Day 6-part2-Orlando temple/Epcot

After leaving Hollywood Studios we headed to the Orlando Florida temple. It had been such a busy day, it was nice to get out of the heat and do something where we could really feel the Spirit on the Sabbath Day. As we were driving down the road we could see the temple in the distance and it instantly brought a feeling of peace.

The Orlando temple is absolutely beautiful! We sat in the parking lot for about an hour. Everyone except me took a nap. I decided to write my brother, Jason, who is serving a mission right now.


The boys fell asleep in the car so I had Jared take a picture of just Brooklyn and me at the temple.


It was so nice just sitting there feeling the Spirit at the temple for a while. Soon we were all getting hungry because it was dinner time so we decided it was time to go. We stopped and ate some dinner and then I had a crazy idea! (Of course it didn't seem crazy at the time...but looking back...) I wanted to go to Epcot on the way home and ride one of my absolute favorite rides, Soarin' over California. I knew it would be the only time we would be able to ride it, and I really thought the boys would love it just as much as me. It took a little convincing because Jared wasn't sure he wanted to, but he conceded.

As we were walking into the park we stopped for another family picture...


Then we headed to Soarin'. I was 100% correct. We all had a ton of fun on the ride. I rode it first with Caleb and Kyson and then Jared took them on it. We would have loved to do it several more times but it was really getting late and we needed to get back. As we walked out of the building where Soarin' is located we were shocked to find it was absolutely pouring. When we walked in, we didn't see any sign of rain so we couldn't believe it! Any other time and we would have had our ponchos with us but since we were just running in to ride the one ride we left them in the car! We stood there and waited for about 10 minutes and decided it wasn't going to stop anytime soon. It was a good mile back to the car but we didn't know what else to do other than run for it. Jared picked up Kyson and carried him on his shoulders, I pushed Brooklyn in her stroller while Caleb ran along with us. We ran from one building to the next until we got to the front locker area. We were all drenched and Caleb was crying he was so scared and wet. We decided to take a break there and it's a good thing we did because all the sudden the wind picked up and it seriously looked like a hurricane out there! There were benches floating down the sidewalk and tons of debri flying through the air. We knew we needed to just wait it out for a while. After about half an hour the wind died down a little and it wasn't raining quite as hard so we decided to run to the trams that would take us to our car. We started running and Caleb was so scared he asked Jared if we could say a prayer (we were so proud of him for thinking of that when he was scared!). Jared pulled off to a little area that was covered and we had Caleb pray for all of us. Then we ran the rest of the way to the tram and got on.
After getting on the tram I knew I had to take a picture to remember our crazy adventure. I couldn't back up far enough to get a great picture, but here we are so grateful to have made it safely to the tram. The only dry thing on any of us was Jared's shoulders where he was carrying Kyson. Gratefully Brooklyn was kept dry in her stroller with the blanket that is covering it.


We finally made it to the car and we drove back to GKTW. When we made it back we all said a prayer to thank Heavenly Father for helping us get back safely. We were wet and tired, but we were all together and we were all safe.
Looking back I am grateful we had this experience because I was able to see how my sweet Caleb would react when he was scared. The fact that he was the one to suggest saying a prayer made me so happy. I hope my children will all learn to always pray to Heavenly Father and Jesus to help them when they are scared or need comforted. What a great example Caleb was to all of us in that moment!
After getting out of our wet clothes and getting our pajamas on we were soon in bed. We needed to be up early (again!) for our last day at Disney World!

Day 6-part 1-Hollywood Studios

Sunday morning we had another early start to our day. We had to be at Hollywood Studios quite early. It was the last day of a special Star Wars event they were having so they opened the park early for the general public.

Usually the group with the Warners get in a little before the general public so if we wanted to do that we had to be there even earlier than usual. We especially didn't want to miss out on this because the first ride of the day was Toy Story Mania...one of the most popular rides in all of Disney World. Kurt had promised Kyson that he would ride with him on this ride and Kyson was really excited about that. When we were walking to the ride, Kurt picked up Kyson and carried him to the ride.



