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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……..

We were at Saint John’s to have a bone marrow biopsy to rule out Leukemia. Little did me know how much our lives would change. Lisa and I can remember waiting for Dr. Rob to come over and give us the news. It was taking awhile and when we saw both Dr. Rob and Dr. Jan walking down the hall we knew the news was not going to good.It has been a roller coaster and we still have 8 more months to go. Ally has been amazing through the whole process.  We are looking forward to some good news in August.

Today we woke up and went to early breakfast.  After we ate, we popped in and met Woody Woodpecker!  He was so good with Ally.  She was a little hesitant, but he sat right down on the floor.  She sat next to him.  That was the first autograph of the day. 

 We jumped into the car and made our way to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  Our neighbor’s, Gerry and Linda, told us to go straight back to the back of the park and get on the Safari jeep tour.  We did that, and really didn’t have to wait but a few minutes (the “god” pass is awesome).  Ally got right on and was so excited to see animals!!  We got some really good pics on that ride.  Ally also rode a kiddie dinosaur ride (just like Dumbo in Magic Kingdom).  She loved it! 

 We wandered down to Camp Mickey/Minnie Mouse and stumbled upon none other than Pocahontas herself!  She is one of the princesses Ally wanted to see!!  We took a little walk down the path, and there were many more characters.  We were looking for Donald Duck, but we didn’t see him.  I went up and asked one of the “cast members” where he was.  She said, “Hey, you are with Make-a-Wish.  You don’t wait in lines!  Go up the exits, and they’ll fit you guys right in.  Better yet, I’ll take you there.”  So, we got an escort to Donald, and then it was snack time for Ally.  That woman also told us that if we waited just 20 more minutes, Daisy would be coming out.  She only comes out once a day, and usually not there.  Too cool!  We walked up the exit and got right in to see her too!  Later that day, we also got to see Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore. 

 We left Animal Kingdom and went to Epcot.  Ally was TIRED.  Thankfully, because Ally is a wish child, we had a VIP pass to the Siemans VIP lounge inside Spaceship Earth.  VERY NICE!!  We were in there for about a half hour.  When we were ready to leave, the receptionist told us to follow her.  Little did we know, we were going down the VIP entrance to the ride, Spaceship Earth.  It is about a five minute ride through that big sphere at Epcot!  If you know Ally, you are probably have some idea what we were thinking.  She jumped right in a car with Brad and rode the entire ride – even when it got REALLY dark!  What an accomplishmen!.  Later that day, Ally also rode the Finding Nemo ride.  – She never ceases to amaze us.  We never thought she’d take to rides like she has.  We’ve learned to never under-estimate her! 

 Brad and I have been able to ride some really cool rides!  With Ally’s line jumper pass, we bypass all the lines and go right to the front.  We got to ride Soarin’…AWESOME simulation ride.  We also got to ride Test Track (a not-to-be-missed ride according to Brad’s sister, Jessica).  It was really cool! 

 Ally is such a trooper.  She lasted all day long!  Tomorrow, we are off to Universal and Sea World’s new waterpark, Aquatica.   

