Day Three Univesal

We went to the Gingerbread house for breakfast with pancakes (of course) then led the way to our first park- UNIVERSAL STUDIOS!!!! I know that a lot of people might think that Universal is lame in comparison to Disney World, but my kids love super heroes! Heck they are super heroes, just in miniature! First we went to Adventure Island to see if we could meet some of the Marvel super heroes. We got a lot more than what we imagined! First they came down the street on three wheeled motor bikes then jumped off to visit with the crowds that were on the sidewalks. We were a little sad since it seemed that there were just too many people. Austin had his magic button from Give Kids the World on his jacket, along with his Make A Wish button as soon as Rouge and Storm spotted that they cleared the way for Austin and got down on his level to visit with him. Then their helper person asked if we wanted to wait in a specific area and that they would have all the heroes come and visit with us. ALL? Yes, all of them. Oh man, the kids were excited and the 20 minute wait was long for them. It was sooo worth it. They came up to us and visited with each one in our family. They loved hearing Austin's story, and were amazed. They told him how brave he was, and how strong and helpful Emma was, and what good parents we were. Very cool. I teared up a little. They kids were so happy. Spider-man, Cyclopse, Wolverine, Captain America, Rouge, and Storm were there. Emma was very bashful around the male heroes, but with Rouge and Storm she was in heaven. They were very sweet to her, and by the end Emma became quite animated and comfortable talking.  Austin loved meeting with everyone, and talked and talked. He told them stories about how he did super hero things, and how he beat this bad guy or that bad guy. And then told them how he had watched a show with them in it and what he liked that they had done. It was really great to see how engaged he was and how engaged they were. It was perfect. We spent over a half an hour visiting, and then took lots of pictures. They hugged all of us and rode off on their bikes.

We wanted to find a ride we could all go on. We found the Teridactical ride in the Jurassic Park section. Austin had seen the scary Jurassic Park ride on an advertisement, and really wanted to go on it. I tried to tell him that it would be on the scary side but he insisted that he was brave. He really liked it till the end. He then informed me he did not want to go on it again. From then on he would ask if I thought if this ride, or that ride would be scary. Poor bud!

We kept walking and hit Harry Potter World. Butter beer is amazing. I don't want to know the calorie content, as I am sure it is astronomically high. We went to Olivander's Wand Shop, and to see the Hogwart's Express. There was a roller coaster we could all go on, the Hypengryf. We all went on it a couple of times, then Ben was done. Austin and I went on it 8 times in a row! We would get off the ride and he would say "I wanna do it again!!!". And so we would.

After the roller coaster we took off to the Hogwarts Castle for the tour. Austin was pretty bummed he wasn't tall enough to go on it. The castle was amazing with moving and talking pictures and snow coming down in the common room. We went to lunch at The Three Broom Sticks with the shadows of crows flying across the walls.

We walked to Dr. Suesse Land and watched the show and met the characters. Austin was very excited to meet all of them. Thing One and Thing Two danced with him and jumped around. The Grinch gave him a huge hug. Emma sat there petrified, refusing to talk to anyone. She did enjoy the Dr. Seusse ride. We left the park to meet Stephanie and her family at Give Kids the World.

Day 2: Boggy Creek Airboat Ride and Exploring the Village

On Sunday morning we woke up, went to request tickets for the swamp tour, and went to breakfast. In the mornings we would go and eat at the Gingerbread house. There were different rooms there. Some had thousands of dolls up on shelves, while others had tractors, cars, and trucks. The outside did look just like a gingerbread house. There would always be a volunteer there to say hello before even more volunteers came out to serve us food buffet style. Austin really wanted pancakes. While I was telling Austin that we could have one of the waffles they were already making instead, the volunteer ran to the back and whipped up some pancakes for him.
I just need to take a second and give a shout out to all the volunteers there. They have over 1,300 volunteers a week come and give service. And they do it with an obvious love for their work, and a big smile on our face. Everyone was friendly. No one asked us what was wrong with Austin. They would just give him (and his sister) lots of attention. They would play, and chat with them. They treated them like the most important people in the world. It makes me emotional to think about it. I would say about half of them were retirees, the other half were all ages. I was impressed with how many young people were there putting in hours.

