"...Lucy, we're home!"

Royal treatment-the girls riding with Aladdin and Princess Jasmine

Our Miss Alexis! She's the best!


We've been home for a month now-and it has been craaa-zey. I apologize for not updating the site earlier. And yes, I did get (cough) all of your phone calls! I can't seem to keep up with the demand. Thanks for caring so much about all of us...

As many of you know our Make A Wish trip last year didn't go too well. Due to the flight turbulence Rylee was sick for our whole week in Florida. While we had a magical time at Give Kids the World we only got to visit Magic Kingdom and Sea World. We didn't really know what to expect this trip, but left ourselves plenty of "just in case" days to rest and give Rylee breaks. This time we traveled by van. Imagine packing for two weeks, four people. Now add all the other incidentals we need for Rylee's medical care, and um, pretty much the kitchen sink too. We looked like gypsies! Rylee did unbelievably well travelling, so well in fact we kept wondering when the proverbial shoe would drop. We arrived in fine form sixteen hours later.
We stayed in what Disney has listed as an 'economy hotel.' While cheaper in price, we were still treated like royalty. We had two great rooms, one with an accessible bathroom for Rylee-making shower time a snap. Pop Century put us in the 70's section, which Aaron and I enjoyed since we were of course born in that decade. Ryann was thrilled to share a room with Rylee, and excited that it was decorated with Elliott from Disney's "Pete's Dragon." There were three heated pools and a kiddie pool, a huge eating plaza and shopping center. Despite the size, they still managed to make us feel important. 'Mr.Daniel' as Ryann called him, took care of our room most of the week. He was so kind, ensuring Rylee had plenty of towels for bathing...and all her hair! He would also leave little towel animals and after a long day in the parks, our beds were turned down and Rylee's little blanket pallet was already made on her bed. One day we came back and Ryann started hollering that her toys were watching Disney. There were all of her princesses, lined up at the end of her bed, watching television.

The manager at Pop Century paying us a special visit. She is filling out the girls' paperwork since she let them adopt a pet rock...Ryann and Rylee decided to name their 'daughter' Africa. Ryann then proceeded to call Aaron and I-'Nanny and PaPaw' the rest of the night!

The weather our entire trip was absolutely perfect. No rain, clear skies-around 70 degrees with no humidity. Aaron said that Disney must have handled all that too!
Our first stop was Magic Kingdom. We couldn't wait to see Miss Alexis, our Wish Lounge buddy from last year. She's stayed in touch with us since our last trip. We entered on the far side of the park, and for some reason, I looked up and spotted her among the crush of people just as she saw us. Aaron said he wished he could have video taped it-it was as though everything just stopped. She started running towards us as we did the same. And then of course the waterworks started. Aaron says he was pretty sure he heard 'Chariots of Fire' music playing in the background and all that was missing was a field of flowers. (giggle) She told us that she was our tour guide for part of the day...in two hours with her, we had already done more that we had the opportunity to do on our Make A Wish trip! The girls rode the Magic Carpets with Aladdin and Princess Jasmine, we laughed at the corny guy who drove the jungle boats, got spit on a few times by the camels, did Monster's Inc about six times, Ryann tried to pull the sword out of the Sorcerer's Stone, experienced Mickey's Philharmonic, flew with Dumbo, couldn't seem to get the It's A Small World tune outta our heads, marvelled over Cinderella's castle, listened to Belle read us a story, ate plenty of funnel cake, and to top all that (and more!) off-once again were given personal time with the Princesses and all the Disney characters. We also got to meet all the new girls in the Wish Lounge. All the girls loved spoiling Ryann and Rylee rotten-thank you girls for being so kind and caring so much!

Rylee with her Wish Lounge 'Groupies.'

Rylee's 'rollercoaster ride'

We did MGM Studios-caught every single show...seriously...and loved all the street shows. Ryann was entranced by Miss Tootsie who really brought out the drama queen in Ryann (yeah, because she needs encouragement there! grin and see below!) and the paparazzi in Aaron. We also were chased down by a man in bush-okay, so you had to be there! Meet a couple of great families who also had special needs kiddos-and were a big encouragement. I got the chance to dance in the parade, long story, and later with a really cute older man that was a Disney photographer...yep, longer story! laugh Rylee wasn't really crazy about the Indiana Jones stunt show, but rallied during the Ariel show and Beauty and the Beast.

I forgot to pack Rylee's sun shade ( I know!) so mom overnighted it. In the meantime we used her awesome DreamerDesign stroller and left the KidKart in the hotel. Her jogging stroller actually fit on all the rides, and stored her diaper bag, making our day much easier. She also sleeps well in it and just, frankly, looks too cute in it!
We took a day off to hang out at the hotel and relax. We ended up getting to meet Rylee's "fairy godmother's" which was such a treat and blessing-making our trip even more special. They recommended Epcot-and so we embarked on another adventure filled day!

Raglan Road in honor of the Fitzpatricks!

