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 5: GKTW, Sea World & Medieval Times

We are on our way back to Universal Studios so I don't have time to post much right now. However, below is a video montage of everything that we did and saw yesterday at Give Kids The World, Sea World, and Medieval Times. Medieval Times turned out to be the real highlight of the day with Josh being knighted in a ceremony with the king and Katie winning the red knight's favor after he won a tournament. We are having the time of our lives.

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.
.
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.

Corn Maze

It's that time of year again here in the Northeast Kingdom. Cornfields are being harvested, but first, some are being cut into the shape of a maze. For a nominal fee residents and tourists alike can test their navigational skills in an attempt to find the way through the maze. Josh and Katie love the corn maze and beg for an opportunity to run through the maze each year. This year, we did it at night and brought a video camera along with us. The edited video is featured below. It took us nearly two hours to navigate the maze, but the video has been cut down to just 5 1/2 minutes.

Katie Grace Kelley Had a Farm E I E I O

Today the animal population on the farm grew by two more animals. We bought 2 pigs. For a little entertainment, watch the video of us unloading the pigs from the back of our Subaru and into their new home. Josh was the videographer and he did a very good job considering this is his first video. I especially like his commentary.

Josh Learned to Ride a Bike

Katie's brother Josh learned how to ride his bike today without training wheels. He really took right off and Amy ran in the house to grab the video camera so that we could share the moment with everyone. Katie is in this video too... Chasing after the bike telling her brother that she is going to catch him.

April Update

It has been about a month since our last update, and it has been a very pleasant month. Katie has been feeling great and things have gone very well for her. After her last round of chemotherapy, she didn't even get sick. She didn't need any Zofran, any Miralax, or anything drug to keep her going. She went on with her life the very next day as if she had never received any chemotherapy at all. It was amazing. Since that time, she has been living the life of a normal 3 year-old, albeit a 3 year-old with what appears to be a little cold that is hanging on. The only symptoms are a slightly runny nose and a persistent cough.

Katie just received another dose of chemotherapy this Thursday and seems to be taking this one well too. She did ask for some Zofran yesterday, but today she is feeling fine and is outside running and playing. While we were at the hospital, we asked the doctors about her cough and told them that we had begun experimenting with Katie's inhaler as a method of controlling the cough and it seemed to work - at least a little. The doctors suspect that she is dealing with a slight case of asthma which isn't surprising given her history respiratory issues each winter. We were given an updated prescription for her inhaler and were asked to closely monitor her condition while she was taking monthly allotment of Dexamehtazone for the next 5 days. Dexamehtazone is a steroid that is a normal part of her chemotherapy, but if her cough gets better while she is on it, that may indicate that she is dealing with some asthma and a steroid based inhaler will help her control it more effectively. So if this cough disappears in the next few days, Katie may be issued a new steroid based inhaler that will let her run and play even more than she already does.

So as not to end this post reporting yet another medical complication, and for your viewing pleasure, I also uploaded a short video that was shot Easter morning while Katie ran around outside of my brother's house, collecting Easter eggs with her brother, Josh and her cousins, Kyler and Eric. It is short, but it makes me smile when I watch her running and having fun.

A Spring Day at The Barn

Katie is still feeling pretty good even with the Vincristine that she got Thursday. Today was such a beautiful day that we spent a good portion of the morning outside splashing around in the mud and brushing the horses. Here is another quick video that I grabbed with my cell phone of Katie enjoying the sun and fresh air.

Swinging and Singing

Just a quick cell phone video from this afternoon. The spring weather is nice.

Christmas at Home

Christmas has come and gone and we were able to celebrate it at home. Katie was feeling great. In fact, all of us were healthy. The kids were very excited to open presents Christmas morning, and I captured plenty of video. I won't bore you all to death with all of the video from the day, but if you are interested I have uploaded a couple of short videos of the kids opening presents.

She's Up And Running

It may not be pretty or fast, but Katie is running around the house and she is happy about it. In these quick videos and the picture, Katie and Amy are practicing sprinting out of the blocks like they do in the olympics that she watched some of while in the hospital. Needless to say, we are thrilled to see her moving. Amy has plans for her future in cross country.

Benefit Ride & Barbecue Video

My aunt Michelle had a video camera at the benefit ride and barbecue the other day. She dropped off the video this evening and I already have a movie encoded and ready for the web. Enjoy.
Today, Katie had a little trouble with nausea during the day, but this evening she was fine. She romped around the house, went for a walk to the store and stopped along the way to play at the local elementary school playground. She fell asleep to stories in her own bed.

Katie Climbing and Dancing

I just had to upload this video after watching her dance around all morning and climb the stair 5 times already today. She doesn't go back down the stairs yet, but it sure is nice to see her climbing up again.

A Good Morning

Katie is have a great morning at home and rather than describing how she looks and feels, I thought I would post a video so that you could see for yourself. Here she is, sitting on my lap in front of my computer, planning her lunch.

A Typical Transfusion

For any of you wondering what a typical experience at Fletcher Allen is like, I video taped, edited and narrated Katie's last trip to the hospital for a transfusion. It is a ruffly three hour process, edited down to nine minutes and twenty three seconds.

We are due for another transfusion on Monday.