Just want to clarify that the booksale at Romp n' Roll is Thursday 12/10 (not tomorrow) from 3-7 PM. You can tell that I'm on vacation because I have no idea what the date is!
Anyway, come out from 3-7 PM on THURSDAY and buy some used books for CJSTUF.
Not much to report today. We had a "beach bum" kind of day at the condo. Charlotte sat on the balcony almost the entire day, eating and enjoying watching the ocean. Not a bad way to spend the day. We had dinner with my godmother and old friends and Charlotte enjoyed the evening with Granny until she "pooped out" herself.
We're off to bed...
Rachel, Roger, and CJ
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Animal Kingdom
Yesterday was our final day at GKTW. We checked out of our Villa and got the car all packed. We have a whole suitcase full of gifts from GKTW as well as a few souvenirs. Good thing one of her daily gifts at GKTW was a GKTW duffel bag! Before we checked out, we got to meet Leah. She is one of the event coordinators at GKTW and her dad is pastor at the church in Pierson where my stepdad (John) helps out from time to time. Small world, eh?
One of the coolest things about our checkout process was that they give us this passport. We have a full year to visit places all over the country that participate in the GKTW program. We can go to places like Hershey Park, Kings Dominion, Hyland Hills Water World, etc. for FREE with usually a week or two notice. What a great thing. At some point, I will list all the corporate sponsors and companies that make places like GKTW possible. These are businesses doing great things for families in need and they deserve your business!
After we said goodbye to GKTW, we headed over to Animal Kingdom. Again, we got the primo parking. We made our way into the park and headed off to the safari ride. Got to see lots of animals from crocs to hippos to lions. We then went on the Rafiki train ride and over at the Conservation Station we met Rafiki and Jiminy Cricket. Another great example of how Disney employees treat the Make-A-Wish families: as we were coming in to the Conservation Station, we saw Rafiki doing his meet and greet. We went up to see him and Rafiki's "assistant" told us that he was about to take a break and would be back in about 5 minutes. No problem. We were totally cool with that. Rafiki, however, had other ideas. He saw CJ (and probably Roger's Make-A-Wish tee) and stopped to greet her and take a few pictures. We got nice hugs from him too.
Later, when we went to see Jiminy Cricket, we pulled up to stand in line. It wasn't a very long line (maybe about 3-4 families) so we just pulled into the queue. One of the assistants looks over at us and says, "You know that you don't get in line. Come on over here!" And with that, we were bumped to the front. It was funny!
During the morning, Charlotte was very low key. She didn't really perk up and was very quiet. Roger and I weren't really feeling all that great either so it was kind of a rough morning. Things got better after lunch, though. We ate at the Yak and Yeti which was a Pan-Asian restaurant with cool Hindu decor. You felt like you were in a lodge in the mountains of India or Pakistan. Roger had a great meal of pan-seared miso salmon with rice and veggies. I had fried green beans with a chili-plum sauce and pan seared pork wontons with a lime soy sauce. Both were yummy!
After lunch, CJ seemed to perk up a bit and became much more talkative. We headed over to the Finding Nemo Musical show and we were AMAZED! First of all, we totally beat the crowds with our access pass. The musical was great and we were all entranced. They use puppets and live singers a la The Lion King musical. I think that was the highlight of everyone's day. CJ laughed at the funny parts and was entranced by the music.
From there, we went to see the 3-D bug movie (from A Bug's Life) and then found our stations for the parade. The parade at Animal Kingdom was not as interactive as the Magic Kingdom parade but there were great animal costumes, floats, and some of our favorite characters. From there, we left the park and drove to Daytona Beach. We had dinner with my mom and got settled in our condo. We are staying in one of my godmother's condominium units and it's GORGEOUS. 2nd floor...right on the ocean. I had forgotten how calming the sound of the ocean can be. We have had a nice night of rest and we have been enjoying the morning. Roger's dad drove down to spend a few days with us and we are planning to take the next few days VERY easily.
Roger noted yesterday that the extra steroid seemed to help with the tremors. We are already noticing those effects wearing off, though. The tremors seem to be coming back and we are debating the advantages of increasing the steroid versus letting things progress. May need to consult with the docs before the trip is over.
Before I sign off, one final plug for an event in the Richmond area:
The Mechanicsville Moms are holding a used book sale at Romp n' Roll-VCM tomorrow (12/10) from 3-7 PM. There will be books available for all ages. Please stop by. All funds raised will go towards CJSTUF.
Also, the CJSTUF website is LIVE. Go there and check it out. Huge thanks to Ruth and Jay Campbell who have worked so diligently to get this going for us. It looks great! There is an events calendar where we will post upcoming events of all kinds. There is also a "read with CJ" calendar. If you are one of the many who would like to read with CJ, please fill out the form (on the Contact Us link) and we will get back to you about dates and times. We will officially start that upon our return from Florida (on or about 12/16). You will also be able to read the blog and connect through Facebook via the website. More changes to come but this is a wonderful start.
One of the coolest things about our checkout process was that they give us this passport. We have a full year to visit places all over the country that participate in the GKTW program. We can go to places like Hershey Park, Kings Dominion, Hyland Hills Water World, etc. for FREE with usually a week or two notice. What a great thing. At some point, I will list all the corporate sponsors and companies that make places like GKTW possible. These are businesses doing great things for families in need and they deserve your business!
After we said goodbye to GKTW, we headed over to Animal Kingdom. Again, we got the primo parking. We made our way into the park and headed off to the safari ride. Got to see lots of animals from crocs to hippos to lions. We then went on the Rafiki train ride and over at the Conservation Station we met Rafiki and Jiminy Cricket. Another great example of how Disney employees treat the Make-A-Wish families: as we were coming in to the Conservation Station, we saw Rafiki doing his meet and greet. We went up to see him and Rafiki's "assistant" told us that he was about to take a break and would be back in about 5 minutes. No problem. We were totally cool with that. Rafiki, however, had other ideas. He saw CJ (and probably Roger's Make-A-Wish tee) and stopped to greet her and take a few pictures. We got nice hugs from him too.
Later, when we went to see Jiminy Cricket, we pulled up to stand in line. It wasn't a very long line (maybe about 3-4 families) so we just pulled into the queue. One of the assistants looks over at us and says, "You know that you don't get in line. Come on over here!" And with that, we were bumped to the front. It was funny!
During the morning, Charlotte was very low key. She didn't really perk up and was very quiet. Roger and I weren't really feeling all that great either so it was kind of a rough morning. Things got better after lunch, though. We ate at the Yak and Yeti which was a Pan-Asian restaurant with cool Hindu decor. You felt like you were in a lodge in the mountains of India or Pakistan. Roger had a great meal of pan-seared miso salmon with rice and veggies. I had fried green beans with a chili-plum sauce and pan seared pork wontons with a lime soy sauce. Both were yummy!
After lunch, CJ seemed to perk up a bit and became much more talkative. We headed over to the Finding Nemo Musical show and we were AMAZED! First of all, we totally beat the crowds with our access pass. The musical was great and we were all entranced. They use puppets and live singers a la The Lion King musical. I think that was the highlight of everyone's day. CJ laughed at the funny parts and was entranced by the music.
From there, we went to see the 3-D bug movie (from A Bug's Life) and then found our stations for the parade. The parade at Animal Kingdom was not as interactive as the Magic Kingdom parade but there were great animal costumes, floats, and some of our favorite characters. From there, we left the park and drove to Daytona Beach. We had dinner with my mom and got settled in our condo. We are staying in one of my godmother's condominium units and it's GORGEOUS. 2nd floor...right on the ocean. I had forgotten how calming the sound of the ocean can be. We have had a nice night of rest and we have been enjoying the morning. Roger's dad drove down to spend a few days with us and we are planning to take the next few days VERY easily.
Roger noted yesterday that the extra steroid seemed to help with the tremors. We are already noticing those effects wearing off, though. The tremors seem to be coming back and we are debating the advantages of increasing the steroid versus letting things progress. May need to consult with the docs before the trip is over.
Before I sign off, one final plug for an event in the Richmond area:
The Mechanicsville Moms are holding a used book sale at Romp n' Roll-VCM tomorrow (12/10) from 3-7 PM. There will be books available for all ages. Please stop by. All funds raised will go towards CJSTUF.
Also, the CJSTUF website is LIVE. Go there and check it out. Huge thanks to Ruth and Jay Campbell who have worked so diligently to get this going for us. It looks great! There is an events calendar where we will post upcoming events of all kinds. There is also a "read with CJ" calendar. If you are one of the many who would like to read with CJ, please fill out the form (on the Contact Us link) and we will get back to you about dates and times. We will officially start that upon our return from Florida (on or about 12/16). You will also be able to read the blog and connect through Facebook via the website. More changes to come but this is a wonderful start.
Sea World!
Another awesome day today. This time at Sea World.
