The Disney Wish Trip Photo Album

I finally got around to organizing all of the photos from the trip that are worth sharing and uploading them to the web. So here they are all in one place. Click the photo below to get to the entire photo album.

Disney Wish Trip

Day 7: The Return Home

Our final day on our wish trip to Florida was spent shopping for souvenirs and traveling. We had a final breakfast in the village, spent some time just relaxing and enjoying the Florida weather, and then packed our bags for the airport. At 11am, we checked out of the Give Kids the World village, and hopped over to Downtown Disney for some souvenir shopping. Josh quickly spotted a Lego store and both Josh and Katie browsed every section of the store and came out with enough Legos to keep them busy for the next several days. Lego and souvenir shopping complete, we grabbed a quick lunch and then headed for the airport. Shortly after 9pm we arrived back in Burlington Vermont right at the tail end of a snow storm. There were 6 to 8 new inches of soft, powdery snow waiting to welcome us home. A limo was waiting to transport us home from the airport, a 2-hour trip in good weather. The trip took about 3 hours this time and all four of us ended up falling asleep during the ride. Our Disney vacation had tired us all out.

Even with a good night's sleep behind us, we are all still moving slowly today. The kids have both been assembling their Lego creations and watching movies. We need a couple more days of rest. With school starting up again on Wednesday, life will resume its normal pace soon enough.

Day 6: Universal Studios, Magic Kingdom & GKTW

This was another long day and the kids are both tired. We started off with Universal Studios, and spent several hours exploring the park. There wasn't enough there to hold our attention for the whole day, so we eventually headed back over to the Magic Kingdom. Since this was our second trip to the Magic Kingdom, we focused our attention on the two rides that we wanted most - The Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain. In just 3 hours, we managed to ride Thunder Mountain 3 times and Splash Mountain twice. Then we left Disney World and came back to Give Kids the World in time for their weekly Christmas celebration. Christmas at Give Kids the World was quite fun. The kids got to meet Santa and have their picture taken with him. They were given Christmas presents. They had a sleigh ride. They saw a parade and participated in a dance party with other kids and all of the Give Kids the World characters as bubble snow fell to the ground around them. When everything was finished, we took the kids out for dinner and they barely made it throuh dinner awake. When we got them back to the villa, they collapsed into their beds without argument and passed out for the night. This was our last big day of park hopping. Tomorrow, we check out of the village, do a little shopping and then we are headed for home. Our wish trip is almost over.

Day 4: Universal Studio's Islands of Adventure

Today was another big day. We spent the whole day at the Islands of Adventure in Universal Studios. It is another huge park, similar to Magic Kingdom in that there are rides and attractions everywhere. We spent much of the morning in the Dr. Seuss themed park, had a huge lunch at Bubba Gump's and then headed into the Harry Potter and Jurassic Parks. The Harry potter park was amazing and the rides (3) were terrific. Katie found another roller coaster that she absolutely loved, called "The Flight of the Hippogryph". We rode that 6 times. Josh and I also discovered the Harry Potter simulation ride where you fly over, around, and through the Hogwarts school on a broom. This was the one ride that has come the closest to making me sick. It was also so realistic that Josh was afraid to go on it again. But WOW! What an experience. 

We finished the day by getting absolutely soaked on a couple of different water rides and then heading back to our villa for some pizza. Tomorrow, we head to Sea World!

Day 3: Animal Kingdom

Today started out slowly. After dragging the kids and ourselves out of bed this morning. We spent some time at Give Kids The World getting a good breakfast and having some photos taken with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Mary Poppins. I spent some time updating the blog while Amy and the kids rode around the village on the little train that they have here. Then, we headed over to Disney's Animal Kingdom - an extra large version of Granby Zoo but with a safari ride and live entertainment. It was a good choice for the day after Magic Kingdom because meandering slowly through the animals and taking the time to sit and watch the live shows gave us a chance to recouperate. The shows were spectacular and the animals were lively and active. However, Josh couldn't wait to get to the parks 2 major ride attractions, a tube ride down a river designed to soak every rider; and a roller coaster named Everest. The river ride soaked Katie to the bone. Luckily we brought extra clothes for just such an incident. The roller coaster was big, fast, and scary - I know from personal experience because Josh needed someone to go with him and this being a wish trip I couldn't say no. At the end of the day, we came back to Give Kids the World early enough to catch a late dinner and get the kids into bed at a reasonable hour. Tomorrow. We're off to Universal Studios! :)

