Verdigets.com

Happy Birthday, Brendan!  Five years ago today we welcomed Brendan into this world. We got to send an hour and half with before he passed away…..Today Lisa and I took the day off to remember him. We took the kids to school today and then headed to breakfast (we do this every year).  After breakfast we went to the flower shop and got a bunch of tulips, some pink roses and 3 blue and 2 white balloons.  We went to Brendan’s grave site and spend some time with him and placed the tulips next to his marker. It is our tradition to release balloons on his birthday. This year as in years past when the let the balloons go they all start off in a bunch and then one of the white balloons always parts from the group. Lisa and I are always amazed that this happens. It was very nice to just stand there and watch them go. After that we went to put the roses on Lisa’s mothers grave.. We spent so time with Shirley and then we headed out.It was a nice day for Lisa and I to reflect and remember what was, what could have been and what is……..

Benjamin turns 3 today! We are looking forward to his party this weekend.

Each night, I asked Ally what her favorite part of the day was.  Last night, she told Brad, “Being a princess!”  She had been to the Bippity Boppity Boutique that day (more on that in a minute) and her “fairy godmother” made her a princess!  Let me just say, she has been a princess all week – in a good way.  They call this place Give Kids the World, and they do that and more.  From the moment the wish begins, everything is about the wish child.  Everything was booked in Allyson’s name, and we were her guests.  We called our villa her house all week, and she LOVED that!  Each night when we’d return and go through the guard at the front of the property, the volunteer would always say, “Welcome home!”

That is exactly how you feel when you are here…home away from home. The staff here at GKTW bends over backwards to make sure you have everything you could want.  Once inside the parks, Ally was treated like royalty, especially at Disney World.  If you ever doubt the kindness of humans, spend the day with a wish child.  If you ever need to witness the strength of the human spirit, come spend the day walking around the village at Give Kids the World.

Tomorrow we return home.  I am sad Ally’s wish has come to an end.  Since her diagnosis, we have been looking forward to this week for almost two years.  While this is the end of her magical wish week, we look to the future when we hear the words, “Ally is cured!”

What a full day!! This morning right after breakfast, Ally rode Chance, a HUGE horse.  Can I just say she looked like the tiniest little thing on top of this huge animal!  She rode like a pro. 

It was off to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure today!  We didn’t realize we had to walk 17 miles to the entrance – YIKES.  It was so far from the parking garage!!  Ally has some kind of luck.  I think she got to meet every character that is in the park.  Honestly, we would just happen upon the characters as we were walking about.  WE had a line jumper pass at Universal too, so she didn’t have to wait in any lines to meet any of them.  It was awesome! 

Two milestones for Ally today.  She went into the Barney theater and sat through an entire show (loud singing and everything), in the FRONT row (again, the workers see you are from Make-A-Wish, and they put you right in front).  At first, she was a little agitated, but she settled and was fine!  She loved it!  She got a personal meeting with Barney after the show.  – Milestone number two…she rode her first roller coaster!  Yes, you heard it correctly…Ally rode a rollercoaster in the kiddie area at Universal.  It was pretty fast for it to be in the kiddie area. 

We ate an awesome lunch at a restaurant called Mythos (recommendation from Brad’s brother, Bert).  I highly recommend it if you happen to be at Universal/Island of Adventure and are looking for a place to eat.

We left the park and went to a brand new water park that opened this May.  Sea World has its own water park called Aquatica.  Ally was so excited to float around in the lazy river!  They have a HUGE (and I mean HUGE) kiddie playground in the water.  It was amazing.  Her favorite part was the water guns. 

Tonight was the Halloween party at Give Kids the World.  It was awesome!  Ally got to trick-or-treatng up and down the walkway as well as play several games.  They had a parade too. 

When asked Ally what her favorite part of today was…Halloween!

Ally’s wish has been granted!!  We are here at Give Kids the World Village, and it is AWESOME!  Really, what an awesome place.  Before I get into the village, let me tell you about how our day started.  We were picked up at 7a.m. by a beautiful black limo.  Our driver was Mr. John, and he was incredibly nice.  Ally was beside herself!  She was a little overwhelmed when she first got into it (lights, fiber optics, lights, more lights, beautiful seating - lots of it…The apprehension soon wore off, and she was in heaven.  She was moving from seat to seat laughing and talking up a storm!The plane ride went well.  Ally is a really good on a plane.  She watched her shows and colored.Her second treat of the day came when she got off the airplane.  She had no idea her Nana Jan was there to meet us to join us on her special wish trip.  Ally was excited to see her Nana!Our villa (in the new section of the property) is a two bedroom, two bath villa - full-size washer/dryer, kitchen, etc.We are right across the street from a HUGE, new playground modeled after the game Candyland.  It is really cute!  Ally played there a bit tonight before dinner.  I went to a meeting and got all of our park tickets and special passes.  There’s so much to do, and so little time!  I think we are going to start at Sea World tomorrow.  Ally will LOVE the animals!!