But first, we have to talk about the tuck-in with Mayor Clayton's wife, Miss Mary. We had booked the tuck-in for 9pm last night and they arrived right on time. We had been preparing Charlotte so that she wouldn't freak out when this giant rabbit walked through ther door.Miss Mary, wearing her PJs, came in with her assistant and proceeded to kiss, hug, and generally love all over Charlotte. They started on the couch in the livingroom but after a little while, they walked together to her bed. We laid CJ down, pulled up her covers, and Miss Mary tucked her in. There was a little more smoochin' and such, Miss Mary gave CJ a copy of their official holiday photo, and she took her leave.We then changed her dressing which is always fun but Mommy is pretty good at it so it was done in no time. I started reading her the Tinkerbell Hide and Seek book and she was out before I was 3/4 finished.
This morning, we ate at the express breakfast spot conveniently located in the ice cream parlor. (Mommy had a banana split! I’m doing something similar tomorrow morning.)Back to Sea World: This morning, we met up with Cousin Julie and her darling daughter Chloe, Catherine Daw (Randolph-Macon alumna), and her mother near the front gate. Catherine arranged for a penguin meet and got us discounted food.Our first stop was the dolphin show which was as much "Cirque de Parfait" as dolphin show. It was still very cool. We also checked out the manatees, seals, and the shark tank. Then we went to eat, which is always good.Our timing was really great because just as we were getting ready to walk into the restaurant, out from a side door came Abby Cadabby, Elmo, Bert, and Ernie! We were second in line. Charlotte enjoyed it.
After lunch we headed over to the penguin house to meet up with the tour guide. She took us in to the regular viewing area take a look at the various species and I was surprised that a large penguin that looked suspiciously like an emperor penguin was actually a king penguin. (Fun fact for the day: the emperor has the king by about a foot and 20-30lbs!)Next we went back and learned a few tidbits about what they do there including the word, "aviculturalist." That's a person who cares for birds.THEN came the good stuff! We went all the way back around to where the loading docks are and into a door leading behind the exhibit. It was very...aromatic, to put it mildly! There we meet Ludwig, a young male king penguin who I guess is used to greeting people. I put CJ down and along with a couple other boys, we got to pet his back and head and torment him a little. Actually, it was just me. Charlotte brought her little stuffed penguin in with her and I thought it would kind of fun to introduce it to Ludwig. After a little bit of that, the aviculturalist gently said, "I think you're kind of freaking him out." Another case of me doing something which I THOUGHT was cool and funny but was really stupid and thoughtless. I apologized to Ludwig profusely and put "Penguino" away. No real harm done. Ludwig felt very soft on his head and surprisingly solid on his back. Almost like bare skin.Then we got to go into a little back area right inside the actual exhibit which is where I saw the coolest thing. The aviculturalist mentioned the sounds the various penguins make and as another king came over to check us out, she leaned over, whispered something in his ear that sounded kind of like, "Can you please speak for the silly tourists?" and, I kid you not, the king very slowly stretched his neck and head up/back, wound up, and let out that classic penguin call right on cue. I was far more amused than Charlotte, who was actually getting very cold.Next we met a puffin but we didn't get to touch it. We DID get to see it projectile poop across the floor! Needs to give Charlotte some lessons.
After that, we went to the polar exhibit where we saw a mini-movie edited from The Polar Express which seriously grabbed CJ's attention. Then we saw beluga whales, walruses, AND, for all you old Denverites...SNOW!!! No really, the polar bear named "Snow;" sister of "Klondike;" both of whom were born and raised in Denver. It was very exciting to see her (although she really didn't do much). Very much a blast from the past. Klondike was there somewhere but not out front.That just about did it for Sea World. Something I really liked about the grounds were the holiday decorations. There were a couple of huge Christmas trees, one of which was all aqua blue.We said our goodbyes to Julie, Chloe, Catherine, and Catherine’s mom in the parking lot and headed over to Downtown Disney for the second time (we spent some time there yesterday).
Rachel met up with several old high school friends and I tended to CJ who fell asleep just as we were getting there.While Rachel caught up with everyone, I started talking to the couple sitting next to us and found out the husband flies an old Korean War era prop plane in air shows. They are nuts about Disney (their 27th visit I think!) and CJ ended up with a trading pin shaped like a heart with Belle in the center. A "Hidden Mickey" pin which I guess is kind of special. CJ woke up after about an hour and a half and we headed out.Last but not least, we picked up the local car we're using the next week (thanks Kim's parents!), dropped off the rental van at the airport and came back to GKTW to pack for tomorrow.
We’re checking out early and heading to Animal Kingdom. We know that the animals are very active in the mornings. We hope to check out the Finding Nemo show among other things.Then we’re off to Daytona Beach for the second week of our trip.Charlotte continues to plug along. The extra dose of steroid has seemed to have smoothed out the tremor that had been creeping back in. We’ll see how long that lasts. She’s still eating like a horse when she gets something she likes in front of her. We still get sad every now and then but the worst of it has been held at bay by the amazing experiences we’ve been having and by the happiness we’ve seen in Charlotte’s eyes. It’s really been a tremendous trip. Keep your eyes peeled for more pics! Our internet connection here isn't letting us post pictures so we will see what happens.
But first, we have to talk about the tuck-in with Mayor Clayton's wife, Miss Mary. We had booked the tuck-in for 9pm last night and they arrived right on time. We had been preparing Charlotte so that she wouldn't freak out when this giant rabbit walked through ther door.Miss Mary, wearing her PJs, came in with her assistant and proceeded to kiss, hug, and generally love all over Charlotte. They started on the couch in the livingroom but after a little while, they walked together to her bed. We laid CJ down, pulled up her covers, and Miss Mary tucked her in. There was a little more smoochin' and such, Miss Mary gave CJ a copy of their official holiday photo, and she took her leave.We then changed her dressing which is always fun but Mommy is pretty good at it so it was done in no time. I started reading her the Tinkerbell Hide and Seek book and she was out before I was 3/4 finished.
This morning, we ate at the express breakfast spot conveniently located in the ice cream parlor. (Mommy had a banana split! I’m doing something similar tomorrow morning.)Back to Sea World: This morning, we met up with Cousin Julie and her darling daughter Chloe, Catherine Daw (Randolph-Macon alumna), and her mother near the front gate. Catherine arranged for a penguin meet and got us discounted food.Our first stop was the dolphin show which was as much "Cirque de Parfait" as dolphin show. It was still very cool. We also checked out the manatees, seals, and the shark tank. Then we went to eat, which is always good.Our timing was really great because just as we were getting ready to walk into the restaurant, out from a side door came Abby Cadabby, Elmo, Bert, and Ernie! We were second in line. Charlotte enjoyed it.
After lunch we headed over to the penguin house to meet up with the tour guide. She took us in to the regular viewing area take a look at the various species and I was surprised that a large penguin that looked suspiciously like an emperor penguin was actually a king penguin. (Fun fact for the day: the emperor has the king by about a foot and 20-30lbs!)Next we went back and learned a few tidbits about what they do there including the word, "aviculturalist." That's a person who cares for birds.THEN came the good stuff! We went all the way back around to where the loading docks are and into a door leading behind the exhibit. It was very...aromatic, to put it mildly! There we meet Ludwig, a young male king penguin who I guess is used to greeting people. I put CJ down and along with a couple other boys, we got to pet his back and head and torment him a little. Actually, it was just me. Charlotte brought her little stuffed penguin in with her and I thought it would kind of fun to introduce it to Ludwig. After a little bit of that, the aviculturalist gently said, "I think you're kind of freaking him out." Another case of me doing something which I THOUGHT was cool and funny but was really stupid and thoughtless. I apologized to Ludwig profusely and put "Penguino" away. No real harm done. Ludwig felt very soft on his head and surprisingly solid on his back. Almost like bare skin.Then we got to go into a little back area right inside the actual exhibit which is where I saw the coolest thing. The aviculturalist mentioned the sounds the various penguins make and as another king came over to check us out, she leaned over, whispered something in his ear that sounded kind of like, "Can you please speak for the silly tourists?" and, I kid you not, the king very slowly stretched his neck and head up/back, wound up, and let out that classic penguin call right on cue. I was far more amused than Charlotte, who was actually getting very cold.Next we met a puffin but we didn't get to touch it. We DID get to see it projectile poop across the floor! Needs to give Charlotte some lessons.
After that, we went to the polar exhibit where we saw a mini-movie edited from The Polar Express which seriously grabbed CJ's attention. Then we saw beluga whales, walruses, AND, for all you old Denverites...SNOW!!! No really, the polar bear named "Snow;" sister of "Klondike;" both of whom were born and raised in Denver. It was very exciting to see her (although she really didn't do much). Very much a blast from the past. Klondike was there somewhere but not out front.That just about did it for Sea World. Something I really liked about the grounds were the holiday decorations. There were a couple of huge Christmas trees, one of which was all aqua blue.We said our goodbyes to Julie, Chloe, Catherine, and Catherine’s mom in the parking lot and headed over to Downtown Disney for the second time (we spent some time there yesterday).
