Make-A-Wish Part 1

We'll do this blog series in installments because I wanna remember everything and it was the busiest week of my life.
Day 1: This day was all travelling, but still filled with fantastic memories.
I woke up early on October 10th to get myself completely ready and do some last minute packing before waking the girls. I knew once they were awake everything would be chaotic. I woke them at 7:30 with my phone playing Disney music (duh!) They pretended to be too tired to get up and pulled covers over their heads, all the while with big ol' grins on their faces. This last all of ten seconds before they hopped out of bed and started getting dressed.
After all the boring details of getting ready we were in the car at 7:55. A whole five minutes earlier than I had planned! I was pretty excited about that. We then did our usual pre-vacation prayers and were on our way. There was lots of jabbering on that ride even though they mentioned multiple times that they were tired and they were going to nap. It did not happen.
We managed to get to the airport without any traffic issues, we got into the airport without any issues, security went smoothly, and other than Andrew being very grumpy (he doesn't do crowds) we got to the gate with plenty of time to spare. We ate some very expensive airport food and then boarded! The girls were beyond excited, although Ella was a bit nervous. It didn't take long for the nervousness to fly out the window once we started to move. The girls were all sorts of crazy giggles during take-off. It was one of the best moments of the trip. Ella, who proclaims to be scared of heights, even said she should've sat by the window. The rest of plane ride was uneventful. Abby did fairly well, the big girls read, colored, and played with a sticker book.
We landed in Chicago for our layover and that's when I realized I hadn't packed an extra pull-up in the carry-on for Liv. And she'd already leaked through the one she had. (Since she's still having urinary issues we figured pull-ups were the safest bet.) When we got to O'Hare Andrew went a scavenger hunt for a pull-up or even a large enough diaper. You'd think in an airport that big they'd have something somewhere. Nope. And Livie couldn't go commando. She was in a dress. So, Liv ended up in one of Abby's size 3 diapers...It worked...but it was interesting...
Once again, plane, exciting take-off, and then we landed in Orlando.
We made our way to baggage in a nearly deserted airport. We had been told someone would be there to meet us, but with it being so late I was a little worried there wouldn't be. I shouldn't have. We walked out and there was a lovely older English gentleman, Phil, waiting with a sign to welcome Olivia. He had a bag of snacks, and a cart for our luggage. He helped us every step of the way from getting our luggage, to getting our rental car, and drove us about half-way to Give Kids the World. I asked him how he got stuck with such a late pick-up at one point and his response, "I volunteered!" He explained that his favorites were the late pick-ups. He likes being there for the families who have been travelling all day. Plus, it's nice to have someone to greet you in an empty airport. Cue the tears of gratitude. He was such a sweet guy!
By the time we got to the Village it was about 11. We got in and headed to the House of Heart for check-in. The ladies at the desk made a huge deal about the girls and gave Liv a Mickey Mouse plush and Abby and Ella a Shamu. Plus, they had dinner for us. They took us to our villa, told us a ton of info, and then left us to it. We ate, and then crashed.
My first impressions of the Village were all awe. We got there so late and all these volunteers, there on their own time, were so happy and helpful. If you ever doubt there is good in the world, remember that there is an entire village dedicated to serving. They said about 95% of their staff are volunteers.
I was also filled with shock. It had been a long and stressful day and we were finally there. The dream was only beginning.
And sorry, no photos for this day. All those are on a flash drive that my one and only reader (hi Bethany!) has at the moment.