Saturday, June 09, 2012

Day 6 - little more fun - goodbye FL

Our final day in Orlando we went to Universal Studios again. When we arrived the weather was beautiful and the next thing we knew it was pouring!!! Thankfully, we had our trusty ponchos on hand & we were set!








We watched a show or two to stay out of the rain & got to meet good ol' Sponge Bob!



We also met Diego, who is much taller in person than I expected. We ate at Mel's Diner, and then caught a wave or two.  (I swear the rain was coming down in sheets, I just didn't pull my camera out during those times...we weren't dressed in garbage bags for nothing!!)





After six days of absolute pure joy, the time came to say goodbye to Orlando. :(


We got to the airport 2 hours before our flight & after turning in our rental car we learned that we had a 3 hour flight delay!!! Yikes!! That means we spent 5 hours in the airport, another 5 hours flying home & then 2 hours driving home!
Most people might have wanted to go nuts after all that, but after our perfect week, it didn't even phase us. 

The kids were perfect little travelers & were excited to fly once again. The boys slept pretty much the whole flight & again on the limo ride home.  Thank heaven for the limo, it allowed us all to sprawl out & get a little more sleep!


 You'd think that after so many LONG days of fun that these kids would have pooped out & turned into grouches at some point, but boy did they have stamina!


This was the scene as we pulled up to our house early Wednesday morning:


Totally spent!

Words can't describe how grateful we are to have had this wonderful experience. The trip has completely refreshed our spirits & we feel like new people. The people at Make-A-Wish made this the absolute best week of our lives & we come away with so many cherished memories. I can't remember the last time we completely forgot about all of our worries & just had fun!
I don't think it's possible to adequately thank Make-A-Wish, and our wish donor Bill, for the trip of a life- time.  From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for everything, it was perfection!!!

5 comments:

cristy said...

This looks like a great last day in Disney World! You can tell the kids are having a blast because they don't even seem to know they are wearing ponchos.

I am glad you guys had such a nice time. I imagine you spent many moments of each of these days with tears of joy & gratitude. It is wonderful to see Josh (& co.) spoiled with such a wonderful vacation. Thanks for taking the time to document & share this with all of us. It has been so fun to see the kids' joyous faces & share in on the adventures!

Josh left home a boy & returned home a trained Jedi. Wish granted! What more could he ask!?!?

kirk and carrie said...

Incredible. Was SpongeBob as crazy in person? Why was Diego a giant? Not what I thought he'd be. Very interesting!

Make-A-Wish and Bill should be so proud of what they have given your family (especially Jedi Josh). What a selfless and wonderful thing to give to a child. I am so glad you have documented it all on here.

I can't wrap my mind around how charitable some people are. What a gift! I am glad you all had the time of your lives!!!

Jenny said...

This was amazing! I love all of your entries and I was in tears more than once. I'm so glad you had a great trip!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for sharing. Teared up more than once reading about your special trip--none more than the pic of Josh sleeping with his big sisters!

Considering all the scary stuff you've faced down, Josh, Darth Maul is a cream-puff. But we'll cut you some slack.

So glad you're family got to do this and kudos for not letting the rain dampen things one bit (the true mark of an HLHS family). You deserved this and we're so glad for you. Makes us look forward to our own MAW trip (hopefully in Jan if the surgery calendar permits).

Love,

Rolf, Trish, Rudy and family!

Hetrick family said...

I love the whole trip, how you documented it, and your outlook on the rain, delays, etc.
You guys are an amazing family! Thanks for sharing it! We were shedding tears of joy for you here on the east coast! xoxo