Emilyswish
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2010
- Messages
- 428
We waited for what seemed like an eternity, and our ride finally pulled up right about 8am. Most MAW families will be picked up in a limo, and our coordinator really wanted us to have one. But we had voiced our concerns that with 6 of us, 3 carseats, one booster seat, 4 suitcases, 6 carry-ons, one medical bag, 2 personal item bags, and Em's KidKart which does not fold down, we might not fit in a limo!! I guess the car company agreed because they sent us this
And the kids looked like this!
Emily was still not ready to wake up!
Gee-off started loading all of the carseats, luggage and wheelchair into the van while I bundled up the kids.
The roads were in terrible shape. But we had a great driver and he got us there safely by 9am.
It was tricky getting through the airport that morning, as almost all flights had been canceled the day before and LOTS of people were lined up trying to get on new flights. We had to wait in a few lines just to figure out which was the right line to check our bags in! We had already gotten our boarding passes online thank goodness. Then it was off to get through security. Did I mention we had 6 of us, 9 bags, 2 kids who need help taking off their coats and shoes, and Em in her wheelchair??
Well, a sweet security agent let us go right under the ropes when she saw us coming with Emily and we went right to the conveyor belt to start loading our buckets for xray. We all got through, but Em stayed in her chair so they had to take her aside for a pat down with me, while Gee gathered all of our bags, repacked them and got everyone redressed! They had to check Em's medical bag as well, but they did not ask to see the letter from her doctor.
Once we got through security, we immediately saw Dunkin' Donuts and the kids looked like this!
And about this time, "Sleeping Beauty", as she would be referred to often on her trip, decided to wake up.
I should mention that our MAW chapter gave us the red shirt for Emily and sheets of Genie stickers to wear instead of the blue and white shirts and pins I have seen most families receive.
We got our donuts and coffee and went to our gate where there were almost no seats left and 41 people waiting for stand by seats!!!! So we sat against the wall and enjoyed our treats.
After taking a few bathroom breaks, they started calling us to get on the plane! Gee-off went ahead with Em's carseat and the other 3, and I stayed with Em until a flight attendant came so I could carry Emily and leave the chair in safe hands. We were all in our seats and situated in a few minutes and we were on our way quickly.
I was anxious to see how the kids would like the plane ride since Drew was the only one who had ever flown. Well, there were wind gusts of 30-40 mph that day because of the storm so the pilot warned us that take-off would be turbulent. And it was. It was so bumpy and scary!!! But my kids loved it! Brenna was squealing in delight and Em and the boys were smiling away! Did I mention Carter and Gee-off have motion sickness? They both had some Dramamine and I was hoping for the best. So far so good.
Before take-off - you really have to watch this all the way through to see what Em does right at the end! - I think she's thinking "can we take-off already?!?!?
Once we got high enough, the ride was smooth. What a relief!! We were about an hour and a half into our 2 hour flight, everyone had had a drink and they were playing with their busy toys when Carter's chocolate donut came back up.
Uggh. But since Emily was wearing the red MAW shirt, I had her white Big Give Wish shirt in my carry-on and we got him cleaned up and wearing that as soon as we landed! Phew!
We headed toward the baggage area, and there was our greeter, Hope.
She took us to baggage claim and then to get our rental van. I stayed with the kids, who tried out their carseats while we were waiting for Gee and Hope to bring the van.
Once we got the van, Gee-off had to install all of the carseats again, while I tried to entertain the kids who had not eaten lunch - and it was now 3 pm. And then he tried to put the KidKart in the back of the van and it wouldn't fit. No matter how we tried, it was NOT going to fit! So they went to get another van. Now the kids were really losing it. I think all of them were screaming and carrying on at this point.
Note to self: next time be sure to have snacks on hand!!!
The second van came and Gee-off had to take all of the carseats out of the first van and then put them all in the new van. This time the wheelchair fit and we were finally headed off to GKTW around 4:00pm! (Our flight landed at 2:20!!!)
We had planned to stop at Walmart before checking in at GKTW, but because it had gotten so late, we headed straight for the village. The directions were clear (they were right on the back of the Welcome sign!) and we finally saw this:
We headed in to The House of Hearts for check-in and it was here that I teared up for the first time. We had made it and I knew we were in an amazing place just setting foot in the parking lot!
By the time we were officially checked in it was starting to get dark and was unusually chilly, so our check-in guy, Don, took our family pic by the Christmas tree in the HoH instead of in front of our villa.