Epcot was probably one of our favorite places. We aren't huge thrill seekers...Ryann is still young, my adrenaline is already on overdrive, Aaron is generally carrying too much electronic equipment (remember, he's the paparazzi), and well, Rylee is already strapped into something all the time. Epcot did everything we all enjoy and can do as a family-lots of street shows, plenty of music, and food from over seven countries. Now, I tell you folks, how can you go wrong here?! We started in Mexico, rode a boat ride with Donald, danced to live mariachi music, and chowed down on chips and salsa. In Norway and Germany we saw Viking ships of course and moss covered homes. China offered a chance to stop...and eat. We loved our waiter-who tried desperately to explain the menu, and then gave up-bringing us our consolation prize...which I think was actually everything on the menu! Ryann loved telling him, "shei-shei" and mastered the art of chopstick eating while Aaron and I stuck with forks. Afterwards we all needed naps! We kind of skipped America, because, well, we live here. We introduced Ryann and Rylee to Gingas Khan in Japan and enjoyed the live music. Then after all that walking we were dying of hunger and just had to try (drum roll please) French pastries, right! So in honor of the Laneros we feasted on souffles, scones, and something flaky with lots of cream pudding in it. Rylee also got in on the action, trying out a chocolate covered eclair.

Yes, that is chocolate on her lip and hand!

Dad and the girlies in Morocco

I tried my first ever espresso, meaning I was ready to go for at least another 24 hours! Then off to the UK. We all tried to fit into the red Dr. Who telephone booth and stopped for divine Celtic music, after which we realized we had somehow missed Italy and had to turn around and go back. Finally finding Italy, we stopped for a mime show and a spoof on Romeo and Juliet. And took loads of photos-it was just so pretty. I'm thinking of making a new scrapbook of just our Epcot photos...I'll name it, "Beautiful places that we've never really been." Hey, it's fun to dream though! grin It does feel as though you are really in that country. Once you walk in, everything about the atmosphere-sounds, smells, sights-immerses you in the culture. I think Ryann can now say 'thankyou' in eight different languages. We also really enjoyed Morocco-it was gorgeous. The girls got their books stamped and signed in all the countries, which was alot of fun too. They got to talk to Crush and loved the innovation section and riding rides with Nemo. Everyone was so nice to the girls.
Then we tried out Animal Kingdom. Although fun, it was a bit overwhelming for us and very crowded due to the layout. We did eat at an awesome African restaurant. We all enjoyed the Swahili music and ate alot of curried meat! Ryann tried things I had never seen before. It was great fun and again, we met some really nice people. It's always refreshing when people ask about Rylee rather than just stare. They couldn't believe she had so much hair and was that tall for her age. It's also a blessing when people remark on how happy and fun we all seem. The girls loved the LionKing show-it was so nice, and the characters came right up to the girls, shaking hands and singing to us. We rode the safari ride-which was awesome since Rylee could wheel right on, and be right by the animals. Although when the ostrich started to eye her, I did have some second thoughts! We did a really cool 3-D movie of 'Bugs Life' where the seats actually feel as though bugs are crawling on you, and it blows blasts of water on you. Ryann started screaming about three minutes into it-around the time the lights went out and air blows on your ankles and your seat starts the creepy crawlies. Actually her exact words were, "This is the worst ride of my life!" Which she heaved out between screams and breathless crying. True caring parents that we are, Aaron and I hugged her up close...and laughed our guts out while trying to reassure her. In the midst of everything we look at Rylee, who proceeds to grin and let out a giggle right in the middle of the show! Hilarious! Three Barbie bandaids and fifteen souvenir cup refills later, we headed back to the hotel and the pools.

Rylee trying out an African sweet

Our Jungle Safari
We spent another full day doing Magic Kingdom and Epcot again. And on our last day, decided we'd let Ryann plan the day. She voted to do all four parks...in one day! And yes, we did it! It was actually fun-we giggled alot and got lost on trams. We ran through turnstiles and wolfed down food. Did miss the fireworks again this year, and have yet to enjoy a character dining experience...but there is always next time!
I cannot say enough what an outstanding time we had. The Disney folks once again went above and beyond to accommodate us-making us feel welcome and at home.
We also had the opportunity to visit Give Kids the World. It was very emotional to go back and see some of the same staff and volunteers. It's so overwhelming to meet the people who make this place work. Difficult to articulate what their work, their volunteering, means to our families. Ryann was very excited to show Rylee everything again and we enjoyed many rides on the carousel, had ice cream at the Parlor, played putt-putt, and stayed into the evening for Christmas. Such a magical place. How amazing to think that one man had a dream, a desire to help families like our own...makes us remember that we all can make a difference. It's awesome to realize how many people and companies, make this happen, free to families.
After our Disney trip we headed over to the beach and spent a few days relaxing, reading, and catching some rays before heading home. Rylee did awesome (thanks for all the prayers!) and this was the first vacation we didn't have to drag around medical equipment. We took an obscene amount of photos and hope to share as many as possible.

Rylee letting us know she doesn't like riding behind Ryann!

Putt Putt at Give Kids the World

In short (guess we passed that six paragraphs ago!) there is absolutely no way possible we could have had a better trip. To have another opportunity to make memories with our girls-well, it doesn't get better than that. God constantly reminds us how important it is to grasp every moment, savor it, and file it away. What a blessing to be able to do this in such a magical place.
Thanks for praying for us, encouraging us to go...and for those that made all this possible (you know who you are) we cannot thank you enough.
What a joy to have such a wonderful time with our girls.
Love you guys, and will promise to catch you up on everything else soon too.

In the meantime, enjoy the photos!!!

And seriously...how cute does Rylee look in her swim suit!?

Our precious girls...and all their hair!