The day you leave a vacation is always with mixed feelings. It is always hard to be away from home, and so you are glad to be heading back to the familiar, and pending it is a good vacation, you wish you could continue on the vacation longer. That is how we felt today. It is great to be home, but it would have been nice to have a couple of more days.
We went to Downtown Disney this morning so that the girls could finish up their shopping and use their gift cards. Lilly got some small dress up dolls, and Sarah got some princess dolls. Sarah also crash since it was lunch time and she hadn't eaten anything. We got some sugar in her and went to In-N-Out Burger for lunch. Sarah also had a little nap while the rest of us had lunch.
We played at a park for an hour, before heading to the airport. The flight was nice. We had our "wish girls" waiting for us when we got off the plane. It was nice to see them and they helped with the luggage to get it to the shuttle to the car park.
We had a fun time and are grateful for all those who made it possible. The Make-A-Wish foundation does great things and brings happiness to many lives. Thank you for granting Sarah's wish. We also want to thank the Wells Fargo Advisors of Bellevue that sponsored Sarah's Wish. They did a lot and have helped to make Sarah's wish a reality. Thank you so much.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
Disneyland, Day 3
Jess and Gus weren't feeling well today, so they planned on spending the morning at the hotel and joining us after Gus's nap. Unfortunately, he went down for his nap late, and they didn't make it until Dinner time. More on that later.
After yesterday's experience with Goofy's flight school, the girls wanted to start out the day with Splash Mountain. They went on it but didn't like it too much. The issue was there was a drop in the darkness that they didn't like. That caused them not to like the big drop where the picture is taken. Unfortunately, you can't see Sarah because of the person sitting in front, but Lilly's expression is priceless.
The girls were able to see Tigger and Pooh, and go on Pooh's ride. We then made our way over to Mickey's Toontown. Due to Splash Mountain, they didn't even want to go on the kiddy coaster in Toontown. We made our way back to Tomorrow land, where they girls went on the Astro Blasters and Star Tours again. The Star Tours ride was a completely different ride. I am sure I could ride that one over and over to see them all.
We made our way to the wish lounge. It is a room off Main Street that they have for families there with Make-A-Wish. It was nice to get out of the heat. The girls watched half of The Little Mermaid before being ready to do more in the Park. On our way out, we hit the jackpot with Characters. We followed Cinderella to a spot just below the castle. She was there with her Fairy Godmother. After getting pictures and Autographs with them, we saw the Queen from Snow White, and Ariel come to the same spot. The girls got pictures and autographs of all of them.
About this time we found out that Mom wasn't going to join us before Dinner, so we made our way over to Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. The Haunted Mansion was changed for Halloween. Jack the Pumpkin King took it over and it was themed with Nightmare before Christmas stuff. It was fun, and the girls loved it. We then hit some of the rides in Fantasy land before Dinner.
We took the monorail over the the Disneyland Hotel where we met up with Mom and Gus. We had dinner at Goofy's Kitchen, where we saw a number of characters, like Goofy, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Mulan, and Minnie. Gus loved Minnie. It was funny to watch Gus with the Disney characters. After Dinner, we decided to call it a day. Tomorrow, we pack up and return home to Seattle. It has been lots of fun.
Thanks for all those who have made this trip possible. The girls have been treated very special. We are very grateful to have been part of Sarah's Wish.
After yesterday's experience with Goofy's flight school, the girls wanted to start out the day with Splash Mountain. They went on it but didn't like it too much. The issue was there was a drop in the darkness that they didn't like. That caused them not to like the big drop where the picture is taken. Unfortunately, you can't see Sarah because of the person sitting in front, but Lilly's expression is priceless.
The girls were able to see Tigger and Pooh, and go on Pooh's ride. We then made our way over to Mickey's Toontown. Due to Splash Mountain, they didn't even want to go on the kiddy coaster in Toontown. We made our way back to Tomorrow land, where they girls went on the Astro Blasters and Star Tours again. The Star Tours ride was a completely different ride. I am sure I could ride that one over and over to see them all.
