Alohamora!

After an amazing day at Disney with the princesses and all the rides we popped into Universal and Islands of Adventure. This day was HOT (well they all were). Kalina for some reason was not feeling it and had a few melt downs so this was a shorter day and we went back to swim at GKTW.  We also returned on Thursday with my bestest friend in the whole world, who drove down from Jacksonville to join us for a day!

One of the most talked about and anticipated aspects of the trip were magical wands! So of course we headed straight for Diagon Alley and hit up Olivander's for wands.  We saw the wand ceremony which was enchanting and then we helped the girls pick out wands that suited them.  I think we chose well. And of course, Kalina got an indestructible wand that doesn't do "real" magic, like Ainsley and Selene's. :-)

I think Selene's greatest joy was making an umbrella rain on an unsuspecting woman. She was a good sport about it (in case it matters in the future, when its 88 degrees and the sidewalk is burning hot and there's one wet circle, there's likely a reason) and Selene was super proud.

We had a great time with magic, rides, Minions and a little raptor love!

Lumos!

It's so fluffy I could die!

Butterbeer!

Will you be my friend if I give you treats?

If you've ever used the phrase "like taking candy from a baby" you've never tried taking a Honeydukes lolly from Tank (thanks for the gift Jess! :-) )

The green goblin grabbed her and walked her to the front and right onto the ride!

The Hogwarts Express!

This kid could ride the carousel for.ev.er.


More Photos of our Universal Days!

That was a great game.

I'm so sorry this is so late. We got home and Ainsley was down with a fever for a few days, we had Selene's 2 year checkup/rebirthday today (that will be another post but all is going really well), and I've been trying to get the girls back to sleeping after the craziness of everything.

Our trip was absolutely magical! That's totally cliche, but it was.  We had a few blips on our travel day. We've never flown Southwest before and no one mentioned anything about Make a Wish as we checked in and dealt with gate checking our stroller. Totally fine. Except when we went to board with the family group a family pushed in front of us and then let every single person get on before moving forward. So we were in the back row of the plane. Not a big deal but it was frustrating.  Then our attendant said "Didn't you know you get pre-board with Make a Wish?" No! Needless to say the flight home was flawless.

We were met by a lovely greeter from Give Kids the World who walked us over to the rental car pick up. She was wonderful but talked sooooooo much and we just wanted to get on the road. THEN Avis just dropped the ball. Completely. And I just wrote the crazy story and erased it. It's in the past and it was forgotten as soon as we stepped foot into the House of Hearts.

Give Kids the World is as amazing as everyone said. It's built specifically with the kids in mind. The dining room has child size tables which the girls loved. There was a carousel, ice cream parlor, castle of miracles, playroom, train, mini golf, arcade, movie theater, Ainsley's favorite-the candyland playground and then parties each night. We tried to do as much as we could and still left so much left undiscovered.

The Castle of Miracles might have been the most incredible part of the resort (followed closely by the amazing volunteers). This is a building/castle where little glass stars line the ceiling. They spread into every room of the castle until they had to build a new tower because of all the shining stars. Selene decorated her star and it was put up by Stella the Star fairy into the Joy constellation. Whenever we go back to visit we will get to see her star up on the ceiling. My Dad happened to have a business meeting pop up in Orlando and was able to join us Sunday night and Monday in the parks. And my bestie drove down from Jacksonville for a day at Universal. Both of them were taken aback at the magnitude of the stars. Maybe it's because I've spent hundreds of hours at CHOP, maybe because I'm in Facebook groups where we chat about tubies and doctor appointments and terrifying things like Chemo like we're discussing which diaper cream to buy.  But I joined their awe as we looked at every star. I know some of those stars still shine bright on this earth and that some have moved to the skies above. It's heart breaking and amazing all at the same time. Regardless, you know that each and every one represents a brave little warrior and their family who bravely battled through their journey.

We arrived on Sunday and flew home on Saturday so we had 5 park days.  There was just so much to do and while we planned tons- park hopping, dinners, fireworks, we canceled a lot of it because the girls both got over done in the parks and because they wanted to be back at the resort for parties and fun.

Oh! I'll take a moment to mention our fun ride to the airport in a limo! 5 minutes before it arrived Ainsley got worried that we wouldn't all fit in the "taxi." Everyone was super excited for the fancy ride.

We started Monday at Hollywood Studios so that Ainsley could train to be a Jedi. She loved it! We watched some fun shows, rode the best ride in Disneyworld-Toy Story Mania (somehow only once with the genie pass! what a waste!) and after we did everything we wanted (though we skipped lots of good stuff) we hopped over to Magic Kingdom. We had planned to stay for 8pm fireworks but that didn't happen.

What did happen is that we found out Selene is a roller coaster junkie. Like, loooooves them. She even looked at the crazy upside down, you have to be 6ft tall to ride it, coaster at Universal and was like "Can we go on that?!" Um, no. Never.

Hollywood Studios!

The Toy Story glasses are not Tank proof

Magic Kingdom!

The girls just wanted to eat at "the fun" place. Child height chairs, people to help them get their drinks and it was free...what's not to like!

See ya real soon!

Exactly two years ago, I was rocking Selene to sleep, she was just a tiny, fragile, toddler in my arms. It was the last time she would be as she was and I didn't know what the future held. I was praying that she would handle the pain, nausea, all of the surgeries, the chemo. I prayed she would remain my happy girl, that she would continue to smile and feel joy.  Our bags were packed and lined up by the front door. Ready to check into the hospital. My heart raced with fear and anxiety. 

Fast forward two years and I tucked my big girl into her bed. She is all smiles and giggles. Squirming with delight at what the immediate future holds. She handled the pain and the nausea. She didn't stop smiling or feeling joy. Our bags are packed, but they're filled with princess gowns, glow sticks and autograph books. They're lined up by the door waiting for a special ride to the airport. We are about to check into what might be one of the most magical places on earth. A place fully staffed by volunteers hoping to put a smile on these beautiful faces. To bring joy to these strong warriors and their faithful families. My heart races with excitement and gratitude.

I'll try to update during our trip for those who don't follow me on Instagram or Facebook. For those who do, I apologize in advance for blowing up your feed all week.

See ya real soon!