Rachel met up with several old high school friends and I tended to CJ who fell asleep just as we were getting there.While Rachel caught up with everyone, I started talking to the couple sitting next to us and found out the husband flies an old Korean War era prop plane in air shows. They are nuts about Disney (their 27th visit I think!) and CJ ended up with a trading pin shaped like a heart with Belle in the center. A "Hidden Mickey" pin which I guess is kind of special. CJ woke up after about an hour and a half and we headed out.Last but not least, we picked up the local car we're using the next week (thanks Kim's parents!), dropped off the rental van at the airport and came back to GKTW to pack for tomorrow.
We’re checking out early and heading to Animal Kingdom. We know that the animals are very active in the mornings. We hope to check out the Finding Nemo show among other things.Then we’re off to Daytona Beach for the second week of our trip.Charlotte continues to plug along. The extra dose of steroid has seemed to have smoothed out the tremor that had been creeping back in. We’ll see how long that lasts. She’s still eating like a horse when she gets something she likes in front of her. We still get sad every now and then but the worst of it has been held at bay by the amazing experiences we’ve been having and by the happiness we’ve seen in Charlotte’s eyes. It’s really been a tremendous trip. Keep your eyes peeled for more pics! Our internet connection here isn't letting us post pictures so we will see what happens.
Sea World!
Another awesome day today. This time at Sea World.
But first, we have to talk about the tuck-in with Mayor Clayton's wife, Miss Mary. We had booked the tuck-in for 9pm last night and they arrived right on time. We had been preparing Charlotte so that she wouldn't freak out when this giant rabbit walked through ther door.Miss Mary, wearing her PJs, came in with her assistant and proceeded to kiss, hug, and generally love all over Charlotte. They started on the couch in the livingroom but after a little while, they walked together to her bed. We laid CJ down, pulled up her covers, and Miss Mary tucked her in. There was a little more smoochin' and such, Miss Mary gave CJ a copy of their official holiday photo, and she took her leave.We then changed her dressing which is always fun but Mommy is pretty good at it so it was done in no time. I started reading her the Tinkerbell Hide and Seek book and she was out before I was 3/4 finished.
This morning, we ate at the express breakfast spot conveniently located in the ice cream parlor. (Mommy had a banana split! I’m doing something similar tomorrow morning.)
Back to Sea World: This morning, we met up with Cousin Julie and her darling daughter Chloe, Catherine Daw (Randolph-Macon alumna), and her mother near the front gate. Catherine arranged for a penguin meet and got us discounted food.Our first stop was the dolphin show which was as much "Cirque de Parfait" as dolphin show. It was still very cool. We also checked out the manatees, seals, and the shark tank. Then we went to eat, which is always good.Our timing was really great because just as we were getting ready to walk into the restaurant, out from a side door came Abby Cadabby, Elmo, Bert, and Ernie! We were second in line. Charlotte enjoyed it.After lunch we headed over to the penguin house to meet up with the tour guide. She took us in to the regular viewing area take a look at the various species and I was surprised that a large penguin that looked suspiciously like an emperor penguin was actually a king penguin. (Fun fact for the day: the emperor has the king by about a foot and 20-30lbs!)Next we went back and learned a few tidbits about what they do there including the word, "aviculturalist." That's a person who cares for birds.THEN came the good stuff! We went all the way back around to where the loading docks are and into a door leading behind the exhibit. It was very...aromatic, to put it mildly! There we meet Ludwig, a young male king penguin who I guess is used to greeting people. I put CJ down and along with a couple other boys, we got to pet his back and head and torment him a little. Actually, it was just me. Charlotte brought her little stuffed penguin in with her and I thought it would kind of fun to introduce it to Ludwig. After a little bit of that, the aviculturalist gently said, "I think you're kind of freaking him out." Another case of me doing something which I THOUGHT was cool and funny but was really stupid and thoughtless. I apologized to Ludwig profusely and put "Penguino" away. No real harm done. Ludwig felt very soft on his head and surprisingly solid on his back. Almost like bare skin.Then we got to go into a little back area right inside the actual exhibit which is where I saw the coolest thing. The aviculturalist mentioned the sounds the various penguins make and as another king came over to check us out, she leaned over, whispered something in his ear that sounded kind of like, "Can you please speak for the silly tourists?" and, I kid you not, the king very slowly stretched his neck and head up/back, wound up, and let out that classic penguin call right on cue. I was far more amused than Charlotte, who was actually getting very cold.Next we met a puffin but we didn't get to touch it. We DID get to see it projectile poop across the floor! Needs to give Charlotte some lessons.After that, we went to the polar exhibit where we saw a mini-movie edited from The Polar Express which seriously grabbed CJ's attention. Then we saw beluga whales, walruses, AND, for all you old Denverites...SNOW!!! No really, the polar bear named "Snow;" sister of "Klondike;" both of whom were born and raised in Denver. It was very exciting to see her (although she really didn't do much). Very much a blast from the past. Klondike was there somewhere but not out front.That just about did it for Sea World. Something I really liked about the grounds were the holiday decorations. There were a couple of huge Christmas trees, one of which was all aqua blue.
We said our goodbyes to Julie, Chloe, Catherine, and Catherine’s mom in the parking lot and headed over to Downtown Disney for the second time (we spent some time there yesterday). Rachel met up with several old high school friends and I tended to CJ who fell asleep just as we were getting there.While Rachel caught up with everyone, I started talking to the couple sitting next to us and found out the husband flies an old Korean War era prop plane in air shows. They are nuts about Disney (their 27th visit I think!) and CJ ended up with a trading pin shaped like a heart with Belle in the center. A "Hidden Mickey" pin which I guess is kind of special. CJ woke up after about an hour and a half and we headed out.Last but not least, we picked up the local car we're using the next week (thanks Kim's parents!), dropped off the rental van at the airport and came back to GKTW to pack for tomorrow. We’re checking out early and heading to Animal Kingdom. We know that the animals are very active in the mornings. We hope to check out the Finding Nemo show among other things.Then we’re off to Daytona Beach for the second week of our trip.Charlotte continues to plug along. The extra dose of steroid has seemed to have smoothed out the tremor that had been creeping back in. We’ll see how long that lasts. She’s still eating like a horse when she gets something she likes in front of her. We still get sad every now and then but the worst of it has been held at bay by the amazing experiences we’ve been having and by the happiness we’ve seen in Charlotte’s eyes. It’s really been a tremendous trip. Keep your eyes peeled for more pics! We tried to post some within the blog but the internet connection is not strong here.
But first, we have to talk about the tuck-in with Mayor Clayton's wife, Miss Mary. We had booked the tuck-in for 9pm last night and they arrived right on time. We had been preparing Charlotte so that she wouldn't freak out when this giant rabbit walked through ther door.Miss Mary, wearing her PJs, came in with her assistant and proceeded to kiss, hug, and generally love all over Charlotte. They started on the couch in the livingroom but after a little while, they walked together to her bed. We laid CJ down, pulled up her covers, and Miss Mary tucked her in. There was a little more smoochin' and such, Miss Mary gave CJ a copy of their official holiday photo, and she took her leave.We then changed her dressing which is always fun but Mommy is pretty good at it so it was done in no time. I started reading her the Tinkerbell Hide and Seek book and she was out before I was 3/4 finished.
This morning, we ate at the express breakfast spot conveniently located in the ice cream parlor. (Mommy had a banana split! I’m doing something similar tomorrow morning.)
Back to Sea World: This morning, we met up with Cousin Julie and her darling daughter Chloe, Catherine Daw (Randolph-Macon alumna), and her mother near the front gate. Catherine arranged for a penguin meet and got us discounted food.Our first stop was the dolphin show which was as much "Cirque de Parfait" as dolphin show. It was still very cool. We also checked out the manatees, seals, and the shark tank. Then we went to eat, which is always good.Our timing was really great because just as we were getting ready to walk into the restaurant, out from a side door came Abby Cadabby, Elmo, Bert, and Ernie! We were second in line. Charlotte enjoyed it.After lunch we headed over to the penguin house to meet up with the tour guide. She took us in to the regular viewing area take a look at the various species and I was surprised that a large penguin that looked suspiciously like an emperor penguin was actually a king penguin. (Fun fact for the day: the emperor has the king by about a foot and 20-30lbs!)Next we went back and learned a few tidbits about what they do there including the word, "aviculturalist." That's a person who cares for birds.THEN came the good stuff! We went all the way back around to where the loading docks are and into a door leading behind the exhibit. It was very...aromatic, to put it mildly! There we meet Ludwig, a young male king penguin who I guess is used to greeting people. I put CJ down and along with a couple other boys, we got to pet his back and head and torment him a little. Actually, it was just me. Charlotte brought her little stuffed penguin in with her and I thought it would kind of fun to introduce it to Ludwig. After a little bit of that, the aviculturalist gently said, "I think you're kind of freaking him out." Another case of me doing something which I THOUGHT was cool and funny but was really stupid and thoughtless. I apologized to Ludwig profusely and put "Penguino" away. No real harm done. Ludwig felt very soft on his head and surprisingly solid on his back. Almost like bare skin.Then we got to go into a little back area right inside the actual exhibit which is where I saw the coolest thing. The aviculturalist mentioned the sounds the various penguins make and as another king came over to check us out, she leaned over, whispered something in his ear that sounded kind of like, "Can you please speak for the silly tourists?" and, I kid you not, the king very slowly stretched his neck and head up/back, wound up, and let out that classic penguin call right on cue. I was far more amused than Charlotte, who was actually getting very cold.Next we met a puffin but we didn't get to touch it. We DID get to see it projectile poop across the floor! Needs to give Charlotte some lessons.After that, we went to the polar exhibit where we saw a mini-movie edited from The Polar Express which seriously grabbed CJ's attention. Then we saw beluga whales, walruses, AND, for all you old Denverites...SNOW!!! No really, the polar bear named "Snow;" sister of "Klondike;" both of whom were born and raised in Denver. It was very exciting to see her (although she really didn't do much). Very much a blast from the past. Klondike was there somewhere but not out front.That just about did it for Sea World. Something I really liked about the grounds were the holiday decorations. There were a couple of huge Christmas trees, one of which was all aqua blue.
