We LOVE Make-A-Wish!!

Ah, the long awaited post...we had a FABULOUS time, all thanks to Make-A-Wish. If anyone ever questions what charity to donate time or money to, please consider Make-A-Wish. We were treated like royalty from the airport on (no baggage fees), the whole trip was meant to be a stress free time of happiness and hope. We had wonderful accommodations where the kids received gifts each day, the food was free, and there were constantly activities going on (the world's largest candyland game, parties, etc.). We had free tickets to everything, including Gatorland, an air boat ride, SeaWorld, and all the Disney parks. Emily wore a special button that allowed us free parking, free strollers, free pictures, and best of all, front row seats/VIP seats to the parades and shows. I wore a special pass that put us at the front of all the lines, both for rides and characters (it was better than fastpass!!) All the employees of the different parks were extremely kind to us and made sure we were well cared for. We had beautiful weather in the upper 80's, and not nearly enough time to take advantage of everything we were offered (we didn't go to Universal Studios because the kids were a bit young for it, and there were still many rides we didn't get to go on--though we made to many more rides than other people who had no special pass. We only went swimming once, and didn't make it to fishing or mini-golf). Justin and I need a vacation from our vacation, but we thoroughly enjoyed every minute! Emily absolutely loved seeing the different characters, and the older kids did go on some rides (Tower of Terror, Big Thunder Railroad, Peter Pan's flight, etc.), though they preferred the shows and parades. There is so much to tell about, and a ton of pictures to share. I hope to put all the pictures in a picassa album and share them that way, it will be much faster than uploading to the blog. I took over 300, professional photographers from the Disney parks took about 160, and I have more from where we stayed on a disk! We were certainly sad to leave such a magical place, and the stress free time, but we are home and ready to jump in the saddle. Justin has an interview with a heavy duty machine company on Monday, and we begin several doctors' visits for Emily. My surgeon called to reschedule surgery until the beginning of November, but I am going to see another surgeon on Monday, so hopefully she can get me in sooner (I am trying to get in before Justin starts his training with the train company). And back to school for everyone (we find out what the district can do for Emily on Tuesday). So there is a very brief synopsis of our trip, it was just a wonderful time and I think we all have some fun memories.