"Mommy, these are my tired eyes" said Autumn this morning, peeling herself off of the warm cozy bed. "Oh sweetie, they are tired indeed, and so are mine!". I cannot believe how we have just been going and going this past week! Last night at the pool where a few famililes had gathered, there seemed to be a concensus that the amusement park EVERY day you are here may just be a little too much. I hadn't realized just how much there was to DO here in Orlando, especially for kids. Each park can easily be seen over a 2-3 day span and we are trying to see 7 of them in 5 days...yikes! Today is our last at Sea World, so although I am happy to visit, I am thankful for an easy morning tomorrow before we head off on the plane.

We headed off to Universal Studios this morning...another really long day, but very fun and very VERY FULL!

The girls loved Harry Potter even though they (nor I) know nothing of the movie or books! We decided our favorite ride, hands down was the Hulk, a super fast roller coaster that made spins, turns and twists better than any other! Autumn was too little for it as was one other little boy in our group, but she had NO interest in going anyway!

We managed to return in time to swim, amazing anyone had any energy for it! We met two Irish couples with whom we spent the whole day. There were thirteen of us in total, the kids had a blast!

Another crazy day! We had a great breakfast again at the Gingerbread House followed by a stop at the ice cream shoppe, then hoppped on the bus to Disney's Hollywood Adventure! It was a lot like Universal Studios with Toy Story being the highlight of the day. There were not a lot of rides, but we were able to see an "Ariel" and "Beauty and the Beast" show. Since it rained the majority of the day, the turn out was a lot less than usual, so very small crowds, that was a nice surprise! The girls took a class in how to animate, they all drew Jiminy Cricket, Autumn's was adorable! She was so proud of herself that she went up to the teacher to show her just how well she had done. :) The teacher then encouraged her by giving her some special illustrator pencils and one of her own drawings, Autumn was so thrilled!

The Disney theme parks are particularly wonderful in assisting youngsters who are part of the Make a Wish Foundation. We were able to "cut the line" as Autumn referred to it in almost every ride, photo opportunity and show, it was fabulous!

When we came back, Sage had a terrible headache, perhaps from lack of water. She fell asleep early, good for her! Autumn, Lindsey and I swam for a bit then headed home to eat and sleep ourselves!

Tomorrow we are off to see the animals!

We have a FULL schedule, one they plan in advance. We can change anything we wish, but it all looks great!

Thursday - Disney World - Main Theme Park
Friday - Disney World - Hollywood Studios
Saturday - Disney World - Animal Kingdom/Epcot
Sunday - Universal Studios
Monday - Universal Studios
Tuesday - Sea World

Plus there is a ton to do here in the village...life will be anything but dull for the next week!!

This morning we slept until 9am! Of course that sounds late, but we went to bed at midnight and it's all relative since back in California midnight is only 9pm...

This morning, we made it to breakfast, but barely! All the volunteers serve each family breakfast and dinner everyday so no one really has to cook even though each house has a full kitchen. This place is full of families who have had to deal with some sort of life-threatening illness to one of their children and because of that one can feel a sense of welcome from one another. As you move around the grounds, it's almost as if you can feel each family trying to sort out eachother's stories or situations. Some are a lot more obvious than others. There are a few families like ours who have children who have suffered the woes of cancer. There are others with children in wheelchairs and then others who may have undetectable illnesses. I wonder if that makes it any harder to endure your own situation, if others cannot really "see" what it is that you are going through. It is a type of ubiquitious feeling of communal curiosity that pervades the village.

We caught the 10am shuttle to Disney World and had a blast! We JUST returned about an hour ago, the kids are all asleep...SOUND asleep...as anyone would imagine after a crazy day with princesses, rides and fun!!

We had a fun pass that allowed us to move to the front of the line for everything! Oh how the girls marvelled in their ability to just walk right up to the front of the line, special treatment indeed! Autumn preferred the smaller rides of Fantasyland while the big girls loved TOmorrowland, so we made an effort to see it all, and that we did!