We said our goodbyes to Julie, Chloe, Catherine, and Catherine’s mom in the parking lot and headed over to Downtown Disney for the second time (we spent some time there yesterday). Rachel met up with several old high school friends and I tended to CJ who fell asleep just as we were getting there.While Rachel caught up with everyone, I started talking to the couple sitting next to us and found out the husband flies an old Korean War era prop plane in air shows. They are nuts about Disney (their 27th visit I think!) and CJ ended up with a trading pin shaped like a heart with Belle in the center. A "Hidden Mickey" pin which I guess is kind of special. CJ woke up after about an hour and a half and we headed out.Last but not least, we picked up the local car we're using the next week (thanks Kim's parents!), dropped off the rental van at the airport and came back to GKTW to pack for tomorrow. We’re checking out early and heading to Animal Kingdom. We know that the animals are very active in the mornings. We hope to check out the Finding Nemo show among other things.Then we’re off to Daytona Beach for the second week of our trip.Charlotte continues to plug along. The extra dose of steroid has seemed to have smoothed out the tremor that had been creeping back in. We’ll see how long that lasts. She’s still eating like a horse when she gets something she likes in front of her. We still get sad every now and then but the worst of it has been held at bay by the amazing experiences we’ve been having and by the happiness we’ve seen in Charlotte’s eyes. It’s really been a tremendous trip. Keep your eyes peeled for more pics! We tried to post some within the blog but the internet connection is not strong here.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Three Days Worth of News...Long Post Ahead!
First of all, Beth has sent us a link to the pictures she took on our first day at the Magic Kingdom. Enjoy! Again, we are so grateful that she came to Disney with us and shared her time and talent. Thanks also to a whole host of people who helped her with accommodations, airfare, etc.
Now to pick up where we left off:
Charlotte slept until about 7 PM Wednesday night. We woke her up because we didn’t want her sleeping till 10 or 11 and then being up all night. Our plan was thwarted anyway. She was awake until 5 AM. Yes, you read that correctly. 5 AM! She just kept eating, watching movies, reading books. And NOT falling asleep. Roger and I took turns staying up with her but neither one of us really got much sleep. We finally decided to take her for a drive and she was out less than a mile down the road. Looks like we are back to resorting to infant sleep strategies.
Anyway, we decided to let her sleep and Roger and I went back to bed as well for a bit. My cousin Sarah, her husband John and their almost 3 year old daughter Tricia were on their way to join us for a day of fun at the Magic Kingdom so we diverted them away from the park and towards GKTW. We showed them around the resort and Tricia got to check out the Candy Land playground while Charlotte and Roger slept. Tricia had never met Charlotte (or CJ as she calls her) but it was so cute that from the moment she got to the resort she kept saying “Go see CJ? Where CJ?”
Charlotte slept until about 7 PM Wednesday night. We woke her up because we didn’t want her sleeping till 10 or 11 and then being up all night. Our plan was thwarted anyway. She was awake until 5 AM. Yes, you read that correctly. 5 AM! She just kept eating, watching movies, reading books. And NOT falling asleep. Roger and I took turns staying up with her but neither one of us really got much sleep. We finally decided to take her for a drive and she was out less than a mile down the road. Looks like we are back to resorting to infant sleep strategies.
Anyway, we decided to let her sleep and Roger and I went back to bed as well for a bit. My cousin Sarah, her husband John and their almost 3 year old daughter Tricia were on their way to join us for a day of fun at the Magic Kingdom so we diverted them away from the park and towards GKTW. We showed them around the resort and Tricia got to check out the Candy Land playground while Charlotte and Roger slept. Tricia had never met Charlotte (or CJ as she calls her) but it was so cute that from the moment she got to the resort she kept saying “Go see CJ? Where CJ?”
Charlotte got up about 10. We grabbed some breakfast/brunch and finally headed off to the park. We piled into one vehicle to save on parking. I think we made it into the park right before noon. The plan was pretty much a re-do of the day before. We went back to Mickey’s Toon Town Fair to see Mickey, Minnie, and the Fairies. This time, Tricia joined us in the experience. Yet again, we got great “star treatment” with our access pass. I think the park may have been even busier on Thursday and it was good not to have to wait HOURS to see the characters. When we went back to see the fairies, Rosetta was the same cast member as the day before, and as soon as Charlotte walked in, she said “Charlotte! You came back to see us again!” It was so great. This time I caught the whole experience on video and will post that soon on our new YouTube site (links will be provided). Her visit with the Fairies was still, I think, the highlight of the trip.
We got some lunch and then headed over to Fantasyland again. We repeated a few rides from the day before (Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo), tried a few new rides that we missed the day before (the 3-D movie Philharmagic which CJ LOVED), and we met Tigger, Pooh, Eeyore, and Peter Pan.
At this point, we headed towards Adventureland so we could scope out a good spot for the parade. We found a good “accessible” point and then Roger and CJ kind of camped out while we kept Tricia busy browsing Adventureland and getting ice cream.
The parade was fun and fabulous. Because of our great seat, many of the “walking” characters (those not on floats) came up to Charlotte and greeted her personally. She really loved seeing Stitch and waved at many of the other characters. Ariel even noticed (way up on top of her float) that CJ was wearing her mermaid dress today and blew a kiss right at her!
After the parade, we made our way with the crowds out of the park, got some dinner at Cracker Barrel (yum) and hugged goodbyes to Tricia, Sarah, and John. We’ll see them again next week but it was so great to be able to pal around with them in the park. Tricia was a doll and so much fun to play with. She really made Charlotte laugh with her jokes and funny phrases too. We were on our way to dinner when we started telling jokes. Roger tried to teach her the “interrupting cow” joke (it’s a knock-knock joke) and Tricia’s interpretation was to say in her toddler voice, “Knock knock. Who’s there? (long pause) MOO!” It had all of us (including Charlotte) in stitches!
Friday dawned bright and…rainy. It was raining from early on and the forecast was pretty much rain all day. The original plan had been to meet up with a bunch of people at Animal Kingdom but we pretty soon nixed those plans. Through conference calls and logistical arranging, we decided to all go to a lovely mall in the area that has nice holiday decorations, a kid area, and a food court. The crew included two of my friends from High School (Cara and Kim) and their kids, my friend Jamie (our current paparazzi), and cousin Julie, Aunt Jeanne, and Julie’s 17 month old Chloe. We pretty much hung out at the mall for about 4 hours talking, letting the kids play, window shopping, and eating lunch. Despite the diverse group and the abrupt change in plans, I think it all worked out pretty well.
As the rain continued, we said goodbye to Kim and Cara and the rest of our “crew” caravanned back to GKTW. Roger, Jamie, and Julie went to get ice cream when we got back to the resort while I stayed at the Villa with CJ, Chloe, and Aunt Jeanne. It was a great visit with everyone.
Around dinner time, we left Aunt Jamie in charge of CJ and Jeanne and Julie drove Roger and I over to Epcot to drop us off for our “date”. The plan was to trek through the Nations of the World and sample the food and beverages (mostly beverages) of each country. We knew we would both drink so we planned to take a taxi back to GKTW.
Here was our itinerary:
Mexico (margaritas and flautas)
Norway (no eating…we just rode the Maelstrom)
China (plum wine and noodle soup)Germany (beer and brats)
Japan (warm sake)
Italy (a sampling/tasting of three white wines)
Morocco (Coffee with hazelnut liquer and baklava)
France (cognac)
England (ale)
Ok, so yes, that’s a lot of alcohol and yes, we were pretty inebriated by the end of the night. In our defense, at most of the countries we shared one drink and shared one serving of each of the food. On that note, I don’t remember much of what happened after England. Roger got me to the car and we got home safely but we both definitely woke up this morning with a bit of a hangover. I rarely drink like that and can probably count three other times in my life when I’ve had that much to drink at one time but Roger and I had a great time. We really enjoyed ourselves!
