Thursday, October 16, 2014

Wishes come true.....

Here are some pictures from Mr.Blue Eyes 4 night Disney Cruise In the Bahamas.  It was a trip he will never forget.  Truly incredible! I will write later with the details...








Thank you Make A WISH!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, October 12, 2014
We woke up and O dark thirty to be picked up by 4 a.m.  We all put on our Make a Wish T shirts that our sweet volunteers had brought us.  The kids were all wide awake and happy to be moving.  Mom and dad had not slept more than two hours so we were a little tired.  We heard squeals & screeches from the front of the house!!  “It’s a LIMO!”  It was all a little surreal and this point.  Five bags later and 6 carry on we loaded into the limo and drove to the Los Angeles International Airport.  Mr. Blue eyes loved playing with the lights and sitting in different seats as we drove to the airport.  This is our first ever family limo ride.  V.I.P. treatment!  WOW!  Excitement and anticipation were at an all-time High…To receive this special wish is more than a limo ride, flights, hotel, and a Disney Cruise.  It is the outreach of the humanity and goodness.  It echoes of the good will and generosity of people in this beautiful world we live in.  It has reached a part of this mothers heart that she has never felt before.  She has been overcome with joy and elation, watching this blue eyed boy smile so big.  It brings us together as a family for 6 days to just enjoy and be together.  Sometimes last year at this time we were afraid would not happen if treatment did not go well.  The squeals and excitement have been precious to behold.  The kids love flying and we rarely do it as a family.  We are going to a place we have never been doing things that we had never dreamed of doing.  It is profound to think of the lifetime effect this will have not just on Mr. Blue Eyes but our other children.  They are witnessing the selfless generosity from so many that made this possible.  They are seeing that people in the world care enough to make a little 10 year old wishes come true.
As a mother it has done that and more.  TO watch him get this amazing wish come true is priceless.  It has been very healing for my own tattered soul from the journey that we had all been on with his cancer.  In a strange way I have felt the world say.  We give our love and support, what you went through was hard and really stunk.  I fill a lifting a holding of sorts.  I feel the empathy and love of those who wish suffering did not have to happen.  But we all know that this life brings suffering and joy...  My soul has bubbled over a many times in with tears leaking from my eyes.  So today we are just going to enjoy and celebrate this amazing Make a Wish Foundation.  The plane ride was great it was American Airlines direct flight to Orlando Florida.  We had really sweet flight attendants.  They just happen to give the kids huge bag of peanut M&M”S and Chex Mix.  While I was at the back of the plane they were chatting with me asked about the wish for our blue eyed boys.  Just before we landed on of the gentle man came with a huge bag of snacks for us.  He said we may need it for the hotel.  SO sweet and of course the kids loved that and ate everyone on our trip.  We got off the plane and found our luggage.  We were staying at the Airport in a Hyatt hotel.  It seemed odd that a hotel was in an airport but how very convenient.  Convenient is was we dropped of our bags after owing and awing over the gorgeous lobby and floral carpet and headed to dinner.  WE ate and enjoyed looking in a few shops around the airport. The kids favorite parts were the moving walkways and the toy stores! Then we went to the room and Dad passed out and the rest of us headed for the pool.  We slept well and anticipated what the morning would bring…..
Sunday, October 13, 2014
Today was the day that we boarded the ship.  Excitement was HIGH!  We ate in the airport at Dads Favorite donut shop, Krispy Cream.  Then we packed and got ready to get on the ship.  We had special tags so we did not have to carry our luggage Disney and the hotel took care of that.  We went back through the airport to find the bus that said DISNEY DREAM.  Corban was on High alert.  He started running and then saw the bus driving along the other side of the road.  He ran and ran so excited that his little 10 year old body could not contain the excitement.  He ran alongside of it almost all the way to its parking spot.  He was beaming with excitement.  It was neat to see his little contained self really let loose and get EXCITED!  We checked in and boarded the bus.  We sat all over the bus it was very full.  They showed a video and we could also look out the window and see the beautiful green Florida.  We ended up about 1 hour later in Cape Canaveral to board the ship.  We stood in a crazy long line.  There were so many people there.  A cast member came up to us and saw our MAKE A WISH SHIRTS and we got to go to a shorter line.  It was so kind of her.  At around noon we boarded what was one and only cruise ship we have ever been on.  It was Breathtaking.  They announced “welcome to the Larsen family” us when we walked through the doors.  And the staff clapped.  Disney has a special way of making everything magical and special.  No details were lost in this ship.  It was stunning and like a huge hotel put into a cruise ship. EVERYONE on the ship was kind nice and respectful, especially the Disney Crew Members.  We had
