Make-A-Wish Trip, Day 3: Animal Kingdom

On Tuesday, Finn was back to his normal self: fever-less and stubborn.

Right away after breakfast we got in line to see the character who came to GKTW that morning - Squidward!

A quick note: There's a reason why there seems to be so many more pictures of the characters than the rides or attractions. The character meetings are made for picture taking and most everything else is made for doing. I didn't take as many pictures on rides and if I did, they didn't turn out as nice. And, I think it's safe to say that for the younger kids, the characters have become as big of a draw or bigger than the once awe-inspiring rides. Probably because there's a sense of meeting the real thing.

We headed to Disney's Animal Kingdom. We didn't know what we would be interested in at the park besides the African Safari, but I was excited to go for that alone.

Once there we found a map and charted a rough path around the park. Upon walking around a building to continue on our way we saw a sign off to the side that indicated a character meeting area down a path. It wasn't obvious and no one was going down that way so we decided to check it out. After winding around a couple of turns we came to a hut with Winnie the Pooh, a couple of his friends, and only a handful of people.

On the way out, another family was walking past and eying up the trail. We told them who was down there and about the lack of people. They thanked us and diverted from their original course to head down that way.

After our short side trip, we continued on our planned route and into Dinoland. Amanda and the kids went on the flying dinosaur ride. It's exactly like the Dumbo ride but with Triceratops to ride in instead of the flying elephant.

Nearby was a ride called Primeval Whirl. It looked like a cross between a roller coaster and a tilt-a-whirl. Julia wanted to go on it and so her and Amanda were going to but then found out it was temporarily closed.

We moved on next to watch the Finding Nemo musical. We flashed our credentials and they seated us in the front row. The costumes and scenes were very intricately made and choreographed and we all enjoyed it. And since the movie of Finding Nemo doesn't have any songs, these were all new. The musical was a shortened version of the movie.

Next was the part of the park that makes Animal Kingdom four times larger than Magic Kingdom: the African Safari. Julia was quite concerned at the start when she realized the animals could be close to us because they are not in cages. And while they appeared that way, the really potentially dangerous ones seemed to be cleverly separated from the safari truck. She warmed up to it all after we got going. We saw hippos, crocodiles, gazelle, giraffes, elephants, cheetahs, rhinos, ostrich, and more. There were lions around but we never saw any. It turned out to be about 75% animal spotting and 25% ride as there was a little storyline going on about poachers in the reserve.

After the safari we went through a number of other animal exhibits. Julia had fun trying find and identify birds.

We were all really wiped out at that point so we decided to head out.

Back at the villa, the kids and I went for a dip in the pool.

Our respite was short-lived; we went to Epcot that evening with plans to see the fireworks and light show. It was nice having the cooler temperatures of the evening (a native Floridian had called the weather "unseasonably warm" for the first part of the week) and not as many people around.

We had some time before the show so we wandered around and picked a few things to see. We knew we would be back to Epcot in a few days. The first thing we did was go on Spaceship Earth. This is the ride inside of the giant ball that is the picture everyone thinks of when they think of Epcot.

Next we ran into some of the same characters we had met at GKTW the morning before, but with one new addition.

Then we headed to The Seas with Nemo and Friends and rode the clam shells into the undersea aquarium. There they had another interactive animated show, but instead of a comedy like the Monsters, Inc. one, it was a question answer show for kids.

The time for the fireworks show was still a ways off, but creeping up on us. We walked around the lake and looked at the different foods the countries were offering. There was a wine and food show going on at the time so each country had a food cart set up outside. Most of the food sounded really good but not things our kids would eat. The fireworks and light show was good. It was late for Julia and Finn and we were all really tired. It took us forever to walk back around the lake and get to our car. I pushed Julia in the stroller and Finn rode on Amanda's back.

Our plan for the rest of the week was Sea World on Wednesday, Epcot Thursday morning and finish Magic Kingdom Thursday afternoon, and head to the ocean on Friday.

Make-A-Wish Trip, Day 2: Magic Kingdom

Monday morning Finn still had a fever and didn't seem himself. We seriously contemplated having Amanda stay back with him and me just take Julia to Magic Kingdom. We decided to all go when he perked up a little after some Tylenol.