We got to go on it once and then we ran around to the beginning and got to do it again. SO FUN!!! This ride is like an arcade game where you try and get as many points as you can. I rode with Jesse Warner and she completely annihilated me both times! Ha!

After riding Toy Story we headed to a show where they asked for volunteers. Jared thought it would be fun so off he went. They had the volunteers be "actors" for a movie. They filmed them pretending to get bombed while on a boat and then made it into a quick movie. It was quite funny to watch their expert acting:)


Next we rode on a tram that took us around to look at how movies are made. We saw a few different old movie sets and they showed us a few tricks they use in filming movies. Pretty interesting!


After that we split up again for the rides. Of course our amazing volunteer, Rory, took our kids and we headed off to ride the bigger rides...Rockin' Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror.
This first picture is from Rockin' Rollercoaster. That was an AWESOME ride. Probably my most favorite of all the rides I got to ride.


Here is some of our group on Tower of Terror. I remembered not liking this ride at California Adventures so I was a little nervous. I had fun but it's still not my favorite...


Once we did that we headed to the "car show." I don't remember what it is really called but it was definitely one of our boys most favorite parts of the entire trip. This is one of the things they talk about every time someone asks them about Disney World. They especially loved the cars and motorcycles jumping through fire! Then, Lightning McQueen showed up!

Seriously...our boys were in heaven! Cars...motorcyles...fire...SO COOL!!! :)

After the show we all got to go down to the set and meet all of the drivers and see all the cars. Our boys kept asking to see Lightning McQueen but he was already gone.



I probably shouldn't add this next picture in but I have to laugh. Kyson DID NOT want to take a picture...obviously!


Then, I told him he was only going to be able to play my iPod if he smiled and was happy for the picture.

You would never have known he was throwing a fit two seconds earlier! We definitely had a love/hate relationship with the iPods!

After the car show, we were all very hot and very hungry. We walked to a place where they had a special lunch prepared for us (in an air conditioned room!!!). It was great to sit down and relax in a cool area for a while.

When we finished eating it was time to go our separate ways. We knew we had to take Kyson to see Buzz Lightyear right away so we wouldn't miss him before he had to go to the parade. Rory helped us get our kids headed in the right direction. He was so great:).



Meeting Buzz Lightyear was so awesome for the boys. We walked over there and didn't have to wait in the long line waiting to meet him. They just took us around to the back and let our boys have as long as they wanted. Kyson's facial expressions say it all! (sorry for the overload of pictures but I love them all!)







Family picture!

Even Brooklyn got a turn saying hi!

After saying hi to Buzz and Woody we went to find Lightning McQueen and Mater. I know they were excited to see them, but I think watching McQueen in the car show was more exciting than taking a picture just standing next to him!


After meeting the characters we decided to head out of the park. As we were walking out we heard that the parade was about to start. We decided to stop long enough to watch the parade.
(this is just a video of the parade. I only put it here because my boys love to watch it. Don't feel like you need to watch the whole thing:)

After the parade we really wanted to try and do something more Sunday appropriate so we headed to the Orlando Florida temple...

Day 5- Sea World

Saturday we didn't have anything planned with the Warners until late afternoon so we had the whole day to ourselves. We debated what we wanted to do and decided to head to Sea World. We knew they did a few extra things for wish kids so we thought it would be fun to go there. After completely wearing everyone out on Friday we let everyone sleep as long as possible. It felt great to be able to sleep in for a while!

Once we got ready we headed to Sea World. We stopped and took a picture just before entering the park. This time I handed the camera to Jared so I could be in a picture:)

This was one of the only days I attempted to wear my hair down. It definitely didn't last long. It is just too hot and humid there!
The first thing we did when we got inside the park was pet the sting ray. As a wish kid they let you feed them for free so the boys enjoyed that.