We woke up and were all excited to go off the ship today.  It was an Monday, October 14, 2014. This day we were all a little tired from traveling but eventually got ourselves moving. We had stopped at a port called Nassau.  It was time to have an adventure.  The mom and Dad decided to splurge (not on Make a wish dollar) and take the kids to an interactive dolphin experience.  We road from the boat on a Catamaran to another little island named Nausea.  The ride was about 1 hour long.  The kids loved the fresh air, wind in their hair and beautiful water.  When we arrived they got to go in the water with a dolphin and huge, kiss, feed, give high fives and dance with it.  We decided if we had come all that way we should defiantly take advantage of something extra ordinary.  The kids loved it and enjoyed it.  Mom tried to take pictures but mostly got the back of heads and was a little disappointed.  But had to just be glad for this outing and these amazing animals.  We headed back to the boat about four with many of the locals on a Catamaran that was loaded with people.  It was much older than the first and had the life jackets tied to the top of the ceiling. 
 October 15, 2014
Today was truly amazing, we went to Castaway Cay.  It is Disney’s Private Island.  The first thing we did was find each other because we had come in on different trams because they were full.  Then we all jumped on bikes.  We road on a little trail around the island.  Corban and Kade both somehow hit the bushes on the side of the trail and crashed but came out fine.  It was fun for everyone.  Mom was going to take Hadley on her bike but found she was an unstable unit not having ridden for many years.   
Fallowing the bike ride...  The three boys and Mom got to do the Sting Ray adventure.  They got to feed the sting ray a fish, squid and fish Jell-O.  They were light brown sting Rays. Corban and Kaden kissed the Sting Rays.  Afterwards we got to snorkel and swim in the bay with all of the Rays.  You had to be careful to shuffle out so that you don’t step on one of the Rays.  We often saw them buried in the white sand.  Corban and Kaden both saw what they thought were baby grails and they did a little freak out and snorkeled quit fast back to shore.  It was magical once you get the hang of breathing as you snorkel.  We hurried and had a quick lunch and then hurried to soak up more of this amazing blue water and white sand.  Hadley and Mom stayed on the beach and Dad and the three boys went out snorkeling.  They had an amazing time.  We could have spent 2 days there and never gotten bored.
At 2:40 that afternoon we rushed to load ourselves up and get back on the ship.  We had an invitation for Corban and our family to meet mickey for private Make a Wish meet and greet. 
WE looked like a bunch of beach bums.  We hurried to shower and get ready.  We arrived and met three other families.  All three of these little boys had the same wish and were all given it!  What a touching event.  Patricia whom runs the Make a wish on Disney’s Dream was a delight.  She is from Spain and offered lots of love, hugs and kisses.  She was sweet and gentle with the kids.  Pictures with Mickey.  Hadley was a big fan and hugged Mickey and he gave her a kiss!  It was simply beautiful to watch these kids and their families celebrating WISHES coming true for these boys and healthy enough to receive them.
That evening was pirate night so our wait staff was dressed like pirates and it was a fun night.  We even tried Escargot.  First Todd, then Blake and Corban and finally Mom chocked one down.  They are chewy, slimy little suckers.  Not sure most of it will eat it again but it was fun to try it. 
Then at 1030 that night there was a pirate party at the upper deck and some amazing fireworks.  When Corban was asked what was the highlight of the day He said, “Everything!”  I think we all felt that way. 
Thursday October 16, 2014                                                                                                        
We woke up early to eat and get ready to disembark from the ship.  IT was busy and a lot of hustling.  WE visiting with our make a wish coordinator Patricia and another Make a Wish family from Canada.  They were close to our boys ages.  We later ran into them in the airport and got to go share lunch together.  While we were sitting there eating a stranger walked up to us and asked if she could treat us to lunch on her vouchers from the airlines.  Her flight was canceled and she decided to got back to Disney World and not stay in airport.  SO she gave us all 100$ of vouchers for our lunch.  Remarkable huh!  SO needless to say with our Big adventure, new friends and a sweet stranger we left Orlando on a HIGH  

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