Before we headed out we got to experience our first morning at Give Kids the World (GKTW). We had breakfast at the Gingerbread House, their cafeteria-style eating establishment. Most mornings, GKTW brought in characters from one of theme parks. Some of the kids aren't able to travel as easily as others, so they bring the characters to them. That morning we met Mickey and Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, and Mary Poppins.

We stood in a short line for the mice and the other three were wandering around the village.

After that we made the short drive to Disney World, made our way to Magic Kingdom parking, hopped on a tram to the monorail, rode the monorail to the entrance, waited in line to have our bags checked, got in line to get through the gates, and just like that, we were there!

I'm really not complaining about any of the waits we had. Kids on a Make-A-Wish trip at Disney are treated like royalty (and so are their families). Julia had a GKTW button on her shirt and Amanda had a special access pass around her neck. Besides the entrance lines and food lines, either of those two things would get us all to the front of any line. There are Fast Passes you can get for different rides, but those can only be used periodically and not for things like character meetings. At times I felt a little guilty about it... but only a little. I'm not sure if we'll be able to go back any time soon because we won't be able to stand having to stand in the lines. The only bad part about the trip is that it may have spoiled us.

Our plan was to wander around the park in counter-clockwise direction and see what we wanted to see along the way.

We stopped right away to get a triple dose of princesses in one of the buildings on Main Street, USA. Cinderella, Belle, and Aurora were all in one place. Julia happened to be wearing a hat that had those exact three princesses on them, so she had them sign that as well as the kids' autograph book.

As we continued walking we ran into Pinocchio.

Once we got to the center of Magic Kingdom, there was a parade starting, so we paused on our walk and watched it. While the floats, characters, and dancers filled up the street around the center of the park, they stopped and invited people out in the street to dance. Finn was content to sit in the stroller and so Julia and went out there and tore it up, Disney-style. Frozone (from The Incredibles) was in our area and he took Julia's hands and was dancing with her for a long time. It was really cool!

After that we headed in Tomorrow Land and saw the Monster's Inc Laugh Floor show. It was an animated improv comedy show and it was a lot of fun. They would show a member of the audience with a silly caption under their face on the big screen and then work that into the act. I smiled and waved when my face ended up on the screen and then I noticed it had a caption that said something about a dancing guy - so, of course, I obliged by standing up and dancing.

We next went on the Tomorrow Land People Mover that takes you around the area. Then we headed toward Fantasy Land where we got a bite to eat and went on the flying Dumbo ride.

We walked past the sword in the stone and we asked the kids if they wanted to try to pull it out. Julia gave it a shot and it slid right out. Finn went up and tried and it wouldn't budge. I was watching the staff members standing nearby and didn't see them operating anything to control it so I just figured he wasn't pulling hard enough. Julia tried to help then I did too. It wouldn't come out. We started to step down and Julia tried again by herself and it came right out again. It may be a sign.

We rode the boats on the It's a Small World ride. The picture below is from there.

We then ventured over to Frontier Land and since we were getting really wiped out we took a break by riding the train all around the outside of Magic Kingdom. Finn was just sitting in the stroller and wasn't interested in anything at all anymore so we decided to head back to GKTW. On the way out of the park we got stopped by another parade and so we hung out on the side of the street and watched it go by. Ariel looked down from the float and told Julia she liked her hat. It really lit up Julia's face. We still had Adventure Land to do, but we decided to save that for another day.

Back at our villa, we ate leftovers from the previous day's lunch and then headed to the Halloween Party that GKTW was putting on that night. They had trick-or-treating and activity stations all around. Julia and Amanda stayed for a little while longer while I took Finn back to the villa. On the way he nabbed some cotton candy and then we stopped for a train ride.

After this first long day, it felt like we had been there a week already!

Make-A-Wish Trip, Day 1: Arrival

On Sunday, October 9th, 2011, we started our journey south to Orlando. Julia's wish was to go to Disney World, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation was providing that for her and the rest of her lucky family members.

Amanda and I had an inkling what our airport transportation would be, but the kids were surprised to see the limo pull into the driveway at 6:15am. It was dark still, so a decent picture had to wait until after we arrived at the airport.

Julia has a few flights under her belt, but this one was the first time for Finn. Leading up to the trip, flying was definitely the thing most often mentioned by him.

Finn did quite well but ended up getting sick at the very end of the flight during a strong bout of turbulence. Julia had her nose in a book for the landing and wasn't bothered at all.

