Jun 072012
 

Florida is supposed to be sunny!  But suppositions you know.  Today was the day we slept in, if you need to know why, see the June 6th post.

Today we got up late and headed to the Animal Kingdom for Amelia’s parade debut!  She got to ride on a purple tiger float with Brenda, Cameron and Leatha.

                    

        <—–this is the view from the float!!

The rain was just slight when we got there and held out for the parade.  It was near the end of the parade when the rain started and didn’t let up.  But we went on today because we were prepared for the rain.

We didn’t have too much time left in the park before it closed so we went shopping for a bit and then we went and rode on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride.

Kilimanjaro Safaris

Kilimanjaro Safaris (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It wasn’t raining very hard when we started but the deluge hit as we were riding the truck.  The ride was mostly dry at least and we did see some cool animals.  The guides kept saying how much the animals like the rain.

     

We saw elephants, rhinos, giraffes, hippos and a bunch of birds that didn’t look that enthused about the rain.  It was so bad, and the thunder was starting up, that they only did a bit over half of the ride.  It was wet!

We shopped a bit more on the way out but, since they were closing, we left and made it back to Give Kids The World  just in time to see Santa Claus!

Yes, Santa came here in June and brought presents and popcorn for the kids.  It was kind of surreal to have Christmas music, snow flake decorations and people wishing the kids Merry Christmas.  In June.  In Florida.  During a rainstorm.

Anyway, we then got a couple of pizzas and the kids got tucked in by Ms. Merry, the wife of Mayor Clayton, mayor of Give Kids the World.  It was fun for them to see a character actually tuck them in!  Well, for now, it is time to get some videos made and get to bed, we have a full day of Epcot tomorrow!

*** Don’t forget to check out even more pictures on the pictures page!  CLICK HERE to see it!*****

Thanks for reading!

-Justin

Other Posts:

Day 1, June 5

Day 2, June 6

Day 3, June 7 (That is this post!)

Day 4, June 8

Day 5, June 9

Day 6, June 10

Day 7, June 11

Day 8, June 12

Day 9, June 13

Day 10, June 14

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Jun 072012
 

Hello all!  Well again, sorry about the no video yesterday it was a big day.  Would you like to hear about it?

Leatha, Cameron and Amelia went horseback riding here at Give Kids the World village in the morning.  They really liked riding around the corral before breakfast!  Well, before real breakfast.

               

They had Ice Cream for Breakfast, a thing that is just one of the perks for Give Kids the World.  They also got to ride the train here at the village while Mom, Dad and Tristan were in Orientation.

After that, we got some breakfast and went to play miniature golf at the course here at the village.  It is dinosaur themed and each dinosaur does something when you get the ball in the hole.  It was really fun to play.

          

Then Amelia got to send off her star for the Star Fairy that represents her wish here at Give Kids the World.  There are thousands of stars up and around the castle, so many that they have built a tower to house them all for years to come.  After the star, she got to make her special pillows that they give to each child here.  All four of the kids got one and they all think that it is pretty neat.

                    

After that, we headed out to the Magic Kingdom itself for a day of fun.  Mother Nature had other ideas.  We rode the ferry from the parking area to the kingdom itself and the skies opened up and soaked all of us fairly quickly.

     <—-the calm before the storm..again.     

It wouldn’t have been bad except that it let up for a bit and then dumped huge torrents of water on us.  The kids got cold and we finally bagged the whole thing and headed back to Give Kids the World wher we dried off and got some dinner.

After dinner the rain had let up pretty good so we donned our ponchos and headed back to Disney World.  We finally got to ride some rides and Amelia got to see the fireworks show while riding Dumbo.  She thought that was pretty neat.  We stayed until the park closed riding Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion.

          

Finally we dragged ourselves home and made it just after 2 AM.  After getting he kids to sleep and trying to dry out some of our stuff it was late when we got to bed.

Can I just say that the weather said a 40% chance of rain?  They forgot to mention the 100% chance of a monsoon.  Anyway, enjoy the video for today, and there will be at least a post with pictures for Thursday the 7th up soon, the video for that may be a bit later.

*** Don’t forget to check out even more pictures on the pictures page!  CLICK HERE to see it!*****

Enjoy.

-Justin

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Other Posts:

Day 1, June 5

Day 2, June 6 (That is this post!)