We then went to church, and came back to the Village. Inside the Castle of Miracles lives the magic star fairy. You are given a star to write your name on and the fairy puts it up on the ceiling. There are thousands of stars, one for each wish child that has come to visit Give Kids the World Village. Then there is an owl that the kids wake up and ask for a dream pillow. They talk to the owl who goes on to explain that there is magic in the pillow and when you sleep on it your dreams will come true. They both loved their pillows and would sleep on them every night for the next couple of weeks. Also inside the castle there is a magic wishing well that talks, a salon to get nails painted and temporary tattoos, the Mayor and his wife's throne, and a play place with secret compartments and a slide.
In a different part of the Village was the Amberville Train Station. There is a little mini train that rode around the village and through the mini golf course. Inside was an arcade, mini boat racing, a huge model train set that moved and lit up when buttons were pushed (just at the right height for the kids), video games, a pool table, and air hockey. The kids loved the arcade and mini boat racing. We would often go to race boats during the week in between all the other activities. Austin's favorite was the whack a mole game.
After exploring the village some we went to ride through the swamp. We were talking to one of the men that worked there, he was opening a bag right by Austin and pulled out a baby alligator. I was a little surprised and grabbed Austin. He laughed at me. The mouth was taped so there was nothing to worry about. Austin thought it was SO COOL. Then we got on the air boat and went for a ride. It was pretty fun and a little on the cold side.
At the village there is a themed party every night. One night it might be a Christmas party, another a pirate party. One of the nights we celebrated mayor of Give Kids the World Village's Birthday. His name is Mayor Clayton, and his wife is Ms. Marrie. They are 7 foot rabbits, that love kids, and like to roam around the village. Austin and Emma had great fun meeting Mayor Clayton and him wife. Emma would have nothing to to with them, but Austin thought they were awesome. On Sunday it was a life sized candy land game. There was cotton candy galore and tons of candy. We went to bed early so we could be ready for Universal Studios.

And We're Off!

We woke very early on Friday morning to a knock at the door. I woke Ben and it was our limo driver...a day early. I was a little freaked out since I thought, wait a minute, did I get the dates mixed up??? Thank goodness I didn't and it was the limo driver. The next day we woke very early to get a limo drive down to the airport. The limo had sparkling cider that Emma just loved. We all wore our matching shirts. Austin's says: "The Bravest Boy in the World. I have three kidneys, how about you?" Emma's: "The kindest, most patient, loving sister in the world. My brother is my hero." Ben and myself:"Parents of The Bravest Boy in the World. Proud parents of a Wish Kid.".
The kids were so excited, but the plane ride was soooo long. I made Austin wear a mask so he wouldn't catch anything from the (disgusting) circulated air. Austin was not amused. But Emma thought it was a wonderful idea and asked for one.
After we landed we met our Give Kids the World escort. He made us cry by telling us in no uncertain terms that this week was not just for Austin but for all of us, so we needed to let people serve us. It hit close to home. I have always encouraged others to let family and friends serve them, as I know how hard it can be to accept service. For over a year and I half I knew that we were going on this trip and would think about it when times were getting hard, over whelming, or having a hard time enduring. I looked at it as the point in the journey that we have finally made it. Not that we would not have other struggles with Austin's health, but this trip signified the end of dialysis, and his first transplant journey. So when he said to relax, have fun, and to let them do all the work I cried. We made it. Now we had the opportunity to have fun and not worry about medical stuff.
We drove to Give Kids the World Village. It is was awesome! So much to do and see. Since the next day was Sunday we decided to go to church and keep things low key, do stuff around the village and got on a boat ride int he swamp.