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| Tigger and the girls |
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| Pooh and the Girls |
We made our way to the wish lounge. It is a room off Main Street that they have for families there with Make-A-Wish. It was nice to get out of the heat. The girls watched half of The Little Mermaid before being ready to do more in the Park. On our way out, we hit the jackpot with Characters. We followed Cinderella to a spot just below the castle. She was there with her Fairy Godmother. After getting pictures and Autographs with them, we saw the Queen from Snow White, and Ariel come to the same spot. The girls got pictures and autographs of all of them.
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| Cinderella and her Fairy Godmother |
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| The Queen |
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| Ariel |
About this time we found out that Mom wasn't going to join us before Dinner, so we made our way over to Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. The Haunted Mansion was changed for Halloween. Jack the Pumpkin King took it over and it was themed with Nightmare before Christmas stuff. It was fun, and the girls loved it. We then hit some of the rides in Fantasy land before Dinner.
We took the monorail over the the Disneyland Hotel where we met up with Mom and Gus. We had dinner at Goofy's Kitchen, where we saw a number of characters, like Goofy, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Mulan, and Minnie. Gus loved Minnie. It was funny to watch Gus with the Disney characters. After Dinner, we decided to call it a day. Tomorrow, we pack up and return home to Seattle. It has been lots of fun.
Thanks for all those who have made this trip possible. The girls have been treated very special. We are very grateful to have been part of Sarah's Wish.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Disneyland, Day 2
We spent the day in California Adventure today. I took all three kids and took them to the park. Our goal was to see Car's Land. It was fun to have Gus with us seeing all the Car's things. We were able to get pictures with Lightning McQueen, Mater, and Red. We even went on one of the rides with Gus. He liked it.
After Jess got there, we got a few rides in and lunch before Gus needed a nap. The girls wanted to ride Goofy's flight school. It is a small roller coaster. They loved it. Both of them wanted to ride it twice. We were also able get into the "Talk with Crush" attraction. Crush talked to both Lilly and Sarah. They were excited.
We had dinner at Rain Forest cafe. After dinner, the girls wanted to do Soaring over California before calling it a day. They went on it twice, once with dad and once with Mom who is afraid of heights.
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| Meeting Mickey |
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| Pictures with Mickey |
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Disneyland, Day 1
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| Sarah's ready to go. |
Today was a fun day. A couple of highlights. Sarah had a makeover appointment this morning at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. She became a princess. Lilly was able to get done as well. They were cute together. Sarah picked out an Ariel wig as her hair, and she looked great in it. Then we found out that someone covered the price for the makeovers. It was touching to feel the generosity of others.
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| Dressed up ready for the makeup and hair styling |
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| Sarah all made up |
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| Lilly all made up |
The make over took most of the morning. After lunch, Gus and Jess went back to the hotel to get a nap while me and the two girls started to hit some of the rides. Since we were with make a wish, we were given a customer assistance card that allowed us to go the front of the ride. All the Disney employees were so friendly and seemed to do a little extra for Lilly and Sarah.
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| Lilly and Sarah meeting Tinkerbell |
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| Lilly and Sarah, Tinkerbell and Iridessa |
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| Silly Face time |
For dinner, we went to Ariel's Grotto and had princesses visit us during dinner. Sarah was at the end of her rope, but she loved seeing the princesses. Both girls loved to see them and get pictures. Lilly is even trying to get all their autographs.
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| Snow White |
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| Silly Faces with everyone |
Thanks so much to Make-A-Wish, Disneyland and the random strangers that are making our stay a memorable one!
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Disneyland, Day 0
So I am writing this from California. We had an mostly uneventful trip down. Though we had some surprises. First let me catch up with a couple of things.
On Saturday, the girls from Make-A-Wish threw Sarah a party at Red Robin. They had some great decorations and some gift bags for the girls. They gave both Sarah and Lilly backpacks that they had to bring down to Disneyland. There was a tinkerbell cake for Sarah as well. It was fun. Pictures in-line.
