Ethan's Make A Wish Trip (LONG)

Sunday, April 15th

The day is FINALLY here! Ethan's wish is granted!!! The limo service arrived at our house to take us to the airport at 4am. It was raining outside, so we woke Ethan up as soon as we were ready to leave. We got him in his carseat and he was so in awe with the lights on the limo's ceiling that he never went back to sleep. Can you believe that I did not get a picture of the limo? What was wrong with me? I just never got out of the limo once I had Ethan fastened safely in his seat. Of course, Ethan did not go back to sleep- too excited I guess! The Make-A-Wish team met us at the Greensboro airport to help out and they brought Ethan a gift- a travel Magna Doodle. We didn't have any wait getting onto our plane and we immediately boarded and didn't have any problems with Ethan's equipment. Our flight into Orlando was bumpy and Ethan loved it. While Scott and Grandma were getting nauseous from the bumpy ride, Ethan is giggling with delight! It was hilarious! I have video. :-)

We were greeted at the airport in Orlando by a Give Kids the World volunteer. She helped us with tips on the parks and also helped us get to our rental car and got us on our way. Even though I knew she was going to be there to meet us, my eyes started swelling up with tears the minute I saw a sign saying "Give Kids the World Welcomes Ethan Faulkner". Plans to meet up with Downsyn friends fell through due to thunderstorms and pouring rain. We spent our day at Give Kids the World village relaxing. Ethan spiked a 102 fever for unknown reasons. The fever was knocked out with Tylenol and we are hoping for good health for the rest of the week.

The villa here at GKTW is beyond my expectations of what I read on the website (www.gktw.org). Seriously, it is the size of my first apartment! Two bedrooms, two bathrooms (one with a wheelchair accessible shower and a jacuzzi bathtub!), living room, kitchen, dining area, and front porch with two rocking chairs. We were in the cul-de-sac and it was very peaceful.

Monday, April 16th

Today we started our day with breakfast in the village. Ethan is doing so well with his self-feeding. After breakfast, we left to go to Disney MGM Studios to meet our Downsyn friends for lunch. Our friends, Diane & John, have their own T21 Princess- MaryEllen. Ethan just loved Diane! He gave out hugs and kisses like candy! While there, we went to the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids Exhibit" where Ethan enjoyed going down the slide that came out of the film roll. We had our 1st character meet with Mickey. The Disney staff treated Ethan like a prince. They saw his Give Kids the World button and they immediately took him to a private one-on-one meeting with Mickey and JoJo from JoJo's circus. Scott and I were able to go on the Aerosmith Rock n Roll roller coster. That was really awesome - we had so much fun!!! Then we came back to the village and had naptime and dinner. We then went back to MGM to watch Fantasmic. Scott and I then went on the Hollywood Tower of Terrors. The signs in Florida suck - we have done a thousand U-Turns!!! We finally got back to the village tonight - Ethan is in bed. We are heading to the Magic Kingdom tomorrow.

Tuesday, April 17th

Today, we started our day with a wonderful breakfast in the Village. Ethan has been such an amazing eater, I am just so proud of him! We were then on our way to the Magic Kingdom! I am always in awe of the building structures at Disney! The creativity and magical feeling whenever you even step onto Disney grounds is one that you treasure for life and I hope and pray that Ethan remembers this special trip that was just for him! I started off by buying Ethan some Pirate Mickey Ears. I was so amazed that Ethan kept them on! I am telling you now how much Ethan grew up before our eyes on this trip!

We did not waste any time to get Ethan on some rides! First up was the teacups. Daddy and Grandma cordially opted out of the spinning because they're WEAK! LOL! Mommy happily took her little man spinning. He grabbed the wheel and everything! I broke my sunglasses on the teacups, so I then had to fork out some bucks for some in the park! There was NO way I was going without sunglasses for the rest of the beautiful Florida, sunny day! Next was Ethan's first roller coaster ride! Mommy rode in the front car while Ethan and Daddy sat behind so pictures could be taken. Then, when we arrived back at the exit point, the Disney employee asked if we wanted to go again...of course we do! Ethan loved it!