Day 3, June 7

Day 4, June 8

Day 5, June 9

Day 6, June 10

Day 7, June 11

Day 8, June 12

Day 9, June 13

Day 10, June 14

 

Jun 062012
 

Well folks I am sorry to go back on my promises, but it is nearly 4 am here and we are just getting to bed after a late night at Disney World and a bunch of fun.  I will not have a video or pictures up until Thursday night, I just can’t see straight.  so look forward to a large post or two individual ones tomorrow.  Spoilers: Thursday will have a parade in it, while Wednesday is filled with horses, dinosaurs and a monsoon on Main Street USA.

Talk later, sorry I just didn’t get it done today.  We are still having a great time!!

-Justin

Jun 052012
 

Hello all!  I would like to say hello from sunny Florida but I can’t.  It was raining when we got here!  But we got here and that is important.  Let me say, it was not too bad getting here from Salt Lake.  The airport wasn’t bad, the flights were a bit bumpy but all around it was a pretty good trip.  We Found out that Tristan doesn’t like being cooped up in his seat for 6 hours and the plane freaked him out a bit, but he is 2.       

Cameron was fascinated by the plane and its workings; he really taxed my knowledge of avionics, but I was glad to be able to answer his myriad of questions.  He even got to talk to the pilot when we landed in Orlando and was shown how some of the instruments worked and how they fly the plane.

Amelia was glad to be the princess.  Everyone liked her hair and commented on her dress.  Leatha just went along for the ride and helped when we really needed her to.  I kind of like having an older child that can help.  If only she wasn’t growing up….but that is another post altogether.

When we got to Orlando, ok there are 2 huge buildings that make up the Orlando airport.  The airplane taxi’s over a bridge to get to the arrival gates and then you take a shuttle back to get your bags and such.  It was a bit strange.  Anyway, we got to the main part of the airport and were met by our Give kids the World greeter who helped guide us through the airport to get our checked bag and then get our car.  Amelia got to pick out the van.  She picked a red one because it was the closest to pink.  Kind of funny.

          

Get this, the rental on this car, including gas and insurance is covered in the wish.  I have been shaking my head all afternoon at the incredible generosity of everyone related with this wish, especially Give Kids the World.  We got to the village to check in and they gave each of the kids a stuffed animal and then showed us to our “villa”.  This place is bigger than our old apartment was.  It has 2 big bedrooms, a huge bathroom for the kids, fridge, stove, dishwasher, TV’s….it is really a cool place..

     

We are now sitting here planning tomorrow’s activities while the kids are all passed out in the other room dreaming of Mickey Mouse.  I will soon be following them.  for now, that is it.  We are heading to the Magic Kingdom tomorrow and then on to the Animal Kingdom on Thursday where Amelia will be leading the parade!  That is going to be another adventure.  So enjoy today’s short video and the few pictures, there will be tons more tomorrow!

Have a good one, and thanks for coming back!

*** Don’t forget to check out even more pictures on the pictures page!  CLICK HERE to see it!*****

-Justin

Other posts:
Day 1, June 5 (That is this post!)

Day 2, June 6

Day 3, June 7

Day 4, June 8

Day 5, June 9

Day 6, June 10

Day 7, June 11

Day 8, June 12

Day 9, June 13

Day 10, June 14

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Jun 042012
 
The Tree of Life at Disney's Animal Kingdom at...

The Tree of Life at Disney's Animal Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hello everyone! Well by the time you got the email saying that this post was up, we were at the airport and getting ready to get on the plane to Florida!!!!

We are all very excited and ready to get to Give Kids the World and Disney World!  We got our itinerary last week at the Star raising party and were told that Amelia will be leading the parade at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  We don’t know what day it will be yet, we should find out when we get to Give Kids the World.  I will have it all up on here as we know!

I just wanted to say thanks to all of you out there who have supported and helped us through all of Amelia’s ordeals and beyond.  We really do appreciate all of you.  If you know someone else that would like to read about our trip and Amelia’s wish please share!

The next update here will be from Florida with some pictures from the plane and Give Kids the World!  For now, we have to go get Cameron’s birthday done and get the rest of our stuff packed.

See you tomorrow.

Justin.

Give Kids The World Village

Give Kids The World Village (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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