Off to see the "Real Tree" - April 19th - April 26th! Ali's Wish Trip PTR!

[Momofwishkid]

Hi Kelly, when our Wish granters came we made cookies and went over Gavin's wish mural. They were only over for about a half hour but Gavin is very antisocial when it comes to new people so this could be why it was so short.

 

[dmbfan]

Yeah.... Sat will be here before you know it.

I for one can't wait..( however I still wish you were going next month..) but that is me being selfish...

We need to make a date to go out for dinner and drinks soon, plus I need to give you the pedilyte..

We will talk soon...

 

[dmbfan]

Tomorrow is the big day... I am so super excitied for you all...I can't wait to read how it went tomorrow night. BTW, I also have all that pedilyte for you, 5 bottles...

 

[pnutallergymom]

Hi Kelly!!

Just wanted to wish you tons of luck with the "zoo" tomorrow!! Have a blast and be sure to post as soon as you can!!

BTW.....if you need more Pedialyte, I have TONS....and a TON of extra supplies too!! Just let me know what you might need.

Good Luck!!!!

 

[kellyw8863]

Hi Kelly, when our Wish granters came we made cookies and went over Gavin's wish mural. They were only over for about a half hour but Gavin is very antisocial when it comes to new people so this could be why it was so short.

Yeah.... Sat will be here before you know it.

I for one can't wait..( however I still wish you were going next month..) but that is me being selfish...

We need to make a date to go out for dinner and drinks soon, plus I need to give you the pedilyte..

We will talk soon...

Tomorrow is the big day... I am so super excitied for you all...I can't wait to read how it went tomorrow night. BTW, I also have all that pedilyte for you, 5 bottles...

I can't believe it is here already! I have so much to do today for work, and I am so unmotivated to do it. I just can't focus! At any rate, thanks for getting the Pedialyte. I'll give you a call either tomorrow or this week (let me know what's good for you), and maybe we can make some arrangements to get together soon. Give Nicky a heads up, and maybe the three of us can meet for lunch or dinner, or something.

Hi Kelly!!

Just wanted to wish you tons of luck with the "zoo" tomorrow!! Have a blast and be sure to post as soon as you can!!

BTW.....if you need more Pedialyte, I have TONS....and a TON of extra supplies too!! Just let me know what you might need.

Good Luck!!!!

Thanks, Shannon! The camera is charged and ready to go, so I'm sure we'll have lots of pictures to go along with it. Thanks for the offer for supplies, but I think we're actually good! We finally got our HHC to send us some back up supplies (though they're still stingy with the extensions), but where she's only on Pedialyte/water, we really don't need that much. How is Brigitte doing? Did things go okay with cardiology?

This has been such a crazy week! Good thing, because it certainly made the time go by more quickly. Next week is exams and I teach three semester courses, so I've been swamped trying to get my exams done and grades together. To complicate this, I have all seniors, so I've also been trying to identify seniors who are at risk of failing, which in turn means that they will not be able to walk at graduation in the spring. Can you say stress?!?!

Thankfully, Ali has been doing well through all of this. She seemed to come through whatever crud she had relatively unscathed. She still looks terrible, but is definitely better.

Maya is having a very difficult time understanding that this is Ali's wish. She just doesn't understand why they can't share it. Our wish granter did say that he was bringing gifts for both girls, so that's good, but Maya wants to be the one to actually declare, "I want to go to Disney." Ali is still adamant that she wants the zoo to see the monkeys and the lion. I guess the giraffe is now out. I know it's supposed to be only the wish child's wish, but at this point, I have no qualms about speaking up and suggesting Disney. Ali is still getting what she wants, and I know that she will absolutely LOVE Animal Kingdom. She is only four and her ability to express what she wants and likes is really pretty basic.

Okay, so I should probably get my Saturday chores done. Nine more hours!

 

[pipersmom]

Good luck with the wish granters tonight! I wish I had good advice for you about dealing with Maya's feelings, but I haven't had to deal with that at all only having Piper. I'm glad the time has passed by quickly for you, but sorry you're feeling stressed! Hopefully things will smooth out for you after exams this coming week.

 

[Wee Annie]

Maya is having a very difficult time understanding that this is Ali's wish. She just doesn't understand why they can't share it. Our wish granter did say that he was bringing gifts for both girls, so that's good, but Maya wants to be the one to actually declare, "I want to go to Disney." Ali is still adamant that she wants the zoo to see the monkeys and the lion. I guess the giraffe is now out. I know it's supposed to be only the wish child's wish, but at this point, I have no qualms about speaking up and suggesting Disney. Ali is still getting what she wants, and I know that she will absolutely LOVE Animal Kingdom. She is only four and her ability to express what she wants and likes is really pretty basic.
:

Kelly,
My wish child was only three when we met with the wish granters, not particularly articulate, and so shy she hardly speaks to strangers anyways. I know she wants to go to Disney because we had to cancel our trip last year due to her diagnosis, and her older sisters REALLY want to go. I had no qualms whatsoever suggesting Disney to them. Elke's sisters have truly suffered throughout this, and I think of this trip for them as well as for her. That being said, of course one of the wish granters took the time to develop some rapport with Elke and try to "speak" to her (don't know if Elke really spoke back) and figure out what she liked. But I pointed them in the direction of WDW, and don't feel bad about it.

Good luck!

Ann

 

[Momofwishkid]

Hi Kelly, today's the day. Im so ecited for you guys. I know you dont have alot of time but maybe you could have Maya and Ali work together on a Wish collage to show the wish granters. That's what we did and it helped the other kids feel like they were apart of it. We just took a large piece of construction paper and wrote Wish trip on top and then printed a bunch of pics of things all 3 kids wanted to see and do anlong with their favorite charcters and glued them on. It was also good since Gavin was very reluctant to even talk to the wish granters. Good Luck and the volunteers are so great Im sure they will make both girls happy.