After getting our rental car, we headed to Give Kids the World. As we were getting close, Finn got sick again. We realized later that he had a fever too, so we're not sure how much of him getting sick was the bumping of the plane and the car and how much was that he was actually just sick.

We stayed at the Give Kids the World village. It's a resort that offers itself to kids with severe medical conditions. A family would be able to stay at the property for a week without leaving and have all their meals and activities provided for. We utilized some of each but also took advantage of the close proximity to the theme parks.

Each family gets a villa to stay in while there. It didn't take long for it to start feeling pretty homey. Julia called it our hometel - a cross between a home and a hotel.

After getting settled in we explored our surroundings.

We went to bed knowing we had a busy week ahead of us!

Kids, I know what we're gonna do today!

Last night we attended another fun HopeKids Minnesota event. This one was a brand new experience for the couple hundred people who attended: watching movies on the football field at TCF Bank Stadium where the Gophers play. They played the Phineas and Ferb movie and then Soul Surfer. A huge thanks to Gopher Athletics for allowing it to happen and the HopeKids people and student athletes who helped out! It was the first time they had an event like this at the stadium. Julia and Finn were impressed with the size of the place, and enjoyed running around on the field and feeling the artificial turf.

For the movies we plopped down near the 50-yard-line on our blanket and laid back. It was really windy and the clouds rolling by behind the giant screen was a neat sight.

We left after about 30 minutes into Soul Surfer. It was already an hour past the kids' bed time and we were 45 minutes from home. Even that little bit left an impression on Julia because this morning she remembered to ask to see pictures of the real Bethany Hamilton.

We're now busy getting ready for Julia's Make-A-Wish trip tomorrow. We'll be leaving bright and early to head to the airport for a week in Orlando!

The Clear Scans

The scans were clear! So that's obviously good. We're free of those until the start of the new year. And since they looked good, Julia got to have her Mic-key button taken out. For those of you not paying full attention (you're forgiven), that was the little device that gave us access to her stomach. It was put in as a G-tube late winter for us to give her feedings and later trimmed down to the button but kept so we could give her any meds she needed.

She said she didn't want it removed. I think it was part not wanting to have to take any meds orally and part because it sounded scary taking it out. To remove it, a nurse just deflated the balloon holding the button in place on the inside, slid it out, and covered the hole with gauze and tape. It was really weird just having an open hole in her abdomen with just a piece of tape over it. At home we had to change the gauze a few times a day and now, two days later, there's no discharge and it appears to be sealed. It looks kind of like a small bellybutton.

When I was changing the gauze this morning, Julia was gracious enough to let me snap some pics of The Hole, as we're referring to it.
Also notice the nice looking scar on the right side of her belly! I didn't want to force anyone, so for a closer-up shot, click here.

After a shower tonight, Amanda helped Julia style her hair. Her fauxhawk was awesomely cute!

The Upcoming Scans

On Tuesday we'll be spending the day at Children's Hospital. Julia's got scans, PT, and hopefully taking her Mic-Key button out. I've been trying not to think about it too much, but over the last few weeks, that's been difficult. After the scan is over and we've gotten the good news, Amanda and I will be relieved and then we can start worrying about the next one.

We're hoping to make it through Tuesday without a hitch so that we can focus on our vacation coming up in a few weeks. Julia's Make-A-Wish trip is nearly upon us. We're all excited to head to Orlando for a week! We'll be meeting again with Julia's wish granters next weekend to get all of our final details squared away. We'll be staying at the Give Kids the World resort. It's equipped for those kids who aren't medically well enough to be out and about to be able to have a great time on-site. Since Julia doesn't fall into that category, we'll be able to visit all the nearby theme parks as well as enjoy the activities they offer.

Julia's hurt arm was mentioned in an earlier blog post. All seems fine with it - nothing broken and it isn't bothering her at all now.

She also got a nice compliment from her guitar instructor at this week's lesson. He could definitely see improvement.

The kids decided to build Skippy a fort earlier today. It ended up quite elaborate and this evening the dog actually crawled in and laid down in it. Here's a picture of the early stages.

School Days, Strumming, and Splints

The kids started school a few weeks ago. That's right, even the little guy is getting in on the education action. Julia's in 2nd grade and Finn has started pre-school at UWRF. Things are going well so far.