Day 2: The Magic Kingdom

Yesterday we went to Magic Kingdom and we had an absolutely incredible time. What a way to start a Disney Vacation. The rides were fun, but the presentation and the amount of effort that goes into making everyone feel welcome is just incredible. Katie WAS a princess for the day and everyone went out of their way to make sure she was happy and having a good time. We spent more than 12 hours in the Magic Kingdom and still didn't see everything. Part of the reason might be because the kids fell in love with Splash Mountain (3 tiimes) and the Thunder Mountain Railroad (5 times).
Our Give Kids the World pass and our Make-a-Wish buttons granted us access to more than we coud have ever imagined. We were able to walk past lines that others would have to wait in for hours for rides, for photo ops, for everything. If a park employee caught site of our credentials, we were treated like royalty. Below is a video that shows just some of the things we did and saw at the magic Kingdom.

Day 1 in Kissimmee at Give Kids the World

There is no easy way to explain how much fun we are having. For starters, the limo ride to Burlington was very cool; for once, we were all in the backseat and not separated, so we all curled up and lounged (after the kids had tried out every last seat in the limo). Thanks to my folks for dinner and to our wish granter, Joe, for breakfast. The plane ride was a huge hit. The kids loved flying, and they were great on the plane; no one got sick, and we all behaved ourselves. (And we got to see the cockpit...) After a quick lunch at Katie's Kitchen (really--it's Boston Market, and it's really good), I went to the orientation at GKTW, where it was frankly overwhelming to realize how much there was to do and how much we had access to during our stay. Picture an enveloped FILLED with theme park tickets. It was like an informercial: "But wait:  There's more..." We played in the interactive water garden (so cool) and then played in this huge pool with several other families. That's right--We swam in a heated pool OUTSIDE in February. Fun! We had dinner at the Gingerbread House, which features real entress (pot roast!) for the adults and kid food for the kids. The kids were almost asleep at dinner, but they rallied for the carousel, which we rode again and again. Katie would have stayed on the carousel all day and happily. Last funny story: There is a party every night at GKTW. Last night's shindig was a party for Mayor Clayton, a six foot tall rabbit who tucks the kids into bed at night. There were tons of kids running around having fun, dancing and getting their faces painted. There were party hats, cotton candy, sno cones and cupcakes. The rule here, by the way, is that we can all have ice cream all day--whenever we want it, as many times as we can eat it and not get sick. Here's a hint about day two: Ice cream featured prominently in our breakfast plans. :)

On another note: Everything about GKTW is wheelchair accessible. Wheelchair bound kids can ride the carousel and the train. They can play on the pirate ship. They can use the slide at the playground. This place is nothing short of  miraculous--and it staffed primarily by volunteers, who smile all day long and who spoil the kids rotten. My cheeks hurt when I went to bed last night. I don't know when I have ever had this much fun.
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Off to Disney...

Katie Gets a Wish!

In November of this year, we contacted Make-a-Wish on Katie's behalf and they gladly granted her a wish. A couple of wish granters came to our house to speak with Katie about her wish and without a second thought, she told them exactly what she wished for. She is a happy, healthy five-year-old who believes that she is a princess so what do you think she wished for? Of course, she wish to go to Disney World!

So Make-a-Wish jumped into action and made all the arrangements and Katie is going to Disney World. She will be treated like a princess during her stay at Give Kids the World, "a 70-acre resort complete with over 140 Villa accommodations, entertainment attractions, whimsical venues, and fun specifically designed for children with special needs"(gktw.org). Just 10 miles from Disney World, Sea World, Universal Studios, and the many other attractions in Kissimmee and Orlando, Give Kids the World will be Katie's home base for 7 days while she visits theme parks and has experiences that she has only ever seen on TV and dreamed about. As an added bonus, parents and siblings are expected to tag along and have just as much fun as the wish kid!
We will post pictures, videos, and more blog entries about her wish trip soon.

Infection Free

Katie's ear infections are officially gone. Apparently the Augmentin did what it was supposed to do and the pain that Katie was complaining about for the last couple of days before going back to the doctor for a follow-up was caused by the fluid that is still in her ears. The doctor prescribed a nasal spray to help drain Katie's Eustachian tubes and sent us on our way. To help keep the ear infections at bay, Katie is also taking 2400mg of Xylitol each day. Xylitol is a natural sugar-alcohol that comes in the form of gum, syrup, or candy and our doctor recommended giving it a try. We bought the candy from our local health food store and Katie has no problem gobbling it down. Although I just read that Xylitol needs be given in a dose of at least 8400mg to be effective. We will probably increase her special candy allowance now that she is infection free again and try to keep her that way.