We also got all the itinerary that included all the confirmation numbers for the flights and such for the trip. We got to the airport this morning with plenty of time. We got checked in and had to wait for the TSA, since we got an escort. However, there was some confusion as they were waiting on the other side of the check-in counter. Fifteen minutes later we met up with them and we were on our way.
As we were going through security, a random stranger came up and asked if she could donate some cash so that Sarah could have a good wish. We were blown away and were in awe of the generosity of others. Thank you whoever you are.
We flew Alaska Airlines. They did such a good job to make Sarah and Lilly feel special. They let them go up and see the pilot and co-pilot before take off; they provided coloring books and wings for the kids; they gave free lunches to us as well. They were amazing. Thanks Alaska Airlines for giving us a great flight.
The lady who took care of us at Avis, was so excited about us being with Make-A-Wish. She told us that we should make sure to write down Sarah's story, because there are many people who need to hear the courage of little kids who have to go through so much.
We made it to the hotel and got settled in. We were asking where the girls wanted to go to dinner, and they both wanted to go the crab shack (Joe's Crab Shack) near by. They both got crab. Lilly liked it but Sarah loved it. I think I might need to find a good cheap crab place near us that I can take them again. It was a fun day and we are looking forward to Disneyland tomorrow.
A couple of videos to finish up. The hotel has a grass lawn that we let the kids play on for a while. They loved being able to run after the long day traveling.
On Saturday, the girls from Make-A-Wish threw Sarah a party at Red Robin. They had some great decorations and some gift bags for the girls. They gave both Sarah and Lilly backpacks that they had to bring down to Disneyland. There was a tinkerbell cake for Sarah as well. It was fun. Pictures in-line.
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| Gus and Bubbles |
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| Lilly had fun |
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| Princess Sarah |
As we were going through security, a random stranger came up and asked if she could donate some cash so that Sarah could have a good wish. We were blown away and were in awe of the generosity of others. Thank you whoever you are.
We flew Alaska Airlines. They did such a good job to make Sarah and Lilly feel special. They let them go up and see the pilot and co-pilot before take off; they provided coloring books and wings for the kids; they gave free lunches to us as well. They were amazing. Thanks Alaska Airlines for giving us a great flight.
The lady who took care of us at Avis, was so excited about us being with Make-A-Wish. She told us that we should make sure to write down Sarah's story, because there are many people who need to hear the courage of little kids who have to go through so much.
We made it to the hotel and got settled in. We were asking where the girls wanted to go to dinner, and they both wanted to go the crab shack (Joe's Crab Shack) near by. They both got crab. Lilly liked it but Sarah loved it. I think I might need to find a good cheap crab place near us that I can take them again. It was a fun day and we are looking forward to Disneyland tomorrow.
A couple of videos to finish up. The hotel has a grass lawn that we let the kids play on for a while. They loved being able to run after the long day traveling.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Tuesday, October 16th
We are getting excited to head to Disneyland. We leave next Monday and are there through Friday. The kids are excited. We are so grateful for all the wonderful things that Make-A-Wish does. We were invited to a theater showing on Saturday for the new Tinkerbell movie. Sarah wasn't feeling super well and didn't want to go, so it was just Lilly and I. It was fun.
Saturday also was the day that I took my girls to get their ski rentals for the season. Sarah should be ready to start to learn this season. I don't think that she will last super long, but she can start to learn. On the skiing note, we have decided that I am not going to teach this year. It is sad to not go back to Deer Valley, but it seems to be the right time to break that tradition for me. That also means our Christmas plans are undecided. We don't know where we are going to be and what we are going to do.
Sarah is coming out of a phase where she sleeps a lot. It is common and expected about 6 weeks after kids go through radiation. It was hard because she just wanted to sleep and didn't want to eat or drink. She has been on steroids for the last 5 days and that has helped get her appetite and activity level back. She still has her chemo pill that she takes every night.
We were grateful for General Conference. We got rejuvenated by the talks and felt the spirit. We know that the Lord is mindful of our challenges and gives us opportunities to grow. We are grateful for all those who continue to pray for us and provide for our needs. I am still amazed at the outpouring of love and service that we have received. Thank you all.