CJ was up bright and early at 4 AM or so. She watched TV for most of the morning while mommy and daddy “recovered”. It was still raining and we knew the rain was supposed to last most of the morning so we had already changed the Sea World plan to Sunday. Eventually, we ventured down to breakfast and then took in some of the Magical Castle at GKTW that we hadn’t checked out yet. Unfortunately, horseback riding was canceled due to the weather, but we rode the carousel, Charlotte got a “touch up” on her manicure at the La-Ti-Da Kids Spa, and she made her special pillow. We also got to make her star. The ceiling of the Magical Castle is covered in 70,000 gold stars that are about 2” in size (each). Every wish child who has stayed at GKTW gets to put their name on a star and then the Star Fairy puts the star in a special place. Each star is barcoded so they will always know where her star is and she (or Roger and I) can come back and visit it anytime now that she has stayed at GKTW. While we can’t ever stay here again, we can come back to volunteer and visit.
After our time venturing out, we headed back to our Villa for a little more rest. We ordered lunch from Katie’s Kitchen (a GKTW favorite that is really Boston Market) and then trekked out to Downtown Disney just as the weather started to clear. We did some window shopping and souvenir shopping at Downtown Disney. Charlotte got a cat nap and we enjoyed the beautiful weather. The sun finally came out!
Our return to the Villa has included getting caught on our updates (hence this posting) and some more R&R time. This was a good “down” day.
Tomorrow’s agenda is Sea World (finally) and an informal reunion with some HS friends at Downtown Disney. Monday will include packing up from GKTW and if time and weather permits, we may finally return to Disney to check out Animal Kingdom. Then it’s off to Daytona Beach for the second half of our vacation.
To close this post, I’m going to re-copy some of Roger’s posts from Facebook from Thursday. This was after her “long night”…
She had a moment early this morning where she got confused and started to cry "I don't know what I want." Today, to kind of give her a way to explain it, I told CJ she was a caterpillar getting ready to go into her chrysalis. Soon she would go to sleep and when she woke up, she would be a beautiful butterfly. She seemed ok with this. In reinforcing the butterfly analogy, I was talking to Charlotte about it outside of Cracker Barrel and I talked about how things are going to get harder and harder to do because the cocoon is going to wrap around her closer and closer. At that point I made a face like I was getting squished and she found that highly amusing. She laughed a lot today and that’s good for everyone.
We hadn’t really officially decided how to explain what is happening to Charlotte to her but I think Roger’s analogy really nailed it. It’s perfect! Yet again, he amazes ME with his patience and vision. Charlotte had so many moments today when she was chatty and “with it”. She also has times where she just seems to regress or drift inward, not wanting to interact with anyone. She has taken to putting her Romp n’ Roll sport bottle in her mouth like a bottle sometimes (with chocolate milk in it, of course) and I think some of that infantile regression is coming out in all its shapes and forms. It’s been so great to enjoy this vacation with her. I’m glad she has all these moments of happiness!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Magic of Magic Kingdom!
So to start where Roger pretty much left off, Charlotte did, indeed, wake up at about 2 AM. Rather, she was awake when I went in to check on her. We read some books and I struggled to keep my eyes open but about 3:30/4 AM she was asking for chocolate milk and wouldn't you know we hadn't stocked up before our evening ended. Roger was a saint for going out to Wally-World (that gift card we just got sure came in handy) and getting needed supplies.
I went back to sleep for a bit but we were rarin' to go by about 8:30. I just hoped that she wouldn't melt down before lunch. We picked up Beth, our paparazzi for the day, and navigated our way to the Magic Kingdom.
Once we got there, we immediately got on the train and journeyed over to Mickey's Toon Town Fair. This was where we got to meet Mickey and Minnie and see their houses. After looking through their houses (a self-guided tour), we got to the the line for "THE MICE" and immediately our super-duper-ooper-schmooper GKTW access passes kicked into action. The Disney employee ushered us into the secret passageway and we had a much shorter wait. When we went in to see Mickey and Minnie, they were so sweet and spent so much time with us and Charlotte. Roger and I both got very heartfelt hugs from Mickey. You could tell that even though he doesn't "talk", he was empathizing with us and sending his good wishes. So sweet! After many pictures and the signing of autographs, we made our way to the next area of characters. We had the choice of seeing the princesses or the fairies. Since we knew we would be lunching with the princesses, we selected the fairies. Again, access is a good thing. There was over an HOUR wait to see the fairies but we got in after about a 15 minute wait. We took Charlotte out of her stroller as we made our way into "Pixie Hollow" and as soon as she saw the fairies, she let go of Roger's hand and went straight to SilverMist. The three fairies there today were SilverMist, Rosetta, and (of course) Tinkerbell. If you don't know these characters, you better brush up on your Tinkerbell movies! Charlotte talked to all of them and she was immediately a little chatterbox. Roger and I were just kind of left in the background to watch. I, personally, saw how happy she was and just started crying. I couldn't help it. The tears were just flowing. I'm not sure how long we got to visit with the fairies but it seemed like forever. They really took their time with her and made every effort to make her feel special. It was so great!
After that, I almost felt like I could leave and be happy. It was that good!
Then it was off to Fantasyland where we rode many rides, got to meet Ariel in her grotto (again, a fabulous meet and greet) and see a smokin' brass and drum marching ensemble play Disney favorites. Those Disney musicians are the best! We pretty much saw all of Fantasyland before it was time for lunch at Cinderella's castle. We had a brief meeting with Ashley, the mom who arranged our Princess lunch. It was nice to meet her in person and be able to thank her. Their family is vacationing at Disney this week as well and gave us their reservations to Cinderella's table. We feel so blessed!
We went through to another meet-and-greet with Cinderella and then up to our lunch. The meal was true fantastic Disney cuisine: I had a mixed green salad with pan-seared salmon, craisins, and blue cheese. Roger had the same salmon but with jasmine rice, and Beth had the pork tenderloin. (Charlotte had a hot dog: fine cuisine, indeed!) Dessert was a cream cheese-chocolate torte that was DIVINE. During the lunch, all of the other princesses (Snow White, Jasmine, Aurora, and Belle) came around to each table and talked, took pictures, and signed autographs, We also had a fabulous view of Fantasyland from our table. All of the princesses gave Charlotte smooches, leaving their lipstick imprints on her cheeks. By the end of lunch, she was covered in kisses!
After lunch, we made it downstairs but Charlotte was asleep after less than 20 minutes in the stroller. We decided to walk a little bit (if for no other reason than to burn off some calories). Roger and I took the opportunity to ride Thunder Mountain and then we headed back to the entrance. We did get to see a little bit of the parade. We headed back to GKTW and Charlotte just woke up about 7 PM.
I can't even begin to express what a great day this has been. It's so nice to be able to enjoy the park with Charlotte and see the joy on her face when she meets the characters. Another nice thing is that since Roger and I have "done Disney" many times before, neither one of us feels the need to see every aspect of every park. We're just kind of taking it at HER pace. Tomorrow will be another day at the Magic Kingdom and my cousin Sarah and her husband and daughter plan to join us.
I apologize that there are no pictures to post (yet) but I promise that there will be some coming. Beth took over 300 (!!) pics of us today and I've already seen a few that are great. We will be posting pics and video soon although much of it I'm sure will not get downloaded until the end of our trip.
Thanks to everyone continuing to keep up with our story. We promise to post when we can but if we don't, it's just cause we're having too much fun!
Rachel
I went back to sleep for a bit but we were rarin' to go by about 8:30. I just hoped that she wouldn't melt down before lunch. We picked up Beth, our paparazzi for the day, and navigated our way to the Magic Kingdom.
Once we got there, we immediately got on the train and journeyed over to Mickey's Toon Town Fair. This was where we got to meet Mickey and Minnie and see their houses. After looking through their houses (a self-guided tour), we got to the the line for "THE MICE" and immediately our super-duper-ooper-schmooper GKTW access passes kicked into action. The Disney employee ushered us into the secret passageway and we had a much shorter wait. When we went in to see Mickey and Minnie, they were so sweet and spent so much time with us and Charlotte. Roger and I both got very heartfelt hugs from Mickey. You could tell that even though he doesn't "talk", he was empathizing with us and sending his good wishes. So sweet! After many pictures and the signing of autographs, we made our way to the next area of characters. We had the choice of seeing the princesses or the fairies. Since we knew we would be lunching with the princesses, we selected the fairies. Again, access is a good thing. There was over an HOUR wait to see the fairies but we got in after about a 15 minute wait. We took Charlotte out of her stroller as we made our way into "Pixie Hollow" and as soon as she saw the fairies, she let go of Roger's hand and went straight to SilverMist. The three fairies there today were SilverMist, Rosetta, and (of course) Tinkerbell. If you don't know these characters, you better brush up on your Tinkerbell movies! Charlotte talked to all of them and she was immediately a little chatterbox. Roger and I were just kind of left in the background to watch. I, personally, saw how happy she was and just started crying. I couldn't help it. The tears were just flowing. I'm not sure how long we got to visit with the fairies but it seemed like forever. They really took their time with her and made every effort to make her feel special. It was so great!