School vacation starts this week, and Katie is looking forward to both down time and time for play. She took a 3 hour nap this afternoon and only woke up because I woke her up. I wasn't interested in her staying awake all night after sleeping too long in the middle of the day. Tomorrow, if the weather cooperates, the whole family is going skiing and riding at Burke Mountain. Hooray for vacation!

Summer Vacation: Part 2

Our "vacation" came in two parts this summer, and although the parts were both reasonably close together, it took me a while to make myself sit down and write about them.

One week after our trip to Boston, we headed to New Hampshire to spend one day at The Whale's Tale water park and the next day at Santa's Village. To say that the kids had fun would be an understatement. They had an incredible time.

Josh discovered that he is just big enough to be able to ride all of the big kid and adult slides at the water park so he spent the first day shrieking with exuberant fear as he tried every slide in the park.

Katie discovered that the water park held plenty of options for her as well, although she definitely showed a preference for the Lazy River and the heated pool. When our day at the water park was over, both kids were completely exhausted. We drove thirty minutes to our motel right across the street from Santa's Village, took the kids out for a nice dinner and then turned in early in preparation for the next day.

We had invited Grandpa and Grandma Kelley to join us at Santa's Village and they showed up bright and early the next morning. The kids were already bouncing around the room with excitement by the time my parents arrived so we headed across the street and started another day full of fun.

For a four-year-old and a seven-year-old, Santa's Village is a paradise. The highlights of the day included the flume ride which always managed to get Amy and I wetter than the kids, and the roller coaster. Katie had been begging to go on a roller coaster since her brother had gone on one

at Granby Zoo at the start of the summer. However, she was too small for all the other roller coasters that we had found. The Santa's Village roller coaster was different. It had an age limit

instead of a height limit and our vertically challenged daughter was able to ride as long as she was with an adult. So the whole family rode the coaster several times. It was fast enough to get a few screams out of Amy and I. Katie, screamed almost non stop, breaking only to add "This is fun!" at the top of her lungs.

After the obligatory photo op with Santa, we packed it in and called it a day. The park was closing and we had two very tired, happy children on our hands once again.

A Real Summer Vacation: Part One

The trip to Boston went off without a hitch. In fact, we all had a great deal of fun everywhere we went. We started our Boston trip with a visit to the Public Garden for a swan boat ride followed by lunch in Beacon Hill within walking distance of the Boston Common at a little restaurant named Figs. (The pizzas were absolutely delicious!) We then headed out on a tour of Boston in a Duck Boat. Then we needed a break from the sun and the humidity so we checked into our hotel and headed for the pool. We finished our first day off with a walk around the city at night and with a trip to the Cold Stone Creamery for some ice cream.

The second day included a trip to the New England Aquarium, lunch at Faneuil Hall, an afternoon of playing and exploring at the Children's Museum, and an evening at Revere Beach. With all of that behind us and two tired children in tow, we headed for home to recover and prepare for our trip to two New Hampshire attractions, The Whale's Tale and Santa's Village. (More on that later!) We did not reach home until midnight on the second day of our journey, but we were happy to have squeezed in so much fun.

We all have favorite memories of our trip to Boston. Amy loved the Swan boats inspired by Make Way for Ducklings . I enjoyed the Duck Boat tour (Joshua got to drive a Duck Boat around the harbor!) and our late night walk through the city. Josh was happiest at the aquarium and at the beach, while Katie had her best moments in the Children's Museum. There was something for everyone. It was especially gratifying to tag along after Katie as she took the city by storm. She climbed to the top of a three-story activity structure in the Children's Museum, assisted by Joshua. She ran and played. She asked question after question. She was energetic and enthusiastic, dynamic and funny. Passersby would never have guessed that she is a cancer patient. She looked good, and she had fun--as did we all.

Funny note: If you know our history, you may remember that Katie's last trip to Boston ended in a surprise visit to Massachusetts General Hospital in the middle of the night. Amy went running Wednesday morning and jogged right by; tempting fate, she waved and smiled as she celebrated our good fortune in spending two sunny days in Boston with our beautiful children without medical intervention!

Playing Hard

As summer vacation winds down, we are cramming in more and more activities to make sure that we fit in everything that we wanted to do this summer. These past couple of days have been pretty nice and we put the good weather to good use. We spent one day at Granby Zoo and the following day at the beach. With lots of sun and fun under her belt, Katie finally crashed at the end of the second day. Just minutes after returning from the beach, she fell fast asleep on the couch while waiting for dinner. Eventually, I carried her upstairs to her own bed. She didn't wake up until the next morning.