In the info packet we got yesterday, it said Disney characters would be outside the House of Hearts at 8:00.  We got up in plenty of time, so we walked up to see who was there.  To our surprise, we saw LOTS of characters!!  First, Ally saw Goofy.  He was soooo tall, she didn’t quite know what to do with him.  She wasn’t sure she wanted to be too close, but she warmed up quickly.  Belle was there too!  Ally walked right up to her, and they had nice little conversation.  It was cool!  She ran right over to Pluto and stood right by him, waiting for his picture.  It was so cute how she really got into seeing the characters.  With Ally, it could go either way, you know.  She was so happy!  They told us Mickey and Minnie were inside the theater!  Yes, the king of all mice in the flesh!  She was so patient waiting her turn to go up on the stage to get her picture taken.  She walked right up to them and stood there waiting for people to take her picture.  It was too cute!  Mickey was quite taken with Ally.  He came over and gave me a kiss with his nose, put his hand over his heart, and then pointed to Ally.  While Ally liked Mickey, she REALLY liked Minnie!  - We were so thrilled she got into seeing the characters as much as she did..  After all that excitement (it wasn’t even 9a.m. yet), we ate breakfast and it was off to Sea World!We had a blast at Sea World.  Ally did soooo well!  Right when we got there, we had our pic taken with Shamu.  Because Ally is a Wish child, she is given lots of “perks” at the park.  One of them is to get free trays of fish to feed the animals.  Our first stop was the sting ray pool.  Ally enjoyed looked at them and watching Nana and Daddy feed them.  We happened to round the corner and saw the dolphin feeding was happening within minutes, so we decided to get in line and wait.  As we were standing there, a worker came and tapped me on the shoulder and said she saw we were with Make-A-Wish.  She took us out of the line, and down the exit to a special entrance.  She proceeded to give us four trays of fish (three more came later) to feed the dolphins.  It was really cool!  We were so close to them.  Ally thought they were cute!  Both Brad and I were able to touch them. — We found out that the Make-A-Wish pin allowed us to go in the exits of each ride and jump right on!  We rode a couple of really cool roller coasters (we meaning Brad and I).  Manta was so much fun.  I usually don’t get scared on roller coasters, but that one freaked me out just a little.  On this coaster, you hang so your body  is parallel to the ground.  Brad thought it was one of the best coasters he’d ever ridden! –Because of a great tip from Brad’s brother, Bert, we had lunch at “Dining with Shamu”.  Actually, we were able to have a nice lunch while the Shamu show was going.  We sat at a table on the waterfront at a pool behind Shamu  stadium.  As soon as the actual show was over, the trainers came back to where we were having lunch and gave us a behind the scenes look at the whales and how they train them.  It was really cool!  Shamu and two other whales were participating in our private show!  (Well, semi-private show…there were other people at lunch too, but it was so up-close and personal.  We got TONS of really cool pics.  One of the most exciting parts of the day was the fact that Ally got on some of the rides!!!  She loved them!  There was a jelly fish ride (similar to the tea cups at Disney).  She kept turning the wheel so the car would spin and spin and spin.  The girl never gets dizzy.  She had a smile on her face that was bigger than I’d seen in a while!  Her laugh came from all the way down in her toes.  She was cracking me up!  –We came home and went to the brand new pool that just opened last week.  Ally had a ball!  – This evening was Christmas at Give Kids the World.  Santa comes and is available for pics.  We waiting in line to see him.  Ally was not quite sure about him.  She sat on his lap with the rest of us, but she didn’t really like it.  Each child got to pick out a toy from a HUGE toy shelf full of brand new toys and games.  She picked the game Chutes and Ladders.– Ally is having so much fun!  It is beyond cool to see her having such a great time. — Benjamin is doing awesome at my sister’s.  She said he asked for Ally today, but he’s been just great!  He was asleep when I chatted with her.– Tomorrow we are off to Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Epcot for a bit!

We had a great time yesterday.  Brad and I took the kids to the pumpkin patch after Benjamin’s nap.  We decided to go to a different pumpkin patch this year (the one by our house) for something different.  There were so many things for the kids to do.  There was a straw maze, a “fort” with a slide, animals on display, swings (including a tractor tire swing), and the pony express.  The pony express was too cool.  A large tractor pulled several “horse cars” around the farm.  Ally rode with Brad, and Ben rode with me.  They LOVED it!!  We always wonder if Ally will like things like this.  She jumped right into the car and yelled, “Giddy-up horsey!”  Of course Ben loved it!  He kept saying, “Mommy, this is fun!!”  - The only problem with the whole experience was that my camera ran out of battery after just a few pictures.  (Of course the extra battery was at home.)  The pics that are posted are the only ones I got to take.  I’d like to take the kids back next weekend to get more pics.

Ben - He started school this year at The Morgan School.  He LOVES his teacher, Ms. Rosa.  He really, really likes it, and he’s doing quite well.  When we first arrive at school, he looks for all his friends (in particular Spencer and Avery - I think because they usually arrive about the same time).  He has Spanish language class twice a week, and he really enjoys that too.  The other day, he was counting in Spanish instead of English, and on the way to school he said, “Buenos dias!”  Too cute!

Ally has started kindergarten at Twin Chimneys Elementary School.  She is doing GREAT!  We are thrilled.  She is learning to write her letters now.  She can write her name and has been able to do that, but now she’s learning the other letters too.  It is fun to see her try to write letters while she’s coloring.

We are two weeks away from Allyson’s Make-A-Wish trip to Orlando.  We will be staying at Give Kids the World (a village designed especially for wish kids), and we’ll get tickets to Disney World, Universal Studios, Sea World, etc.  She is excited to see the princesses and the princess castle.  Each day she talks more and more about her “trip”!  I think we are all looking forward to it.

Here’s the website for Give Kids the World if you are interested in taking a look.  http://www.gktw.org