After that, I almost felt like I could leave and be happy. It was that good!
Then it was off to Fantasyland where we rode many rides, got to meet Ariel in her grotto (again, a fabulous meet and greet) and see a smokin' brass and drum marching ensemble play Disney favorites. Those Disney musicians are the best! We pretty much saw all of Fantasyland before it was time for lunch at Cinderella's castle. We had a brief meeting with Ashley, the mom who arranged our Princess lunch. It was nice to meet her in person and be able to thank her. Their family is vacationing at Disney this week as well and gave us their reservations to Cinderella's table. We feel so blessed!
We went through to another meet-and-greet with Cinderella and then up to our lunch. The meal was true fantastic Disney cuisine: I had a mixed green salad with pan-seared salmon, craisins, and blue cheese. Roger had the same salmon but with jasmine rice, and Beth had the pork tenderloin. (Charlotte had a hot dog: fine cuisine, indeed!) Dessert was a cream cheese-chocolate torte that was DIVINE. During the lunch, all of the other princesses (Snow White, Jasmine, Aurora, and Belle) came around to each table and talked, took pictures, and signed autographs, We also had a fabulous view of Fantasyland from our table. All of the princesses gave Charlotte smooches, leaving their lipstick imprints on her cheeks. By the end of lunch, she was covered in kisses!
After lunch, we made it downstairs but Charlotte was asleep after less than 20 minutes in the stroller. We decided to walk a little bit (if for no other reason than to burn off some calories). Roger and I took the opportunity to ride Thunder Mountain and then we headed back to the entrance. We did get to see a little bit of the parade. We headed back to GKTW and Charlotte just woke up about 7 PM.
I can't even begin to express what a great day this has been. It's so nice to be able to enjoy the park with Charlotte and see the joy on her face when she meets the characters. Another nice thing is that since Roger and I have "done Disney" many times before, neither one of us feels the need to see every aspect of every park. We're just kind of taking it at HER pace. Tomorrow will be another day at the Magic Kingdom and my cousin Sarah and her husband and daughter plan to join us.
I apologize that there are no pictures to post (yet) but I promise that there will be some coming. Beth took over 300 (!!) pics of us today and I've already seen a few that are great. We will be posting pics and video soon although much of it I'm sure will not get downloaded until the end of our trip.
Thanks to everyone continuing to keep up with our story. We promise to post when we can but if we don't, it's just cause we're having too much fun!
Rachel
Tuesday Night 12/1/09
So, we’re here!!! We’re settled into Give Kids The World, we’re well fed, and I even got a shush (shower) in before sitting down to write this. Oh, but I absolutely MUST back up a few days…Did I mention that Saturday was a very bad day? Well, I went and did what I told everyone else not to do. I started to despair. We’ve since had three very good days in a row and I need to remember that there will be both good and bad days from here on out and I will try my best to practice what I preach.
I might double up on some of what Rachel said so please bear with me.Sunday morning was kind of a bear only because Charlotte woke up so early. It was no wonder since she went to bed so early Saturday night. I got up with her and we had fun watching videos and stuff On Demand. I also got to indulge my pyromaniac tendencies and got the fireplace going.We originally said we’d try to leave for Baltimore by about 6 or 7am but when Rachel came down at about 5am with no real drive to keep that schedule, I went back upstairs to catch a little more sleep (another hour or so). That seemed to be all I needed. I think we got out by about 8:30 which was great.
The trip was ok, feuding co-pilots notwithstanding (“What road are you taking?” “I’m heading up 95.” “Well you should take 295.” “Where is the exit for 295?” “You just passed it!” you know, typical husband and wife stuff) and we got to Baltimore before 11.
We parked downtown, paid their exorbitant parking rates (thanks, Network!), and then headed into the most-awesome National Aquarium. The VIP passes we were given got us in no problem and we spent a good deal of time walking around and looking at all the cool animals. I learned several new things and got to see the jellyfish that light up in the deep. I’d never seen that before. Very cool.
CJ also made me laugh out loud. I was changing her diaper and I tickled her bellybutton while making a “chicka-chicka” sound. I did that two or three times and then as I was closing things up, CJ made the same sound and “tickled” herself by sticking her finger into her own bellybutton. I found it immensely amusing. She made me laugh even harder later on when we were leaving. As we were packing up, Rachel was having trouble folding up the new stroller (it’s really odd and I have trouble with it too). She was getting frustrated and asked why it so hard for her get it. In an attempt to be funny, I said it was, “because you SUCK!” (really, it was funny). I was putting CJ in her car seat and when I said that, she just nodded her head and said “Mmmm hmmm” in agreement. I just about fell down. Mommy had to sacrifice herself for the laugh but it was totally worth it.
Then we decided we had gotten enough out of the Aquarium and headed to the hotel. Holy Moly! The suite was larger than our house in Boone, NC. And add to that the extra bedroom for CJ’s Devon and we were seriously stylin’! We chilled out there for a bit until Devon and her brother, Patrick, arrived. Then Patrick and I went over to the tailgating area to soak it all in.I thoroughly enjoyed myself and even went around to see the other setups. Some were quite extensive. One group had several vehicles and after talking to the ringleader for a bit, he offered me a shot of Jeagermeister (sp?) and who was I to refuse his hospitality?
After a bit, I met up with “the girls” and Rachel, CJ (who was fast asleep although I can’t figure out how), and I headed into the stadium. The place was kind of a madhouse and not necessarily a place for kids. Many of the Ravens fans showed typical football fan class by sporting shirts or holding towels with the most graphic obscenities aimed at the Steelers. There were also plenty of “F Bombs” floating around including one guy in the row behind who obviously had been drinking too much and proceeded to cuss out his wife in front of everyone so vividly that the rest of the row basically had him booted out of the stands. CJ (who woke up just as kickoff was happening) heard it all. I don’t think it phased her much.
Charlotte was a dream most of the game. She really wasn’t interested in the game but she was a trooper and downed more than her share of two tubs of popcorn. Rachel and I took turns holding her in our laps but she was no trouble at all. Quite the snuggle bunny, in fact. And a chatterbox off and on; spouting random bits of plot point from every tv show or book she’s ever seen.
She was getting plenty of attention for the folks around us and everywhere we walked, the little pink schmear got doubletakes. I think Rachel had it right when she said that you don’t see many little kids at night NFL games and fewer still in the amount pink she was wearing. She was wrapped up in her new pink Princess throw and since it really wasn’t that cool out, she was very comfortable.
We made it through the end of the 3rd quarter and then headed back to the hotel. It was a great, hard-hitting game and no one was leaving any time soon so we were out of there in record time. We got back in time to see the rest of the 4th quarter and overtime. Charlotte had slept from 5-8pm or so and was up all night. Rachel took the first shift and I took over about 3am when Rachel couldn’t hardly keep her eyes open. (kind of like me right now!) CJ finally drifted off around 5:30. Man! Her sleep rhythms are so off!
The next morning, we packed up and headed back down to Richmond. We had an appointment at “Indulgence” in Ashland to get Charlotte’s fingernails and toenails “done” before our Disney trip. Wyatt’s mommy, Heather, works there and they all wanted to do something for CJ. Little did I know how much they were going to do!
But that’s a post for a more awake Roger. Tomorrow, I tell of our travel adventures!
Wednesday 12/2/09
So where was I?
Oh yeah, right. Indulgence. So we got to Ashland from Baltimore pretty easily (the flyover from 495 to 95 and the Springfield area are always a pain but it could have been much worse) and when we got to Indulgence, the first thing we noticed was the sign. We got pics of it somewhere but I believe it read “Welcome Princess Charlotte.” “Miss Headuh” was waiting for us and it seemed like the store was our personal spa. When we walked in, a big Frosty The Snowman poster was standing in the lobby and the children of the Ashland Community Preschool had all put pink and purple handprints all over his belly. Then we were ushered back to the manicure room where an elaborate catered lunch from Homemades By Suzanne was laid out.
Slight tangent: I’ve mentioned before that Ashland is home to some pretty good places to eat and Homemades By Suzanne is one of them. It’s actually one of the better places in the Richmond area (in my humble opinion) to get gourmet deli food. They employ many locals, contribute mightily to the community, and have mighty good catering services. They did not pay me to say that.