Caleb was always a little more timid when feeding the animals. Kyson thought it was great!

After feeding the sting ray we also got to go feed the dolphins.



After feeding the dolphins, I started feeling quite sick. We found a place to sit in the shade and get some food and water. Unfortunately while sitting there I just couldn't eat and I felt awful. My throat was really hurting, I was nauseous, and probably a little dehydrated. I was determined to not let it ruin our day. Jared kept saying we just needed to go back to the villa but I didn't want to. After saying a quick prayer the thought came to me that I should have Jared go to first aid station and ask for some Ibuprofen. We were actually sitting quite close to it so he ran over there. They didn't have Ibuprofen but they gave him some Tylenol. I took it and began feeling much better. Jared was still thinking he wanted to take me back but I convinced him to go watch the Shamu show where we could sit in the shade and we would leave after that if I wasn't better.

We had to walk clear across the park to get to the show and by the time we got there it was almost going to start. We didn't think we would find very good seats but when we got there I asked the people in charge if they let wish kids have special seating and sure enough...we had the best seats in the house. I was very grateful for that especially since I wasn't feeling the best.
Here's a couple of my favorite pictures from the show.


Once this show was over I knew I was feeling good enough to do a couple more things. The boys kept asking to see sharks so we headed that direction. There was a big tunnel that you can go through where the sharks and other animals are swimming all around you. The boys really liked that (and it was air conditioned!!!) so we did it twice!

After seeing the sharks we knew we had time for just one more show before needing to go back to GKTW. I remembered as a kid loving the Sea Lion and Otter show so we headed there. We got front row VIP seats which was awesome!
This show was very fun. The actors did a really great job and it was really funny.


In the middle of the show they asked for a child volunteer from the audience. Since we were sitting in the front row I told Caleb to raise his hand and he was chosen. He got to go and help the Sea Lion do a few fun tricks. He was definitely very timid but I was proud of him for going up there and doing it. He loves to tell people that he got to shake hands with a Sea Lion:)


They took a really great picture of Caleb shaking hands with the Sea Lion so we got a printed copy of that picture. That was another perk being a wish kid...they give you one free picture at Sea World. I'm so glad we have that picture! I just wish Jared had videotaped it because Caleb was so cute up there!

On our way out of the park we spotted this shark. The boys wanted a picture with it so we stopped real quick.

I'm so glad we chose to go to Sea World despite my not feeling very good. We had a lot of fun and definitely felt like VIP every where we went. Plus it was a great place to go with three little kids. We didn't ride any of the rides there, but we all got to enjoy feeding the animals and watching the shows. Brooklyn was a little angel as always. It was so hot and she was sweating like crazy and yet was happy as can be.

We got back to GKTW in time to go to the parent meeting with Kurt and Brenda. All of the volunteers came and watched all of the kids while all the parents met together in a small conference room at the village. We really enjoyed this meeting. Everyone got a turn to tell a little bit of their "story." I think out of the ten wish kids there, five of them were HLHS kiddos. It was a special time to get to know each other. There were many tears shed but we could all relate to one another on so many levels. At the end of the meeting Kurt said a prayer for all of us and our kids, and even he shed a few tears. I'm so glad they always take the time to have that special meeting.

Soon it was time to go rescue the volunteers...I mean get our children. Poor Rory always had a story to tell about something Kyson did while we were away. He can definitely be a tricky kid to deal with but Rory was so great with him. Sometimes it wasn't even that Kyson was being bad, he was just so dramatic. For example, Rory was carrying him on his shoulders and accidentally hit his head on something and Kyson was so upset. I know Rory felt bad and Kyson just made it worse by screaming bloody murder! Hopefully someday Kyson will learn to deal with his emotions just a little bit better:)

While we were in our meeting the kiddos got to spend some time with Mickey and Minnie. They each got turns taking pictures with them.



