Going to Disney- Travel Day

So excited, but still tired. Trying to pull herself out of bed!
It was Monday, and the last day of our Make A Wish countdown chain. Somehow our little smarty pants knew what it would say:)
Still dark outside? My kids NEVER get up when it's still dark.
On the shuttle ride from the parking place to the airport, the excitement was palpable. The Colonel was back asleep, which meant he was awake for the entire plane ride.
For some reason I took this picture of Natalie's pink sparklies with her tinker bell socks. It must have been inspiration, because the last day of our trip it turned out to be significant to me.
Natalie was so cute pulling her little princess backpack around. Her wish granter's mother gave it to Natalie for her birthday at the send off party. It was full of all kinds of princess things to do and wear for the trip and the plane ride. She really enjoyed it.
I loved watching Natalie walking with her Daddy!
We were asked to travel in our Make A Wish shirts. Stephen was so cute because his shirt was like a dress on him. He was so cute all morning, even he felt the excitement.
Stephen was so good on the airplane ride out there, a little active but not too bad. He LOVES airplanes and told me the airplane was going up in the sky. It seems like he is talking more and more each day and changed so much in the week we were at Disney. Sometimes I think I sell him a little short because Natalie had amazingly remarklable verbal skills at his age. Stephen talks very well for his age, but it isn't really comparable to Natalie. During our week at Dinsey he surprised me a few times at how much he really understood. He is such a cute little boy and we are so happy to have him in our little family.
Natalie enjoyed the plane ride as much as her brother.
I had to take this picture because the clouds were so beautiful. I was looking out the window because Stephen had scooted into the middle next to Grandma. There was a blanket of flat clouds and then there were big fluffy clouds and some clouds that looked like amazing plateus, as if it was the Grand Canyon. Right around this time, David leaned over from across the asile where he was sitting with Nat and told me she said, "I think Alexa lives up here somewhere...on top of the clouds!"

When we arrived in Orlando, the sweetest man greeted us. Roger volunteers at Give Kids the World, where Wish Kids stay. He was so enthusiastic and loving. He helped us get our rental car and our luggage (we packed very light with only one checked bag, knowing we would be coming home with more, which turned out to be an understatement).

Natalie was so proud to give him the first thank you card that we made to give to people. He said it was the first one he had gotten. Jordan is a friend of our's who has ALL too and went on her Wish trip to Disney a few months back, the thank you cards were her Mom's suggestion. It was great to have them, thanks for the idea.
Natalie was so proud of her welcome sign! I love this picture of Stephen, he looks just like my brother whose name is also Stephen (although our family still calls him by his middle name, Nathan).
Stephen went beserk with excitement over this Spiderman at the airport.
Natalie seemed to like it too:) She still loves superheroes even if princesses far outweigh them in her book these days!

After getting our rental car we drove to Give Kids the World Village to settle in. I love their motto, Where Happiness Inspires Hope. So true, speaks to my heart.

When we arrived they asked if we were hungry. We were starving and they invited us to go eat and get ice cream before we checked into our room. While we waited for our food (all free-including the ice cream shop)we walked around looking for Alexa's pavestone.

Alexa went on her MAW trip to Disney three years ago during the exact same dates, October 12-18th. It wasn't until after our trip was scheduled that I even knew those were the same days Alexa had been there three years before. The day Alexa arrived at Disney World was the same day Natalie got diagnosed. We were all excited to find Alexa's pavestone, which we knew was somewhere in front of the ice cream shop. Natalie was walking around looking at all the stones calling for Alexa, soon Stephen joined in with his cute little voice calling, "Alexa, Alexa." I got teary eyed.
We couldn't find Alexa's pavestone before our food arrived. It was hot outside so we enjoyed our lunch (Boston Market food) inside the ice cream shop.
The kids loved the inside of the ice cream shop, with all of it's fun, toy-filled decorations.
Natalie and Stephen both loved this rocking cariousel horse inside the ice cream shop and played on it everytime we went in there. It was the middle of the day when most people were out enjoying all the parks, so the ice cream shop wasn't busy. It was nice to sit back and enjoy ourselves.


Natalie loved this giant candy land game up on the wall, Give Kids the World is themed like Candy Land. She likes to play this game at home too.

Natalie's favorite ice cream (the only kind she got while we were there) was the orange sherbert. She would get it with rainbow sprinkles (her favorite) and then she went out on a limb and started trying it with m&m's AND sprinkles. Funny girl. Although, I am the same way- once I find something I like at a restaurant, I almost always order the same thing.
The Coloenl REALLY enjoyed the ice cream, often finsihing his own and then eating the rest of his sisters.
After finishing our ice cream, we looked for "Alexa's stone" as Natalie called it. We still couldn't find it; it didn't help that The Colonel kept running to a nearby fountain and making me nervous that he would fall in. We headed over to the office to check in.
These riding toys outside the office did not require quarters and were a HUGE hit with both Natalie and Stephen.

Natalie was given a big stuffed Mickey Mouse and Stephen got a baby Shamu when we went to check in. We didn't realize that we would have little gifts left for us in the room every day. What an amazing place for children (and grownupswho want to feel the magic of childhood through their children's eyes).
This was the family picture taken in front of our little villa. Can you see the excitement on our faces? Full of anticipation for a wonderful week.

Almost every morning and evening, there are fun things scheduled at Give Kids the World. Since most of the day was gone from traveling, our plan was to go swimming and then spend the evening participating in the fun things going on. The kids ended up needing a little time to unwind and then by the time they were ready to go, I was getting sick. David had been a bit sick the day before, but he thought it was just from not getting enough sleep. Pepto Bismol had taken care of it and he was ready to go Monday morning. Apparently, it was a little virus. I felt yucky waves of nausea and just couldn't do anything.

David and his Mom went to the store to get some things we needed and got a little delayed coming back. David thought I would just be able to take them to see the little show going on in the theater, but I felt way too yucky. We watched a Disney movie instead (Nat picked out Snow White and Stephen got Jungle Book II at the front desk)and I felt guilty that they missed out on the show. But my sweet Natalie told me it was ok and tried to make me feel better. She told me she said a little prayer that I would feel better soon and she tenderly covered me with a blanket and patted me and in general just acted lovey dovey and extra sweet--just the kind of pampering everyone wants when they don't feel good.

It touched me how sweet she was and what a tender heart she has. I love that she has that natural trait. The thought struck me that she was modeling how I treated her throughout all her sick days, that made me feel very proud and happy.

I braved going out to get dinner and we were finally able to find Alexa's pavestone.
That was very special. Somehow we didn't have the camera with us, so these two pictures were actually taken the next night.

We took our food back to our villa and I couldn't eat a thing, not a good sign for me. I was terrified that Natalie and Stephen would get sick. I could just picture Natalie spending the next day, her birthday, puking all over. It was not a good thought. I tried SO hard to keep them healthy the week before we left, especially with everyone having the flu. When Natalie told me she prayed for me, I told her she should say another little prayer that she wouldn't get sick. Children's prayers, oh how sweet. Neither Natalie or Stephen ended up getting sick and I finally vomited at 3 AM. Although my stomach was still weak, I felt much better and was able to enjoy the rest of the vacation without problems.

Natalie getting ready for bed so she can wake up and go to Magic Kingdom.