Saturday also was the day that I took my girls to get their ski rentals for the season. Sarah should be ready to start to learn this season. I don't think that she will last super long, but she can start to learn. On the skiing note, we have decided that I am not going to teach this year. It is sad to not go back to Deer Valley, but it seems to be the right time to break that tradition for me. That also means our Christmas plans are undecided. We don't know where we are going to be and what we are going to do.
Sarah is coming out of a phase where she sleeps a lot. It is common and expected about 6 weeks after kids go through radiation. It was hard because she just wanted to sleep and didn't want to eat or drink. She has been on steroids for the last 5 days and that has helped get her appetite and activity level back. She still has her chemo pill that she takes every night.
We were grateful for General Conference. We got rejuvenated by the talks and felt the spirit. We know that the Lord is mindful of our challenges and gives us opportunities to grow. We are grateful for all those who continue to pray for us and provide for our needs. I am still amazed at the outpouring of love and service that we have received. Thank you all.
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| A picture of Gus I grabbed a stoplight coming home from church. He was watching the rain on the windshield/wipers. |
Friday, October 5, 2012
Friday, October 5, 2012
Sorry for the lack of posting. It has been a rough week and weekend. The fun all started last Friday evening when Sarah got a fever. We made a trip to the ED and had Sarah checked out. Her ANC was great, but they gave her some anti-biotics and got blood cultures and were sent home. Her fever subsided to mostly normal by Saturday evening.
I was able to take all three kids and go to the light the night walk. It was a great experience. We all had fun, though I wouldn't have finished it without the help of one of Sarah's favorite nurses, Aaron. He walked with us the whole way and helped to push the double stroller, when I had to wrestle Gus who wanted to walk. I think that Gus walked more of the walk than either of the girls. Thanks to all those who donated and supported us.
Sunday came and everyone in the house got sick. Gus was the only one to not get anything major. Jess and I took turns sleeping throughout the day. I had spent the night with a fever. Lilly was sick enough to miss school on Monday. I stayed home from work from Monday to Wednesday. Both Jess and I went to the doctor. She ended up with a staph infection and I just had a virus. Sarah also was dealing with a fever. I ended up with a rash on Monday from the virus. That meant that Jess took Sarah to the ED with her fevers. She has been in the ED about every 30 hours as her fever keeps coming back. We found out yesterday that she is positive for the rhino virus. This is the common cold virus, but Sarah hasn't handled it well, the 3 or 4 times she has gotten it during her treatment. I am writing this from the ED during one of our visits. We hope her body finally gets on top of the virus and this is the last time.
Thanks for all the love and support. I am closing out with some pictures from the walk and a couple others.
I was able to take all three kids and go to the light the night walk. It was a great experience. We all had fun, though I wouldn't have finished it without the help of one of Sarah's favorite nurses, Aaron. He walked with us the whole way and helped to push the double stroller, when I had to wrestle Gus who wanted to walk. I think that Gus walked more of the walk than either of the girls. Thanks to all those who donated and supported us.
Sunday came and everyone in the house got sick. Gus was the only one to not get anything major. Jess and I took turns sleeping throughout the day. I had spent the night with a fever. Lilly was sick enough to miss school on Monday. I stayed home from work from Monday to Wednesday. Both Jess and I went to the doctor. She ended up with a staph infection and I just had a virus. Sarah also was dealing with a fever. I ended up with a rash on Monday from the virus. That meant that Jess took Sarah to the ED with her fevers. She has been in the ED about every 30 hours as her fever keeps coming back. We found out yesterday that she is positive for the rhino virus. This is the common cold virus, but Sarah hasn't handled it well, the 3 or 4 times she has gotten it during her treatment. I am writing this from the ED during one of our visits. We hope her body finally gets on top of the virus and this is the last time.
Thanks for all the love and support. I am closing out with some pictures from the walk and a couple others.
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| Sarah playing the backyard with Daddy's glasses |
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| Best friends |
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| Lilly and Sarah bundled up for the walk. |
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| Waiting for the walk to start |
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| They sure love one another |
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| Almost time |
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| Aaron pushing the girls |
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