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June 7th in WET WET WET Florida!

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 (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

The Real Day 2 of the wish! June 6th

Jun- The Wish 12 Responses »

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

Day One of the Wish! June 5th

Jun- The Wish 11 Responses »

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!)

We are on our way, Right now!!

Jun- The Wish 1 Response »

Jun 042012

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 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is almost time to go!(ameliasmakeawish.com)

It is almost time to go!

Apr-May in Wishland 2 Responses »

May 222012

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL - (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Hello all. Just a quick post to say that in two weeks, at the time this is being written, 1145 MDT, we should be somewhere over Illinois on our way to the Cincinnati airport and then onto Orlando and Give Kids the World! And Disney World of course.

We are getting really excited and trying to pace ourselves.

Amelia turned 6 last Friday and she wants to bring all of her presents with us! We don’t have room. She does get to take the new princess dresses that Mom made her and we are sure that she will wear nothing else in Florida.

The time will be here before we know it! Thanks again for all of your support. Remember that there will be videos every day, as well as pictures and updates. All from Florida to your computer, every day. Isn’t the internet great?

Don’t forget to sign up for the email list over there on the right and you will wake up with a fresh new post with aforementioned video and pictures in your inbox.

Talk Later.

-Justin

The Mouse is Imminent! (ameliasmakeawish.com)

The Mouse is Imminent!

Mar-Apr in Wishland 1 Response »

Mar 302012

Walt Disney World Resort (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hello! I just realized today that I had not posted the fact that we are booked for Disney World! We have our flights and hotel set up, now we just have to get prepared to go. We are going to be in Florida the first part of June! We fly out on the 5th and will return home on the 14th.

We added a couple of extra days so that we can do a couple of other things, we don’t know when we will be able to get back to Florida. The kidsa re getting excited and I am having a hard time keeping the plans small enough to be manageable. I tend to overdo things. We are now starting to work on details of what day we are doing what.

We know for sure that one of the days Amelia will be leading the parade. The day we don’t know yet. We know that we are going to hit all 4 Disney parks as well as a water park, and a day at Universal Studios so that we can hit Harry Potter World. There are parades to attend, safaris to ride, Princesses to meet, and turkey legs to devour. We are just now trying to sketch out an outline of things to do and, more importantly, things to cut out. We just can’t do it all as much as we would like to.

There will be much more to come as we get dates set and things finalized. And, in case you didn’t know, I am planning on having an update every day while we are gone. The best way to keep track of that, besides logging on and looking everyday, will be to sign up for the email list. Every time something is published on here, an email will be sent out at 9AM Mountain time.

If I have it correctly, I will post something from Florida at about midnight, and if you don’t want to read it then, you can get the email in the morning. So please sign up for the email list and I will keep you updated. I won’t even send you anything that doesn’t have to do with Amelia and her wish. Ok Ok, I won’t sell your information either, I just want everyone to be able to follow our adventure and send Amelia your comments as we go!

Sign up over there in the sidebar….it only takes a minute! Also note, the video there in the sidebar will change daily during the trip. You will be able to see all of the videos on You Tube, head over to our Pictures and Videos Page and you can link there. Each Day will also have a picture page that you can view to your hearts content.

Please direct any questions to us using the comments below or by emailing me directly: justin@ameliasmakeawish.com

Thanks for reading, now that things are getting closer, these will be more frequent!

-Justin

A Ballpark Guess of Our Disney Trip (ameliasmakeawish.com)
A Princess Party, A Wish Granted (ameliasmakeawish.com)
Amelias Wish Declaration (ameliasmakeawish.com)

A Ballpark Guess of Our Disney Trip

Jan-Feb in Wishland No Responses »

Feb 242012

So, what comes into your brain when I say Disney World??? Castle, princesses, Florida, long plane rides…..all of the above? Yes we will be doing all of those. And more. I am not exactly sure everything that we will be doing on the trip right now, but here is what I know.