The princely attention continued as we made our way through ToonTown (much smaller than Disneyland's) and were put ahead of the line to meet Stitch from Lilo & Stitch and then as we were walking past Mickey's house, the employee asked if Ethan would like to meet Mickey...of course he does!!! So, we went through Mickey's house and then had our own special time with Mickey and no one else was there but us and Mickey! We were then off to ride Dumbo and the Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. By this time, it was lunchtime and we were trying to figure out what we could feed Ethan. We brought his food chopper, but he is still not a chicken fingers/hot dog kid, so we were looking for a better variety. When we looked at the map, we saw that Cinderella's Royal Table had American food, so we headed on over to the castle. Did we notice the $$$ by the name in the book? No. Did we know that CRT is a character dining experience that requires reservations? No. Scott went up to the host and asked to verify that they were full for lunch to which the host responded, "We are, but not for you". We were then given our reservation, taken to have pictures taken with Cinderella and have a WONDERFUL lunch with Snow White, Princess Aurora, Fairy Godmother, and Belle. What a blessing...

After lunch, we headed over to the Wish Lounge specifically for wish families to come and rest. Ethan was able to take a nap for over three hours! What a great place! After nap, we continued on with rides- including Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Flying Carpets, and Pirates of the Caribbean (yes, my man Capt. Jack was there!). We ended up watching the fireworks from the parking lot because Ethan was SO tired, but all in all a very positive and productive day for our little man!

Wednesday, April 18th

We're off to SeaWorld! We were really looking forward to seeing the dolphins, sea lions, and whales! We pet stingrays, Scott actually even fed them, pet the dolphins (my favorite part!!!), and watched a few shows. We also saw the beautiful Budweiser Clydesdales! They are such an incredible animal. Scott and I were really looking forward to seeing Ethan's reactions with the animals at Sea World because he really loves animals, but because he could only really see the majority of them from a distance, he got bored with it all quickly. Grandma's highlight was the Clydesdales as she loves horses. There was a mime at the sea lion show that was hilarious and then the show was great too! I just love sea lions! We were ten minutes too late to get in to see the Shamu show which bummed us out, but we took pics from the tank and Ethan really enjoyed that. We had seen everything at Sea World, so we decided to head on over to...

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS! There really was not much for Ethan at US. We took him on E.T. the ride and the Woody Woodpecker roller coaster. Then, we went to see the animal actors show. Ethan was treated like a prince once again and was given a one on one meeting with the pug from Men in Black! The pug was a little weirded out when Ethan wanted to touch him, but a little guidance from his trainer was all he needed and all was well! We were going to go over to the Islands of Adventure (another US park), but the parks closed at 7pm when we thought that they closed at 10pm. Oh well- Ethan was beyond exhausted anyway since he did not get any nap. So, we left US and headed out to find some good dinner. It was nice to sit down at dinner and not worry about getting back out there! We ate, went back to our villa and relaxed.

Thursday, April 19th

After some time in the village, it was back to Disney! We had originally planned on hitting up Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and the Magic Kingdom, but because of Ethan's lack of interest at Sea World, we opted out of Animal Kingdom and went to Epcot and the Magic Kingdom again. I never, ever thought that I would be standing underneath the Epcot landmark, or big golf ball as I kept referring to it as! It really is a magical place, Disney. When we first arrived at Epcot, we saw some metal plates etched with pictures on them as part of the "Leave a Legacy" walls. We decided that Ethan's wish trip should definitely be etched forever, so we had his picture taken with Grandma. We will get a letter with the picture in 6-8 weeks with a location of where Ethan and Grandma's picture is so if we ever win the lottery and are able to return, we can go see his picture. Ethan's highlight at Epcot was definitely the interactive Turtle Talk with Crush from Finding Nemo. I have it on video. It was so cute, we all laughed! There is also a ride there called "Soarin'". It is a simulator-type ride that makes you feel like you are flying over some beautiful scenery, one of which included my "home"- Yosemite. That was a highlight of my day. The biggest highlight actually came from being in the store to buy some t-shirts and souveniers. There was a crystal corner where you can have your 3-D picture lasered into a crystal block. We had one done of Ethan in Hawaii back in 2002 and it is probably one of the most priceless items that I own. Well, I asked how much it would cost to have the smallest crystal done and the man told me $100. As, I was trying to bargain with him, he saw my Make A Wish button and then says, "Would you like for me to call my manager to see if we can give one to you for free?" ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Of course I would like that!!! Well, manager said yes and even said yes to a bigger crystal. Ethan was very tired and a bit grumpy, but we were able to get him still enough to get the scan done. Now, I have two priceless items that I own. You can see how his face has changed and he is still just the most handsome little angel ever. :-)