Back on task…We ate well and everyone in the place seemed to be waiting on us hand and foot (literally). CJ might love her daddy but she won’t let me touch her toenails. In fact, the only person she’ll let do most anything to her hands and feet is “Wyatt’s Heather.” This has been from very early on and has only been concentrated since CJ’s diagnosis in January. Heather has also been something of an advocate/interference runner for us in the Ashland community and I’d like to make sure she gets her proper kudos. She’s definitely been one of Charlotte’s 10 or so other moms. Miss Heather helped get CJ situated and then proceeded to clip, file, seal, polish, whatever else women do to their nails, and paint her finger nails pink and purple (alternating colors). All the while, Heather was talking to her and amazing me with the way Charlotte was just LETTING her do it! Again, we have pictures somewhere but you should have seen the look of complete adoration on CJ’s face. Heather could have given her a root canal with no Novocain.
After the manicure came the pedicure. CJ was too short to sit in the chair and reach the footbath so she sat on the outside with Heather and dangled her feet in from the other side. Her toes ended up with the same color scheme. Somewhere in all this, she got “makeup” in the form of a glittery butterfly on one cheek and painted-on glittery “earrings.” It was very cute.
We also found out that the spa treatments weren’t just for Charlotte. While we waited for CJ to finish lunch, Rachel was whisked away to get her hair washed and styled ( I understand the hairstylists came in special on their day off!) and both of us got 30 minute massages. There were lots of other presents from staff and well-wishers from the community as well. It was very enjoyable and we are very appreciative of everyone at Indulgence for taking such good care of us.
So now we’re heading into Monday evening and we need to pack for our Make-A-Wish trip. I started working on that and Rachel got a lot of last-minute stuff done, including Romp n’ Roll payroll (and all the employees said “WOOHOO!”) in spite of temperamental computers and dodgy internet connections. We can now leave for Florida and not have those things hanging over us.
The weather was very nice Sunday after many days of goo but it turned cold and damp again which made it easy to get ready for Florida (forecasted to be in the mid 70s to low 80s). By the time the early morning hours rolled around, we had put our lives into one large suitcase, three smaller bags, CJ’s new Tinkerbell backpack, and a tote. We also had to think about the car seat and the new stroller but we were confident that we would have help most of the way.
The limo was scheduled to be at the house no later than 6:45am and the instructions said that if
the driver hadn’t shown up by 6:50 then to call. Well, 6:45 comes with no sign of the limo. At 6:50, Rachel called the number the MAW folks gave us and waddaya know! They have no record of our reservation. A couple more calls and we realize we will have to get to the airport on our own. So much for the cool ride in the limo. It actually wasn’t that big of a deal except that I had taken the car seat out and we had piled everything by the street so we could load up quickly. We were more amused that it had happened than anything. If that was the worst thing that happened on these two weeks, we could count ourselves lucky. It is a free trip after all.
We left the car at the park-n-go and the wonderful Horn family agreed to go get it so it wouldn’t sit there for two weeks. Uncle Kolbey has been left in charge of driving the cars occasionally while we’re gone.
I’m going to say, the service all down the line has been stellar. From the park-n-go bus driver who got all our bags loaded before I could even get the car seat out, to the skycap (is that still the word?) guy who not only loaded up everything and took it to the check-in desk, but actually checked us in too, to the security screener who carried all of our bins to what I call the “reassembly area,” to Jorge, our Give Kids The World contact who greeted us as we came out of the gate area and schlepped our bags over to the rental car desk in the garage and then helped us load up the van we got.
I’ve seen a lot of great work ethic lately and for some weird reason, it encourages me. The flights were great as well.
The van we got is very nice and has that “new car” smell. As soon as we got everything loaded and Jorge took his leave, CJ did her best to ruin it. I’m talking a massive, smelly, near-apocalyptic BM! We had to change her right there in the van in the parking garage (which is undergoing extensive repair it seemed). Charlotte felt much better afterward, that’s for sure! Finally, it was time to get out of there and onto the road to the resort. One problem…the keys were very odd looking and neither of us could figure out how to use them! It actually looked like, as an anti-theft measure, they had disassembled the keys and it was quite the monkey puzzle that both of us failed. I had to go back to the desk and ask. Turns out, the stubby, non-key-looking part was, indeed the key and the other part that actually looked like a key is just for the doors or something. Soon we were off.
We were kind of hungry so we stopped off at a McDonalds which is where we saw the little pink Christmas tree. That pretty much put a cap on the travel adventure which we found mostly amusing. Not nearly as stressful as it might have been.
It didn’t take us long to get to Give Kids The World and as soon as we got here, they enveloped us. The very first thing they did was reach into a cabinet and pull out a big Mickey Mouse doll for CJ. Then, while Rachel attended the orientation, I followed “Bobbie” to our apt. I took quite a few pics and some video of the duplex units they have here. Lots of whimsical architecture.
Bobbie showed me around and revealed all the cool things about the unit including the fridge stocked with soda, water, and brownie bites! There was a bag of goodies for Charlotte on the kitchen table and a couple of stuffed animals. Just what we need. More stuff. AND Bobbi said a similar gift will be showing up every day! Also, the kids’ bathroom is huge and equipped with a Jacuzzi while the grownups have to slog it out with a small, normal bathroom. The only oddly amusing thing about the tour was that when I saw the kids bathroom, I jokingly said, “Maybe this will have to turn into the grownups’ bathroom,” and Bobbie became kind of stern and said, No, this is Give KIDS The World.” You can tell they are trained to remind the parents who all this is for.
Got all settled in and when Rachel made her way to the apt., we went for a walk to explore. We are on the same street as the giant Candy Land game so we stopped off there first. Very fun. We also got ice cream and met up with our friend and RNR member Beth who will be taking pictures of everything the next few days.
CJ has been pretty adorable the whole time even if she did wake up at 1:30am this morning asking for chocolate milk and mac n’ cheese. Mommy got up with her but sent me to (shudder) Walmart to get those essentials at about 3:30am. I’ve been up with her since I got back. Our princess lunch at Cinderella’s Castle is at 1:30 so I hope she gets a little nap before then.
Another novel and still I’m not done yakkin’. Have to wait.
Love from Florida.
So, we’re here!!! We’re settled into Give Kids The World, we’re well fed, and I even got a shush (shower) in before sitting down to write this. Oh, but I absolutely MUST back up a few days…Did I mention that Saturday was a very bad day? Well, I went and did what I told everyone else not to do. I started to despair. We’ve since had three very good days in a row and I need to remember that there will be both good and bad days from here on out and I will try my best to practice what I preach.
I might double up on some of what Rachel said so please bear with me.Sunday morning was kind of a bear only because Charlotte woke up so early. It was no wonder since she went to bed so early Saturday night. I got up with her and we had fun watching videos and stuff On Demand. I also got to indulge my pyromaniac tendencies and got the fireplace going.We originally said we’d try to leave for Baltimore by about 6 or 7am but when Rachel came down at about 5am with no real drive to keep that schedule, I went back upstairs to catch a little more sleep (another hour or so). That seemed to be all I needed. I think we got out by about 8:30 which was great.
The trip was ok, feuding co-pilots notwithstanding (“What road are you taking?” “I’m heading up 95.” “Well you should take 295.” “Where is the exit for 295?” “You just passed it!” you know, typical husband and wife stuff) and we got to Baltimore before 11.
We parked downtown, paid their exorbitant parking rates (thanks, Network!), and then headed into the most-awesome National Aquarium. The VIP passes we were given got us in no problem and we spent a good deal of time walking around and looking at all the cool animals. I learned several new things and got to see the jellyfish that light up in the deep. I’d never seen that before. Very cool.
CJ also made me laugh out loud. I was changing her diaper and I tickled her bellybutton while making a “chicka-chicka” sound. I did that two or three times and then as I was closing things up, CJ made the same sound and “tickled” herself by sticking her finger into her own bellybutton. I found it immensely amusing. She made me laugh even harder later on when we were leaving. As we were packing up, Rachel was having trouble folding up the new stroller (it’s really odd and I have trouble with it too). She was getting frustrated and asked why it so hard for her get it. In an attempt to be funny, I said it was, “because you SUCK!” (really, it was funny). I was putting CJ in her car seat and when I said that, she just nodded her head and said “Mmmm hmmm” in agreement. I just about fell down. Mommy had to sacrifice herself for the laugh but it was totally worth it.
Then we decided we had gotten enough out of the Aquarium and headed to the hotel. Holy Moly! The suite was larger than our house in Boone, NC. And add to that the extra bedroom for CJ’s Devon and we were seriously stylin’! We chilled out there for a bit until Devon and her brother, Patrick, arrived. Then Patrick and I went over to the tailgating area to soak it all in.I thoroughly enjoyed myself and even went around to see the other setups. Some were quite extensive. One group had several vehicles and after talking to the ringleader for a bit, he offered me a shot of Jeagermeister (sp?) and who was I to refuse his hospitality?