After the parent meeting there is usually a pool party with everyone. We were all so excited but unfortunately there was lightening in the area AGAIN so they closed the pool and all outdoor activities were cancelled. We just hung out around the village, ate dinner, and had ice cream. Soon the sky got really dark so we decided to call it a night in case it started pouring. A little disappointing but since I still wasn't feeling great I was grateful to get to bed.

Day 4-Disney Quest/Islands of Adventure/Hollywood Studios

Friday we woke up early to meet everyone for breakfast at Downtown Disney. The place we ate at had really good breakfast sandwiches. We all sat outside and enjoyed visiting and eating.
Here is a fun picture taken while we were waiting for everyone to finish eating. From left to right...Elijah Warner, Sienna Warner, Kate (another HLHS child like Kyson), Kade Warner, Kyson, and Caleb.

All of the kids spotted this duck and her little babies following her around. Caleb especially loved them and kept wanting to take pictures of them. I deleted tons of them but here are a couple.


After eating, we all walked down to Disney Quest.
This is Sierra (the youngest Warner) pushing Brooklyn. Sierra just couldn't get enough of her and just loved to be wherever she was.

Kyson was having a hard time walking that far so he hitched a ride on one of the volunteer's shoulders (Erin). Poor kid has no waist and his pants never stay up where they are supposed to:)

Along the way, Kurt stopped to pose for a picture with another wish kid, Emmanuel.

Kyson thought this Buzz Lightyear and Woody made completely of legos was super cool!

Disney Quest is a huge building just filled with arcade games. I thought it was funny that Kurt kept saying that Disney Quest was his favorite part of the whole trip. While it was a lot of fun, I definitely loved the roller coasters and theme parks more. The cool part was they opened Disney Quest just for our group an hour and a half before it was opened to the general public.
Here's Kade talking to our boys just before they let us in. He was telling them about all of the fun things to do.

We had the whole place to ourselves. Our boys LOVED the car racing games. If we tried to do anything else they were very upset. In fact trying to leave Disney Quest turned into a bit of a nightmare but we survived the crazy fits being thrown (isn't it crazy how even when kids are being spoiled rotten, they still throw fits!) and decided to get some lunch and head to Islands of Adventure/Universal Studios.

On our way we asked the boys what they would like to eat and not surprisingly they said Taco Bell. We wanted to hurry to get to the park so we grabbed it on our way.

We got parked and it seemed like a mile walk to get inside the park and it was HOT and humid! I convinced Jared to stop for a quick picture...

One of the first rides the boys rode was the Dr. Suess ride. Jared took them both while I stayed and watched Brooklyn.
When they saw Kyson was a wish child they made the boys honorary conductors.

They both had a great time and I guess Kyson was very sad to have to get off the ride.

My favorite part of the park was Harry Potter land. It was so busy and crowded so we didn't stay too long because the boys weren't as interested as I was. They did a very good job building that part of the park.




We tried the butterbeer, went to a wand show, and rode the hippogriff ride a couple times.
This ride was fun, short, and fast. Kyson wasn't too thrilled about it but the rest of us loved it!


Once we left Harry Potter land we found a couple more rides the boys really enjoyed. Then it was time for the parade in Universal Studios so we decided to head that way. We realized we were short on time so we ran a good portion of the way. Unfortunately we completely missed the parade because they decided to start it early because of the threat of rain. A little disappointing to us after running there, but oh well. We met up with our friends, the Arandas, after the parade and rode a couple rides with them. After riding the hippogriff ride Kyson was scared to ride anything else. I convinced him to ride one ride and he was happy when he got off but didn't want to go again!
We ended up staying at the park until it started raining on us again so we started home.


Once we made it to the car the boys were completely exhausted! They both fell asleep pretty quickly. Poor Caleb was in a booster seat and didn't have anywhere to lay his head. We were laughing pretty hard so I decided to video tape him for a minute:)