First, we will be flying to Orlando on an airplane. Don’t know the airline, the time or anything else yet. That is OK, the trip will be in June. From the airport, we will be driving via rental car, to the Give Kids The World village.

Now, Give Kids the World Village is a wonderful place. It is set up to help grant wishes for kids, and give them a place to stay in Florida. It is about 10 miles from Disney World. It has basically a small city that gives us a place similar to a condo, with a kitchen and washer and dryer. They have Ice cream for breakfast. They have every holiday during every week. Disney characters show up as well. This place is simply awesome.

During our trip we are going to be spending a bunch of time in Disney World. We plan on hitting all 5 lands during the 6 days. Amelia will get special treatment the whole time! She gets to do something that hasn’t been done before, she will be made up by Disney World as Rapunzel and she will lead the parade through the park! That was her first wish that the Make-A-Wish people didn’t think could happen. But it did.

We are also going to hit the beach. The kids are looking forward to getting swept off of their feet by he waves again, this time in the Atlantic! maybe we will head over to the other side and hit the gulf of Mexico as well….probably not.

Sometime during this trip we are also going to spend a day up at Universal Studios to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Leatha and Cameron are especially looking forward to this one. They want to go to Hogwarts for real.

So, that is a thumbnail of our trip. I am planning on taking tons of pictures, as well as video and posting them on this site. If you are signed up on the email list (look over in the sidebar there—>) you will get the updates the very next morning right in your email. Or, you can just check back every day. Or more often. I am not promising anything now, but there may even be podcasts…. But mostly video and pictures. And updates! Good grief I can’t forget the updates.

I am glad there is wifi at Give the Kids the World so that I can upload all of this and share with everyone who is reading this. Check out our new picture page if you haven’t and let us know you were here in the guestbook! We make sure Amelia reads all of the comments from you lovely people who visit. We all appreciate your support!

So, until the next time that we have an update, We’re coming to you live from Utah, 1019 days into the new kidney and 1764 days from the beginning of this all,

-Justin

Image via Wikipedia

Amelias Wish Declaration (ameliasmakeawish.com)
A Princess Party, A Wish Granted (ameliasmakeawish.com)

A Princess Party, A Wish Granted

Jan-Feb in Wishland No Responses »

Jan 282012

So the New Year has come and the guessed about date of Amelia’s wish trip is coming. Last week we got a flyer in the mail saying that there would be a party with and for all of the Princesses in Make A Wish Land. Of course Amelia wanted to go right away. I had the flyer on my desk and just had not gotten around to emailing about the party yet when I got an email from one of the ladies that is working on Amelia’s wish.

She wanted to make sure that we were going to be at the party so that they could announce that her wish had been granted! Of course I emailed right back and said “Yes she will be there!”

Amelia has been counting down the days ever since. Finally on the 18^th of January 2012 the Princess Tea Party happened. Amelia was escorted into the Make A Wish office by a princess and then was assigned her very own princess escort. The princesses were from the Distinguished Young Women of Utah and were just great to all of the little girls at the Tea Party. They ate treats, danced and got crowns and magic wands. They all had a great time.

We took the whole family because we were told that there was a special announcement for Amelia. These princesses were so fun, they took Cameron around as a prince and he danced and had a good time as well. Eventually, it was time for the special announcement.

Amelia was called up to the stage and was told that her Wish was going to be granted! Not only that, but Walt Disney World had come through and Amelia was going to be allowed to lead the Disney World parade as Rapunzel! If you recall from previous posts, they usually do not do this and even the Make A Wish people were blown away. Needless to say, our whole family is excited.

So now, we make plans and get things ready to go to Florida! There is a lot to do but so worth it. We just keep saying thank you to everyone at Make A Wish, they are truly making dreams come true. More to come as we find out!

Amelias Wish Declaration (ameliasmakeawish.com)
A Ballpark Guess of Our Disney Trip (ameliasmakeawish.com)
Ladies and Gentlemen, Amelias New Site! (ameliasmakeawish.com)

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