After her birthday, Julia started taking guitar lessons. She was really excited about starting and she has her lesson once a week. She sometimes needs to be prodded to practice, but it's clear she's picking it up when she talks about what she's learned or showing the chords and notes she knows.

Julia went to a gymnastics birthday party on Saturday. She had a fun time until she fell off of a piece of equipment and hurt her arm by her elbow. After an hour or so, she was still in a lot of pain so Amanda took her to the ER. The x-ray looked negative for any breaks or fractures so she left in a splint and sling. She'll need to be seen in a few days and possibly x-rayed again to make sure it all looks ok. She hasn't had much pain at all today, so that's a good sign.

We're also staying plenty busy with dance classes, girl scouts, etc.

There would be more pictures of Finn, but he usually goes in the other direction if he knows the photo is being taken.

On Being Bald

There's no faulting a person for feeling self-conscious because of missing hair caused by chemotherapy. It is, after all, an unasked for change to someone's appearance that will draw stares and raise questions by peers and strangers.

That being said, the real meaning of the baldness ought to be thought about.

The falling out hair and later smooth skin is not a sign of cancer. It's a sign of the cancer being slowly killed off, cell by cell. It's a sign of a body stronger than the nuisance growing inside of it. It's a sign of tens of thousands of hours of creative and hardworking minds who studied, learned, and devised ways to destroy the parasite while leaving the host only temporarily weakened.

Hair? Please. Go ahead, take it. It'll grow back while the abnormal cells that decided to take a run at the whole of the body are long deceased, forgotten about, and their parts recycled back into other living things that agree to play by the rules.

Of course, the confidence of the preceding words is helpful to maintain a positive attitude during the worst of the worst. The fact is that sometimes the good guys don't win. But even in a loss, progress is made. Not only has the fallen inspired family, friends, and strangers, but the entire situation has brought people into the full spectrum of the human experience, of which, loss of life plays into it heavily for everyone who has ever lived. And all players in the game of fighting cancer are winners because they all become an all-important data point. One blurb of information in a file might sound like an insult to be a life's legacy, but I'm completely free of cynicism when I say that. Those tens of thousands of hours of work that bring hope were brought about by tens of thousands of those stricken with cancer - those who underwent treatment and battled through to whatever end was theirs. Good or bad, their end result made the lives of those who suffered and fought after them a little bit easier.

And as the treatments move toward producing less nasty side effects while still destroying the ceaselessly growing cells, here's to looking at a lack of hair for what it truly is: a sign of the battle being fought.

Kid Vacation!

The children spent all of last week splitting their time between their grandparents' houses.

Each of them had a backpack with whatever things they wanted to bring along. Finn couldn't fit everything he needed so he had a little extra to carry.

They got to do a lot of playing and exploring while spending the week in central WI.

Julia was excited to get to meet and hold Natalie, Amanda's cousin Leah's new baby.

Meanwhile, in another part of the state...
Amanda and I enjoyed going out to eat a few times without the extra cost of a babysitter and going on some long walks. We also took the opportunity to enjoy an evening at the Minnesota State Fair. Our only plan before going was to eat some interesting things, on sticks, of course. This was our menu of fair food that we ended up eating:
- cheese on a stick (like a corn dog, but with cheese in place of the hot dog)
- corn dog
- deep friend veggies on a stick
- fried green tomatoes
- corn fritters
- deep fried spam
- lefse
- sweetcorn ice cream
- slab of bacon on a stick

We had hoped to, but didn't get deep fried cookie dough, chocolate covered jalapenos, or deep fried candy bars. We didn't find the cookie dough and I decided to opt out of the other two at the end of the evening after listening carefully to my stomach. I think I made a wise decision because by the time we got home, I was feeling a little funny.

In one of the buildings they had several marker boards from CaringBridge to write words of support or in honor of someone battling an illness. I jotted down a quick note about Julia's outcome of her own cancer.

Here's a self-shot of the two of us above the state fair.

Although the extra free time in the evenings was nice, it was just as nice to get the kids back home on Saturday and be able to end the weekend with all of us back together.

The upcoming weeks are going to keep us busy. Amanda is already back at work, Julia starting back to school later this week, and Finn starts pre-school in a few weeks.

August Through the Years

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011