Like all good things, Kimber's Wish trip had to come to an end!
I cannot believe how fast it went! We reserved Friday for the Village.
We spent some time in each of our favorite places.
Here is the entrance to the magical village we were fortunate to call our 'Home' for a few days. I mean that in every sense. If home is where the heart is, this place was truly a HOME! I have never felt so much love from others for my family than from the moment we entered the gates of the village.
We started off the cool morning with a few minutes in Matthew's Boundless Playground!
Here is a little history of the playground.
Seriously, who wouldn't LOVE a life sized Candy Land!
Cody the climber! Such a little stud!
Quick last picture by Keaton's Korral!
No horses today, but fun to stop and say good-bye!
Next stop, The Castle of Miracles.
The Salon was open for business and the girls ran in to get their nails done and an airbrush tattoo.
The girls loved being pampered at the La-Ti-Da Spa!
Cody and Dad watched Frozen, Cody was still on Cloud nine after his Kiss from Elsa two days ago! He couldn't get her off his mind.
Next, we walked around star gazing. 100's of thousands of stars representing the wish kids are up inside the castle. Bawled every time I thought that our little Kimber has one up there too!
Pointing up to where her star is. It is in the Bumblebee Constellation in the tower.
Stars everywhere inside the castle!
Here is the star tower from the outside. Inside is where Kimber's star is placed. When we checked out they also gave Kimber a star to bring home with her. Tears again!
The Pillow tree!
Also beneath the kids' wish stars in the Castle of Miracles is the Wishing Well.
There is a bucket full of coins for the kids to grab and drop down into the well. You can listen and hear it 'plop' into the water and then make your wish.
Ol' Elmer the sleeping willow was not far from our villa, just outside the Castle of Miracles. You could hear him snoring as you walked by. Pretty cute addition to the magic.
Here is a side shot of our Villa. You can see our Minivan, and the backside of the Gingerbread house in the background. We made a lifetime of memories in our little home.
Just across the street is the swimming pool. One of Kimber's favorite places of the week! I Loved this quote that welcomed you in the entrance to the swimming pool.
It was another cool day so the girls had the pool to themselves. They couldn't have been happier.
One last shot of the ship.
A fun spot for a photo just outside of the pool.
The girls would have stayed through the night if we would have let them.
It was very convenient to have our villa across from the pool.
Ben or I would run home and fill the jetted tub in the kids room with hot water.
That way they could just run from the pool....freeze a little.....and jump in the hot tub.
Worked like a charm!
Once we thawed them out and dried them off we ran to dinner at the Gingerbread house.
The tabletops were made of hundreds of thousands of peppermint candies covered by a glass top.
We hadn't taken the chance to play the Dino Putt golf yet and we were so glad we did it! It was such a fun, interactive course!
We had water squirting us out of the dinosaurs mouths. Something new welcomed us at each of the 7 holes. When you bent down to pick up your ball from the pocket, something was bound to surprise you. From dinosaurs jumping up behind fences, to getting a blast of air or squirt of water. Kept us on our toes for sure! We were glad to have the kids go first so we knew what to expect :)
This big orange dinosaur jumped up and roared as your ball fell into the hole. Scared Cody....and all of us half to death the first time! Notice the squirt of water on Ben's pants. Yep, they got him!
We took some time to say good bye to Amberville.
Such another fun spot in the village!
Such another fun spot in the village!
So many fun little rides to jump on.
We couldn't leave with one last train ride!
Spent some time in the arcade!
The remote control boats were still a favorite!
On our way back through the village we ran into some Pirates!
You never know who you will see at GKTW!
Here are just a few fun pictures they gave us on the disc from the village.
The Ice Cream shop was so fun! Ice cream anytime as often as we wanted!
Julie's theater is where we met Mickey Mouse on our first morning at the Village!
The picture below is the pier where we could go fishing on the pond. It was built by some Eagle Scouts.
We took the family into the Gallery of Hope on our way back through the village.
Talk about a tear-jerker. What a humbling place. There was quiet music playing and there was a reverence felt as we entered. The Gallery told the story of the village and its founder Henri Landwirth, a concentration camp survivor who lost his parents as a young boy.
John Glenn and Henri Landwirth were close friends.
Here is a letter from John Glenn.
Here is a letter from John Glenn.
They had little models of what they dreamed for the village.
Here is miss Holdyn, checking out the map of the village.
From the moment we entered the doors to Give Kids the World Village, to the moment we left, we were a part of something special. I don't know how to describe it. It was more of a feeling that we were able to share as a family. With other families.
We did get the chance to meet a few other families fighting Cystic Fibrosis. There was an instant connection or bond that nobody else can understand. The fears, the restless nights, the coughing fits. It was very strengthening for us as parents, and for Kimber to see other kids who are going through the same treatments. Many of the kids were much sicker than little Kimber. Most had feeding tubes and others had constant oxygen, while one little boy was in a wheelchair because it was to hard to breathe when he walked. I think it scared her a little to see what CF does. I'm not going to lie it scared me a little too.
We treasure this time we were able to spend as a family in this magical world. It was something that no amount of money could buy.
I am grateful beyond words that my family had the opportunity to be a part of this truly magical experience. All because of Kimber's Wish. Having your own dreams and wishes become reality is pretty awesome. Having your child's wish fulfilled in such a big way, makes you burst at the seams with gratitude!
Thank You Make A Wish-New Mexico, and Give Kids the world for truly
giving our entire family the world!
One last shot on the plane home. Kimber was out like a light!
We had truly run, laughed, played, and swam until we dropped!
Holdyn got herself set up with her penguin watching a movie and figured out how to really enjoy life on the plane :)