After a bit, I met up with “the girls” and Rachel, CJ (who was fast asleep although I can’t figure out how), and I headed into the stadium. The place was kind of a madhouse and not necessarily a place for kids. Many of the Ravens fans showed typical football fan class by sporting shirts or holding towels with the most graphic obscenities aimed at the Steelers. There were also plenty of “F Bombs” floating around including one guy in the row behind who obviously had been drinking too much and proceeded to cuss out his wife in front of everyone so vividly that the rest of the row basically had him booted out of the stands. CJ (who woke up just as kickoff was happening) heard it all. I don’t think it phased her much.
Charlotte was a dream most of the game. She really wasn’t interested in the game but she was a trooper and downed more than her share of two tubs of popcorn. Rachel and I took turns holding her in our laps but she was no trouble at all. Quite the snuggle bunny, in fact. And a chatterbox off and on; spouting random bits of plot point from every tv show or book she’s ever seen.
She was getting plenty of attention for the folks around us and everywhere we walked, the little pink schmear got doubletakes. I think Rachel had it right when she said that you don’t see many little kids at night NFL games and fewer still in the amount pink she was wearing. She was wrapped up in her new pink Princess throw and since it really wasn’t that cool out, she was very comfortable.
We made it through the end of the 3rd quarter and then headed back to the hotel. It was a great, hard-hitting game and no one was leaving any time soon so we were out of there in record time. We got back in time to see the rest of the 4th quarter and overtime. Charlotte had slept from 5-8pm or so and was up all night. Rachel took the first shift and I took over about 3am when Rachel couldn’t hardly keep her eyes open. (kind of like me right now!) CJ finally drifted off around 5:30. Man! Her sleep rhythms are so off!
The next morning, we packed up and headed back down to Richmond. We had an appointment at “Indulgence” in Ashland to get Charlotte’s fingernails and toenails “done” before our Disney trip. Wyatt’s mommy, Heather, works there and they all wanted to do something for CJ. Little did I know how much they were going to do!
But that’s a post for a more awake Roger. Tomorrow, I tell of our travel adventures!
Wednesday 12/2/09
So where was I?
Oh yeah, right. Indulgence. So we got to Ashland from Baltimore pretty easily (the flyover from 495 to 95 and the Springfield area are always a pain but it could have been much worse) and when we got to Indulgence, the first thing we noticed was the sign. We got pics of it somewhere but I believe it read “Welcome Princess Charlotte.” “Miss Headuh” was waiting for us and it seemed like the store was our personal spa. When we walked in, a big Frosty The Snowman poster was standing in the lobby and the children of the Ashland Community Preschool had all put pink and purple handprints all over his belly. Then we were ushered back to the manicure room where an elaborate catered lunch from Homemades By Suzanne was laid out.
Slight tangent: I’ve mentioned before that Ashland is home to some pretty good places to eat and Homemades By Suzanne is one of them. It’s actually one of the better places in the Richmond area (in my humble opinion) to get gourmet deli food. They employ many locals, contribute mightily to the community, and have mighty good catering services. They did not pay me to say that.
Back on task…We ate well and everyone in the place seemed to be waiting on us hand and foot (literally). CJ might love her daddy but she won’t let me touch her toenails. In fact, the only person she’ll let do most anything to her hands and feet is “Wyatt’s Heather.” This has been from very early on and has only been concentrated since CJ’s diagnosis in January. Heather has also been something of an advocate/interference runner for us in the Ashland community and I’d like to make sure she gets her proper kudos. She’s definitely been one of Charlotte’s 10 or so other moms. Miss Heather helped get CJ situated and then proceeded to clip, file, seal, polish, whatever else women do to their nails, and paint her finger nails pink and purple (alternating colors). All the while, Heather was talking to her and amazing me with the way Charlotte was just LETTING her do it! Again, we have pictures somewhere but you should have seen the look of complete adoration on CJ’s face. Heather could have given her a root canal with no Novocain.
After the manicure came the pedicure. CJ was too short to sit in the chair and reach the footbath so she sat on the outside with Heather and dangled her feet in from the other side. Her toes ended up with the same color scheme. Somewhere in all this, she got “makeup” in the form of a glittery butterfly on one cheek and painted-on glittery “earrings.” It was very cute.
We also found out that the spa treatments weren’t just for Charlotte. While we waited for CJ to finish lunch, Rachel was whisked away to get her hair washed and styled ( I understand the hairstylists came in special on their day off!) and both of us got 30 minute massages. There were lots of other presents from staff and well-wishers from the community as well. It was very enjoyable and we are very appreciative of everyone at Indulgence for taking such good care of us.
So now we’re heading into Monday evening and we need to pack for our Make-A-Wish trip. I started working on that and Rachel got a lot of last-minute stuff done, including Romp n’ Roll payroll (and all the employees said “WOOHOO!”) in spite of temperamental computers and dodgy internet connections. We can now leave for Florida and not have those things hanging over us.
The weather was very nice Sunday after many days of goo but it turned cold and damp again which made it easy to get ready for Florida (forecasted to be in the mid 70s to low 80s). By the time the early morning hours rolled around, we had put our lives into one large suitcase, three smaller bags, CJ’s new Tinkerbell backpack, and a tote. We also had to think about the car seat and the new stroller but we were confident that we would have help most of the way.
The limo was scheduled to be at the house no later than 6:45am and the instructions said that if
the driver hadn’t shown up by 6:50 then to call. Well, 6:45 comes with no sign of the limo. At 6:50, Rachel called the number the MAW folks gave us and waddaya know! They have no record of our reservation. A couple more calls and we realize we will have to get to the airport on our own. So much for the cool ride in the limo. It actually wasn’t that big of a deal except that I had taken the car seat out and we had piled everything by the street so we could load up quickly. We were more amused that it had happened than anything. If that was the worst thing that happened on these two weeks, we could count ourselves lucky. It is a free trip after all.
We left the car at the park-n-go and the wonderful Horn family agreed to go get it so it wouldn’t sit there for two weeks. Uncle Kolbey has been left in charge of driving the cars occasionally while we’re gone.
I’m going to say, the service all down the line has been stellar. From the park-n-go bus driver who got all our bags loaded before I could even get the car seat out, to the skycap (is that still the word?) guy who not only loaded up everything and took it to the check-in desk, but actually checked us in too, to the security screener who carried all of our bins to what I call the “reassembly area,” to Jorge, our Give Kids The World contact who greeted us as we came out of the gate area and schlepped our bags over to the rental car desk in the garage and then helped us load up the van we got.
I’ve seen a lot of great work ethic lately and for some weird reason, it encourages me. The flights were great as well.
The van we got is very nice and has that “new car” smell. As soon as we got everything loaded and Jorge took his leave, CJ did her best to ruin it. I’m talking a massive, smelly, near-apocalyptic BM! We had to change her right there in the van in the parking garage (which is undergoing extensive repair it seemed). Charlotte felt much better afterward, that’s for sure! Finally, it was time to get out of there and onto the road to the resort. One problem…the keys were very odd looking and neither of us could figure out how to use them! It actually looked like, as an anti-theft measure, they had disassembled the keys and it was quite the monkey puzzle that both of us failed. I had to go back to the desk and ask. Turns out, the stubby, non-key-looking part was, indeed the key and the other part that actually looked like a key is just for the doors or something. Soon we were off.
We were kind of hungry so we stopped off at a McDonalds which is where we saw the little pink Christmas tree. That pretty much put a cap on the travel adventure which we found mostly amusing. Not nearly as stressful as it might have been.
It didn’t take us long to get to Give Kids The World and as soon as we got here, they enveloped us. The very first thing they did was reach into a cabinet and pull out a big Mickey Mouse doll for CJ. Then, while Rachel attended the orientation, I followed “Bobbie” to our apt. I took quite a few pics and some video of the duplex units they have here. Lots of whimsical architecture.
Bobbie showed me around and revealed all the cool things about the unit including the fridge stocked with soda, water, and brownie bites! There was a bag of goodies for Charlotte on the kitchen table and a couple of stuffed animals. Just what we need. More stuff. AND Bobbi said a similar gift will be showing up every day! Also, the kids’ bathroom is huge and equipped with a Jacuzzi while the grownups have to slog it out with a small, normal bathroom. The only oddly amusing thing about the tour was that when I saw the kids bathroom, I jokingly said, “Maybe this will have to turn into the grownups’ bathroom,” and Bobbie became kind of stern and said, No, this is Give KIDS The World.” You can tell they are trained to remind the parents who all this is for.
Got all settled in and when Rachel made her way to the apt., we went for a walk to explore. We are on the same street as the giant Candy Land game so we stopped off there first. Very fun. We also got ice cream and met up with our friend and RNR member Beth who will be taking pictures of everything the next few days.
CJ has been pretty adorable the whole time even if she did wake up at 1:30am this morning asking for chocolate milk and mac n’ cheese. Mommy got up with her but sent me to (shudder) Walmart to get those essentials at about 3:30am. I’ve been up with her since I got back. Our princess lunch at Cinderella’s Castle is at 1:30 so I hope she gets a little nap before then.
Another novel and still I’m not done yakkin’. Have to wait.
Love from Florida.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)