There's still a bit more to come on day 1! Will we ever eat a real meal? And what happens at orientation that makes the staff summon the manager to come speak with me?
And the kids looked like this!
Emily was still not ready to wake up!
Gee-off started loading all of the carseats, luggage and wheelchair into the van while I bundled up the kids.
The roads were in terrible shape. But we had a great driver and he got us there safely by 9am.
It was tricky getting through the airport that morning, as almost all flights had been canceled the day before and LOTS of people were lined up trying to get on new flights. We had to wait in a few lines just to figure out which was the right line to check our bags in! We had already gotten our boarding passes online thank goodness. Then it was off to get through security. Did I mention we had 6 of us, 9 bags, 2 kids who need help taking off their coats and shoes, and Em in her wheelchair??
Well, a sweet security agent let us go right under the ropes when she saw us coming with Emily and we went right to the conveyor belt to start loading our buckets for xray. We all got through, but Em stayed in her chair so they had to take her aside for a pat down with me, while Gee gathered all of our bags, repacked them and got everyone redressed! They had to check Em's medical bag as well, but they did not ask to see the letter from her doctor.
Once we got through security, we immediately saw Dunkin' Donuts and the kids looked like this!
And about this time, "Sleeping Beauty", as she would be referred to often on her trip, decided to wake up.
I should mention that our MAW chapter gave us the red shirt for Emily and sheets of Genie stickers to wear instead of the blue and white shirts and pins I have seen most families receive.
We got our donuts and coffee and went to our gate where there were almost no seats left and 41 people waiting for stand by seats!!!! So we sat against the wall and enjoyed our treats.
After taking a few bathroom breaks, they started calling us to get on the plane! Gee-off went ahead with Em's carseat and the other 3, and I stayed with Em until a flight attendant came so I could carry Emily and leave the chair in safe hands. We were all in our seats and situated in a few minutes and we were on our way quickly.
I was anxious to see how the kids would like the plane ride since Drew was the only one who had ever flown. Well, there were wind gusts of 30-40 mph that day because of the storm so the pilot warned us that take-off would be turbulent. And it was. It was so bumpy and scary!!! But my kids loved it! Brenna was squealing in delight and Em and the boys were smiling away! Did I mention Carter and Gee-off have motion sickness? They both had some Dramamine and I was hoping for the best. So far so good.
Before take-off - you really have to watch this all the way through to see what Em does right at the end! - I think she's thinking "can we take-off already?!?!?
Once we got high enough, the ride was smooth. What a relief!! We were about an hour and a half into our 2 hour flight, everyone had had a drink and they were playing with their busy toys when Carter's chocolate donut came back up.
Uggh. But since Emily was wearing the red MAW shirt, I had her white Big Give Wish shirt in my carry-on and we got him cleaned up and wearing that as soon as we landed! Phew!We headed toward the baggage area, and there was our greeter, Hope.
She took us to baggage claim and then to get our rental van. I stayed with the kids, who tried out their carseats while we were waiting for Gee and Hope to bring the van.
Once we got the van, Gee-off had to install all of the carseats again, while I tried to entertain the kids who had not eaten lunch - and it was now 3 pm. And then he tried to put the KidKart in the back of the van and it wouldn't fit. No matter how we tried, it was NOT going to fit! So they went to get another van. Now the kids were really losing it. I think all of them were screaming and carrying on at this point.
Note to self: next time be sure to have snacks on hand!!!The second van came and Gee-off had to take all of the carseats out of the first van and then put them all in the new van. This time the wheelchair fit and we were finally headed off to GKTW around 4:00pm! (Our flight landed at 2:20!!!)
We had planned to stop at Walmart before checking in at GKTW, but because it had gotten so late, we headed straight for the village. The directions were clear (they were right on the back of the Welcome sign!) and we finally saw this:
We headed in to The House of Hearts for check-in and it was here that I teared up for the first time. We had made it and I knew we were in an amazing place just setting foot in the parking lot!
By the time we were officially checked in it was starting to get dark and was unusually chilly, so our check-in guy, Don, took our family pic by the Christmas tree in the HoH instead of in front of our villa.
There's still a bit more to come on day 1! Will we ever eat a real meal? And what happens at orientation that makes the staff summon the manager to come speak with me?
Yeah, we don't normally do donuts ever for that reason, but this was our "Yes! trip, where we pretty much decided that, within reason, we'd probably be letting them get whatever they wanted for once! 
Sorry, this weekend got away from me, so no time to update on Sunday as planned.
