments and worries for what the future holds. They truly go above and beyond to give the Wish child and his/her family a week with no worry or limits. I told Phillip one night that if love and kindness could heal, Avery would for sure be the healthiest child alive.

If you're interested, I'd encourage you to look up Give Kids The World village (the story behind it is really amazing too), and be aware of organizations like Make A Wish, who bring hope and happiness to so many kids. I'm beyond grateful to them for what they do!

Here are some highlights of our trip!