Give Kids The World

"Imagine a world governed by a rabbit, where ice cream is endless
and having fun is a full-time endeavor..."

A bit of an intro for those of you who are hearing about GKTW for the first time...Give Kids The World (GKTW) is a 70 acre non profit resort that provides magical vacations to children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. This amazing place all began with the vision and inspiration of one man, Henri Landwirth. (To read Henri's amazing life story, from holocaust survivor to GKTW, check out his book Gift of Life)

As we get close to the village, Noah FINALLY has a quick catnap. Although I'm not sure how, with Kailyn & Joshua bouncing off the walls. Then we finally see the sign and the gate!!

From the moment we arrive, we are made to feel as if this resort is ours. "Welcome home!!" the gatekeeper angel says as we drive in...

First stop...the House of Hearts to check in...



And the endless gifts begin...the kids each recieve t-shirts, and stuffed toys (a Mickey Mouse for Noah and Seaworld dolphins for Kailyn & Joshua). Our villa was not ready yet, so we decide to go have some lunch at Katies Kitchen (a takeout window with food provided by Boston Market). After stuffing ourselves full of chicken, mashed potatoes, fruit, cornbread, salad and amazing cupcakes, our 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom villa was ready...


The fridge is stocked with drinks and doughnuts, and more gifts are waiting on the table...

Then it was off to explore the resort...

Ummm...kids???

We have this amazing place to check out, and they want to chase lizards!! Talk of ice cream finally lures them away! I had plans to meet up with a friend I had met on the wish boards (an internet chat board for wish families), and so I sent Brad to the orientation session to get our tickets, and the kids and I headed off. After a quick peak in the castle, we found Mary (maroo) and went to have our first ice cream...
The ice cream palace opens at 7:30AM!!! It is available all day long, as much as you can possibly eat! Although we did talk about having ice cream for breakfast, there were just far too many other yummy breakfast options, that we never did make it there quite that early!!My amazing banana split... Oh how I miss these!!!
I think this was the only ice cream Joshua had the entire trip. The rest of the time he would ask for a bowl and fill it with m&m's from the toppings. Kailyn had an orange sherbet that first day, and then she was hooked...only orange sherbet for her!! My only disappointment was that Noah could not enjoy any of the endless supply of ice cream. Thankfully, he has no idea what he missed out on!

After ice cream, we headed to Amberville, the train station.

Riding the boats (Noah loved these!!!)...of course it was ride all you want, no quarters required... Inside the station is the most incredible model train set. The pictures just don't do it justice. It is huge, and there are interactive buttons all around the edges to press that make the trains move, start the carnival etc. Pressing the buttons was one of Noah's favorite activities here...Kailyn driving the miniature boats...

And of course, then we had to ride the train a couple of times...By this time, the kids were in heaven, and I think they would have been perfectly happy to forget all about Disney and never leave the resort. And this was only the beginning...

Was this the end of our day???
Oh no...there is so much more!! Stay tuned for more of Day 1!!

And...We're Off!!

3:30am came all too quickly, and suddenly it was a mad scramble to get up. Oh, how nice it was to just walk out of the hotel room and into the airport!! Going through security went smoothly, although time consuming, and by the time we got to the gate, it was time to start boarding. The flight attendants on our first flight were wonderful and very helpful and even presented the kids with wings from the pilot. Kailyn showing off her wings...

It was nice having TVs and movies to watch (we've always flown Northwest, with no entertainment) and Noah was very happy to watch his Treehouse the whole way (without the sound as he didn't like the headphones).
We landed in Toronto and the flight attendant called for a golf cart to take us to customs.

Once through customs, we grabbed some muffins for a quick breakfast and then it was time to board again. This flight was jam packed, so no special treatment. I thought the kids would all fall asleep, but nope...everyone was wide awake!! Soon we landed in Orlando, and were immediately greeted by our first GKTW angel, holding up a sign with Noah's name. (Apparently whoever took this picture for us didn't think Noah was that important!) She helped us get our luggage, find our rental vehicle and then left us with directions to GKTW.

The Night Before...

It is Monday...the plan is to leave for the Sheraton hotel at the airport once the kids are home from school. The kids still have no idea about the hotel night! The day is spent with me crazily trying to tie up loose ends, and run around like a mad woman to finish our last minute packing. I must have opened each suitcase ten times each to check and recheck everything. But by the time the kids walk in the door, everything is packed in the van and ready to go.

The big suprise...I tell Kailyn & Joshua to go get changed as we are leaving RIGHT NOW!! First, the stunned silent look...
Then, it starts to sink in...We are leaving NOW???

Kailyn got so excited, she began sobbing!!

Noah...all ready, but not a clue what is all about to happen...

We load up into the van and head to meet Brad at his office. Then it is off to the Sheraton. We watched the planes for a while, ordered pizza , and then off to bed. 3:30am will come far too early!!