 

[dmbfan]

WELL.... I am thinking DISNEY WORLD it is by now... My guess would be even if she said Franklin Park Zoo, her granters would do a double take on that one.

Can't wait to hear about it...but however a LITTLE bummed that you will not be going during Feb vacation...BUT that is ok..I am still super excitied...

I already told Nicky that the three of us are going to get together some weekend for Dinner and Drinks...we just have a do it on a nice that it is NOT snowing out.. JK...I will be waiting to see an update soon..

 

[pnutallergymom]

Was just stopping in to look for an update!!! Hoping that your meeting was all you expected and more!!!!!

 

[kayrosek]

Just wanted to stop by, hope your meeting went well. I can't wait to hear about it.

 

[kellyw8863]

Thanks, ladies! So the big day finally arrived, and guess what?!?! She picked Disney!

Well, not technically. She said that her wish was to actually "see the monkeys, the giraffe's, the hippopotamuses, and the real tree." Her wish granter Kent caught on to the "real tree" reference, and brought up the huge tree in the middle of Animal Kingdom. Both girls started screaming, and it was all done at that point.

At any rate, here are some pictures...

They were coming at 5:30, so we put together some cheese and crackers, and veggies and dip. I knew the kids would be hungry, and the adults probably would, too. Ali was my little helper.

At about twenty past five, the girls assumed their position at the front window.

Mom, I think they're here!

And, they're gone. They thought they went to the wrong house, so as quickly as they pulled into the driveway, they left. Notice the look on Ali's face.

And, they're back again!

The girls waited by the door to make sure the wish granters knew they were at the right house.

And here they come! I think this is my favorite picture. The look on her face is priceless.

Kent and Kim were so thoughtful, and brought Disney princess gifts for both the girls.

And then last picture, here are the girls with Kent and Kim.

We had so much fun!

We gave Kent and Kim our April dates and were told that it should not be a problem since we cannot do the summer due to a documented heat intolerance. The only question is whether or not there will be room at GKTW, but Kent said that he has seen much quicker turn-arounds where everything worked out fine. And, it turns out that the Western MA office does do send off parties, so we talked a little bit about that last night, too. Nothing huge, but thoughtful and something to look forward to.

So that's it for now. I have so much school work to do today, and I don't feel like doing any of it. I just want to play around here!

 

[pipersmom]

Okay.. I looove the progression of the looks on Ali's face as it goes from..here they come..there they go..to...they're here..they're really here!! That grin is awesome, and you can just see her whole face lighting up! I'm glad the meeting went so smoothly..very smart of Ali to mention the big tree! Woohoo for pressies and a send-off party! Hoping you get your dates soon so you can really start planning!!

 

[Applemomma]

Yay!!! You're going to Disney! You're going to Disney!!

 

[Momofwishkid]

Im so glad it went smoothly and they caught on to the big tree reference. Disney here you come!

 

[dmbfan]

...the pictures are too cute...LOVE IT...

That is also cool about the send off party...the Boston one does not do it, nor do they give you any shirts or buttons...however we were lucky that our friends gave Jake a great going away party.

I am sure you;ll be just FINE getting room at GKTW...plus they have added on ALOT of villages, so I think you will be great.

Call me this week and we can plan a night out..

 

[yinyanggirls]

Those pics are priceless!!! Good thinking to grab the camera.
Did they tell you when they will be able to confirm your requested dates?

 

[kayrosek]

Great pics. I have this annoying habit of forgetting to grab my camera so I think it's amazing that you have all those really cute pics. "The real tree" how precious and how perfect. It's great the wish granters caught onto that so quickly.

 

[erika412]

Those pictures are great!

 

[kellyw8863]

Okay.. I looove the progression of the looks on Ali's face as it goes from..here they come..there they go..to...they're here..they're really here!! That grin is awesome, and you can just see her whole face lighting up! I'm glad the meeting went so smoothly..very smart of Ali to mention the big tree! Woohoo for pressies and a send-off party! Hoping you get your dates soon so you can really start planning!!

Yay!!! You're going to Disney! You're going to Disney!!

Im so glad it went smoothly and they caught on to the big tree reference. Disney here you come!

Great pics. I have this annoying habit of forgetting to grab my camera so I think it's amazing that you have all those really cute pics. "The real tree" how precious and how perfect. It's great the wish granters caught onto that so quickly.

Those pictures are great!

Thanks, ladies! We're pretty darn excited. Though Maya had a look of sheer panic on her face when Ali kept saying "the real tree" over and over.

...the pictures are too cute...LOVE IT...

That is also cool about the send off party...the Boston one does not do it, nor do they give you any shirts or buttons...however we were lucky that our friends gave Jake a great going away party.

I am sure you;ll be just FINE getting room at GKTW...plus they have added on ALOT of villages, so I think you will be great.

Call me this week and we can plan a night out..

I was really surprised when she said it. It sounds like they do t-shirts, too, or at least I had to put down sizes. Maybe that's just a standard form. Let me know when you're around this week and I'll give you a ring!

Those pics are priceless!!! Good thinking to grab the camera.
Did they tell you when they will be able to confirm your requested dates?

They said hopefully soon!

So I just finished faxing birth certificates, insurance policies, etc. to MAW. They said once they had everything that things should move quickly, that Disney is a pretty easy trip for them to book, so hopefully we'll hear something in the next couple of weeks. It sounds like worst case scenario, we won't stay at GKTW, but he thought we'd be okay. Keeping our fingers crossed!