Next week, we're planning a trip to Boston for the Aquarium, Children's Museum, Duck Boat Tours and more, and then a trip to New Hampshire for The Whale's Tale and finally Santa's Village. We'll post more fun pictures from those trips.

Relay for Life

This was our first experience of the Relay for Life, but it will not be our last. Katie enjoyed herself thoroughly; we all felt very good about participating. As you can see in the photo at the left, Katie was all decked out. (The hat is hard to read in this photo, but it is a Vermont Children's Hospital hat. It was a gift from the nurses at Fletcher Allen, and Katie loves it!) As we lined up with the Survivors for the Survivors' Lap, I reminded Katie that ALL of the people in purple t-shirts were kicking cancer's butt--our family catchphrase for the sometimes hard work of being brave and getting strong. Katie was thoroughly impressed: "That is so AMAZING, mom!" She was very proud of herself as she walked around the track to meet her dad, and she waved happily to all the bystanders; she was sure they were all cheering for her! It was a very powerful moment, and I happy to be there with her. Given how sick she has been this week, our pediatrician had recommended that we take it easy, but it was hard to do so. Katie wanted to keep walking. She took snack breaks and stopped to mingle, but we are pretty sure that she walked two or three miles. She may be small, but she is powerful, and she just kept on going.

Special thanks to the members of our team. We raised some money, we ate lots of junk food, and we had fun. Some of us were up all night. Many of us walked too many miles. Sincere thanks for your participation. It was fun to do this TOGETHER.

The final snapshot is a picture of our team beginning the walk. Katie, as you can see, is in her element, surrounded by people she knows and loves and looking forward to adventures with people she might get to meet. This is the perfect event for a social butterfly like this one.

It was a relief, for me, to feel like we have started to repay our community for its support. People have been so good to us. It was a pleasure to walk with friends and family. We met new people and spent time with people we don't see very often. We felt like part of our community, and it felt good. There is something compelling about dancing around a track at three o'clock in the morning with people who are uniformly positive. Everyone was in good spirits, and it was a great pleasure to join in. Katie won't object to returning next year. As she said, more than once, "This is a beautiful party."

Gone Fishing

It was a beautiful day here today. The temperature hovered in the 70's and the sun was out all day long. After some chores around the house and a trip to the barn, I asked the kids if they wanted to do a little fishing. Their answer was a resounding YES!














We live within walking distance of Crystal Lake and the Barton River so I gave the kids the option of riding their PowerWheels Jeep and ATV to the fishing hole. They jumped at the idea and we quickly strapped the poles and tackle boxes to the vehicles and took off.

While fishing, they also played in quite a bit of dirt. Katie isn't wearing camo face paint, that is dirt mixed with sun screen. Both kids caught fish and I was happy enough just helping them do it. Maybe next time I will catch a fish too.

All is Well

Since our last unexpected trip to the ER with a fever, Katie has been great. She runs and plays all day long. She still has a cough, and she has had some mild pain in her legs (Vincristine?), but she doesn't let anything slow her down. She may cough, but she coughs while running laps around her proud parents.

We had a truly wonderful vacation. Rick and I decided to put the kids first, so the basement is still a catastrophe, but the kids had a very good time--as did we. Our week was full of kids. Cousin Kyler came to visit, as did some of Joshua's pals, and Joshua had his first friend sleep over. They are so grown up... Katie, of course, is desperate to keep up with the big kids. She is such a pesky little sister. Josh typically does a pretty good job of allowing her to share his friends, but Katie also had a play date of her own--her first real visit to a friend's house. She also loved swimming at Lyndon, where we explored the campus. (Both kids are now eager to go to college...yeesh...) We spent a lot of time with our horses, and the kids had opportunities to ride. We also worked on restoring the tipi originally constructed by the Stone Fort Gang on Burton Hill fifteen years ago. The second coming of the Stone Fort Gang only has three members at present, but as you can see, they are very proud of their progress. It was fun to show Uncle Mike pictures of their efforts.

We are all back to school now and trying to finish up the year. While Katie is content to be back at Jeanie's house, where she is truly loved, she is already asking for more "stay home days." It's hard to explain just how valuable those free days really are. Rick and I were so tired when we rolled back into Lake Region Monday, and we are still recuperating. It was a brief reprieve from a schedule that just gets crazier each time I turn around. Katie keeps up better than we do!