Off to the Magic Kingdom again and immediately to the Wish Lounge for nap! Gosh, that is the best thing. Nap time is over, so on to more rides!!! Here comes It's a Small World (much less extravagant than Disneyland's), Peter Pan's Flight (Ethan LOVED), Mickey's Philharmonic, and the Go Kart cars. The coolest encounter happened at dinner. We were getting ready to leave when I heard a mom go up to a hostess and ask if they had any bibs. When the hostess said no, I asked Scott if we had any spare Bibsters left. We had ONE left and I took it over to the family. They were very thankful and I looked over to their little man who needed the bib, and low and behold, he also is blessed with an extra chromosome! WOW! Honestly, I did not see him or that he had Down syndrome before I headed over- all I heard was the need for a bib! We enjoyed our time with our new friends! We both said that it was not by accident that we met.

Ethan was pretty much "rided-out" by the end of Thursday, so we said good-bye to the Happiest Place on Earth.

Friday, April 20th

Today, we are spending our day at the Give Kids the World Village. I have not talked about the village much, but let me tell you- this is the most amazing place. It is specifically for wish families and they provide so much and are not allowed to accept money from the families. There is a carousel, train, mini-golf, ice cream shop that is open from 9am-10:30pm, heated swimming pools, arcade, and fishing pond. There is the Castle of Miracles that has an electronic storybook and coloring book, costume closet, wishing well, pillow maker, toys and books. You cannot help but smile as soon as you step foot onto the grounds of the village.

We were so lucky to have two of my Downsyn friends come to visit us at the village!!! Meredith brought her babies, Kristopher and Brianna, and Jennifer brought David. We had met Jennifer and David (David's dad, Mike had to work) before in Georgia. It was beyond special to have our friends come and be a part of our day in Florida! After our visit was over, we headed over to Cocoa Beach! It was only an hour away and Lynda had never been to the Atlantic Ocean. It was VERY windy, but the scenery was gorgeous! Ethan likes being at the beach a lot! I am sure that it was hard on him to not be able to get down and play in the water! Scott and I had put our shoes down so we could walk in the sand and when we returned, only my pair of flip flops remained. How petty- to steal sandals. Oh well, we had to laugh about it. We also saw the Kennedy Space Center from a distance. That was so cool for me! While I have close to zero interest in space anymore, I used to want to go to Space Camp and be an astronaut, so being that close to anything NASA took me back to my youth.

We had to get back to the village so we could get dinner, go swimming and get Ethan ready for his tuck-in from Miss Merry! Miss Merry and Mayor Clayton are the mascots of the village. Ethan and Miss Merry had a little game going on- it was so cute! Ethan also gave wonderful hugs which is always welcome to anyone who will take them! He is not always so willing to give them out, so he must have really liked Miss Merry!

As soon as Ethan was asleep, our evening turned into packing central. As Ethan's wish was coming to an end, we had to get ready to come back home.

Saturday, April 21st

Today is the day. We must leave our villa and head home. We had one last breakfast in the gingerbread house- I really will miss those little belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, as will Ethan! We saw Ethan's star on the ceiling in the Castle of Miracles and let him run around a bit before heading out to the airport. The miracles continue on...as I checked us out from GKTW, we were given a bunch of stuff, but one special gift was a certificate that allows me, Scott, and our hero Ethan free admission to hundreds of different establishments around the WORLD (yes, I said world) for one year! My mouth dropped and I couldn't do anything but cry. Our trip was more than we could have ever asked for! Ethan was treated like the hero of a prince that he is, we were provided with unexpected gifts, we were blessed with visitors and time with friends, we watched Ethan grow up before our eyes and become such a little young man.

As we leave the trip of a lifetime, we hope that the memories will never leave our minds and that Ethan will never forget how special he is to SO many people! There are not enough thank you's that we can say to our Make A Wish team (Lib, Grant, Brandy -extra kudos to Brandy!!!- and Lauren)! This really was a priceless trip and they made it possible. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Now, back to life beyond the land of a million dreams...

Video & Picture links...

Online photo album found at: http://faulknerfam.shutterfly.com


Ethan's Make A Wish Trip to Florida