Tee-ball is our new adventure. Joshua is playing for the Barton Rays this year, and we had our first practice tonight. He is on a team with some of his best buddies, and he had fun tonight. He was asleep within minutes. Katie was ready to crash, too, as she took advantage of the playground equipment during Joshua's practice. She is increasingly brave and has been taking more physical risks of late. She is so much stronger now. When I remember the skinny little chicken legs she had when she was really sick a year ago, and I look at the muscular limbs she has now, I appreciate the progress she has made. She has come so far, and it is a joy to write that all is, indeed, well. I am so thankful for the opportunities we have to play.

Ice Fishing

Katie went Ice Fishing today. She has been all excited about going for several days now, and today just she and I went out on Brownington Pond for about an hour and a half. Then we started running into nap time and we had to pack it up and head back home. We didn't catch a thing -- Didn't even get a bite for that matter, but she had fun. Just look at her smiling face in the pictures below.

Doing Fine

Things are normal around the house this morning. Katie's blood sugar level this morning was 75 and she was pretty much feeling like her self. Josh is off on his first day at 4H camp and is quite excited about it. It is only a day camp, so he'll be home for dinner to tell us all about it. He'll do that for the entire week. I hope he stays at least a little dry in all of this rain.

I haven't written about Katie's foot in a few days, but that hasn't improved yet. She still says that it hurts and she still refuses to walk on it. But she will crawl around so she is moving around the house playing.

Things are Going Well

Katie has been doing great these last few days. She is a little temperamental again but not as bad as she was last week when she was on steroids and doxorubicin at the same time. This week it is just the doxorubicin and she does get cranky on it, but without the added kick of the steroids she is able to manage well enough most of the time. So I guess we can rule out either to doxorubicin or the steroids as the sole cause of her really bad moods. She functions just fine on either one alone. But the combination of the two was nasty. We get the combination of the two again this Thursday. ;)
These last few days have been pretty normal for us. I have spent a good deal of time in front of my computer while Katie has played around the house and spent time doing whatever it is her mother is trying to do at any given moment. Josh spent three days with my parents because his cousin Kyler was visiting them for a few days. Whenever Kyler comes for a visit, Josh goes to stay with him. He had a great time playing, fishing, swimming and hanging out.
We also bought all of our pellets for heat this winter and moved them into the basement. Now we don't have to think about that again as the price of heating oil climbs higher and higher. Tomorrow, if it isn't raining again, I get to help build a fence at the farm and then squeeze in some time for homework.

To The Zoo!!!

By now you may have noticed that we are a little better at just doing things on a moments notice than we are a long, thought out and detailed plans. Well, the forecast says that today is going to be nicer than either tomorrow or Wednesday and Katie gets her next dose of chemotherapy on Thursday so we are headed to the zoo. The kids are bathed, covered in sun block, dressed and ready to go. We are headed out the door as soon as I finish writing. I hope you all have as nice a day as we hope to have. I'll post pictures when we get back.

A Check Up And The Echo Center

So we still haven't made it to the Montshire museum even though we have had a couple of pretty nice days in a row. Amy volunteered to spend all of Tuesday helping to paint the new library at St. Paul's elementary school. While she was painting, Josh and Katie and I took some time to fly a rocket and play around the house. We had fun and just did whatever came to mind but we never went too far from home.

Yesterday, Katie had to go back down to Fletcher Allen for a check up. She didn't get any chemotherapy or any medication of any kind. In fact, she didn't even get her blood tested because her counts had been so good last time. The doctors just wanted to see her and interact with her just to be sure that things were going well during this little break from treatment. They were not disappointed. Katie was a very active two-year-old yesterday. She was running and playing and singing - even at the hospital. She sung "You are my sunshine" and the ABC song for everyone in the infusion bay. On top of that she has consistently gained weight over the last two visits. She has gone from 22.3 pounds a couple of weeks ago to 24.2 pounds yesterday. She is feeling good and acting strong and healthy.

We also had another task to accomplish while we were in the Burlington area. Amy was part of a teacher peer review panel that was charged with either granting or denying a teaching license to a prospective educator and that panel met yesterday afternoon in South Burlington. So after Katie's visit to Fletcher Allen, we went to Art and Kathy's house for lunch and then Amy went to her meeting and the rest of us all went to the Echo Center for the afternoon. The Echo Center is a fun, local attraction that the kids always have fun going to and yesterday was no different. Katie and Josh both enjoyed themselves tremendously as the explored all of the activities available at the center.

Today is another beautiful day so far, but as of right now I am stuck inside working at the computer. Hopefully I can't get enough work done to get out of the house with the kids shortly.