Saturday, January 31, 2004

 

Rain, Rain

Beautiful sunny Florida had a really yucky day today. It started out nice enough and turned into a miserable, wet, cold day.

This morning, we decided to do something different for breakfast. Since the Ice Cream Palace serves ice cream all the time, the kids wanted ice cream for breakfast. We went over there where they had banana splits, ice cream sandwiches and cones for breakfast. I snuck into Gingerbread House for some real food while they rode the carousel.

Since we wanted to make sure to catch a certain parade over at the Magic Kindgom later in the day, we went over to Epcot first thing.

After getting into the park, the kids wanted to make a beeline to Test Track. We rode that and then headed over to Mission:Space.

Mission: Space has to be the coolest ride Disney has right now. Words just don't describe it but after we got off, we made Dad go back and ride it again with everyone. Even Dad agreed that it was a nifty ride.

The weather was not looking great so we headed back over to the Magic Kingdom. This meant 2 monorail rides and some more walking to get over there.

Once we were back in the Magic Kingdom, the kids went right to Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear and everything in Tomorrow Land. Iain rode on the Indy Car race ride with Mom and tried to drive as he was exiting the car. The car Nicholas and Kaity were in broke down and we had a few minutes of waiting until an attendant came to fix it and let them continue on their way.

The entire family went on a little tram ride around Tomorrow Land and it was beginning to rain. We made our way across the park to go to Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain Railroad. After the 3 pm parade, the rain was really coming down so we all got rain ponchos to wear.

On our way to Fantasy Land, we decided to go through Haunted Mansion again. We asked Iain if he wanted to go on the ghost ride and he agreed. As we approached it and he saw the hearse, he put on the brakes and yelled "no, no, no!" so we had to take him back to Dad and Kierynn.

Since Iain had a fit while we were in Haunted Mansion, we went to "It's A Small World" next for him. Could that ride be any longer or more painful?? Iain did enoy it but I think Disney should sell t-shirts that say "I survived 'It's A Small World'!". Dad took Iain on the Peter Pan ride again as well.

We still had 90 minutes before the parade we wanted to see was going to begin but the rain was ust making things miserable. Everyone was wanting to crowd under what little shelter there was and the places to eat were packed. Even though we specifically came today to see the parade in the evening, we gave up and went on back to the villa. Everyone told us when the rain starts, people clear out of the park but we sure saw NO evidence of this.

Naturally, the rain made many things malfunction and we had to take the ferry back to the transfer station since the monorail was not working. The monorail was the only way to get back to Epcot but luckily it was working again by the time we got to the transfer station.

One thing that is not mentioned in anything I have seen about Disney's Magic Kingdom is the darn seagulls. They are everywhere and they are aggressive. On more than one occasion, we saw seagulls dive in and snatch food right out of people's hands as they were trying to eat. Then the birds would beat them with their wings getting away. I was talking to a park employee who said that they will swoop down and take things off trays as you come out of a food place. I saw one bird make off with part of a turkey leg and about 12 of his buddies took off in hot pursuit. Iain had a grand time chasing the birds but they are really annoying. If you go down there, eat inside!

Traffic back to the Village was very heavy but we made it in time to go to the Gingerbread House for dinner and the nightly visit to the Ice Cream Palace.

posted by Devin's Mom 9:11 AM

Friday, January 30, 2004

 

Busy Day

We had quite a full day today. As has been our practice, we got up and headed to breakfast over at the Gingerbread House. The kids stopped at the carousel to ride before we went in, Iain picking his favorite lion to ride. We also rode again on our way back to the villa after breakfast.

Our first destination today was Sea World. Devin being with Give Kids the World had gotten us free parking in all the other parks, at Sea World, we got disabled parking so we didn't have the 12 mile hike/tram ride from where we parked to get to the gates of the park.

The first place we went to was over to the Dolphin Cove, to feed the dolphins. It was almost feeding time and Mom stood in line to get some stinky little fish to feed to the dolphins. All the kids fed the dolphins and we got a really great picture of Devin feeding one while Nicholas is touching another one. Iain was very content to run around but didn't want to get too close to where the dolphins were.

We stopped by the Sting Ray pool to look at all of them and to see the sting ray pups in their special little pool. In looking at the time (and park map), we decided to go clear across to the other side of the park to catch the Shamu show.

Even though the show was still 45 minutes from starting, a crowd had already gathered. We had come prepared and had our rain ponchos so we could sit in the splash zone. Greg opted to sit up further with Kierynn so she didn't get soaked. We made our way down to our seats and managed to get about 20 feet away from where the whales beach themselves near the trainers. There was a little interactive quiz going on up on the large screen prior to the show. Iain loved to see the whales and it was a very cool show. We were somewhat disappointed that all the splashing was missing us. The end of the show rolled around and the kids complained that they were still dry. We started to take off our rain ponchos when we saw a whale coming around to splash everyone. I managed to get my poncho up to avoid being drenched. I put it down again just in time for a SECOND whale to totally soak Iain and me! I have a picture of Iain grinning, he loved it!

After the show, we went over by the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales Horses. The kids, minus a screaming Iain who was angry, got a picture taken standing by one of them named Kerry. There was a foal named Connie who was the same age as Kierynn but of course, much, much larger.

Since Sea World also had rides, the kids were chomping to get over to that area to ride them. The big roller coaster is called Kraken and Ryan just barely made the height requirement. They put a tag on his arm to show he had been checked but he was rechecked before getting on the ride again. Dad rode with Ryan. There was also a water ride, Journey to Atlantis. At one point, there is no water and it has a roller coaster kind of action. It was a pretty neat ride with a 60 ft drop. Greg managed to get film of us coming down the drop.

While waiting for us to come down, a woman came to stand near Greg and the two smaller kids. Even though all the parks are non-smoking, she chose to light up. Iain leaned out of his stoller and said in a very loud and insistant voice "No moke!" She looked at him, put it out and moved away. Go Iain!

We stopped by to see the penguins. Iain would say at regular intervals during the stay "Peeyew!" I guess he didn't like the smell of the penguin area. Kierynn seemed to enjoy watching them play and swim.

There is a shark exhibit where you go on a people mover through a long clear tunnel where sharks are swimming all around you. The kids thought it was nifty and Iain would say in a hushed voice "Shark!"

Since we had plans for later in the evening, we decided to cut short our visit (and it was starting to rain) and head back to the Village.

Once we were there, the kids wanted to fish for a little bit. We fished for about an hour and caught 9 fish between us. Devin, again, was impatient and went back to the villa in a huff after he didn't immediately catch a fish.

Everyone got baths/showers and we got ready to head out to dinner. Give Kids the World has additional tickets to a few attractions and we chose to go to dinner at Medieval Times

We got seated right down near the area where the show would be and we were rooting for the Red Knight. The show and dinner lasted almost 2 hours and was really cool. The kids liked to see the jousting and horses. At one point, our Knight threw a flower to Kaity. Snotty big brother Ryan intercepted it and refused to give it to her. Kaity got a curly hair ribbon on the way out and so was not too upset about not getting her flower from the Red Knight. The meal was pretty good too and you have to eat it with no forks, knives or spoons (although they will bring the kids a spoon for the soup) About half way through the show, Iain and Kierynn both fell asleep. We were surprised when the King stood up to recognize some people and
said "We welcome the Proctor family with Give Kids the World" Our Knight was "killed" in combat and didn't "win".

Medieval Times was less than 2 miles from the village so after we got back, we headed right off to bed.

posted by Devin's Mom 11:12 PM

Thursday, January 29, 2004

 

Universal

After heading over to the Gingerbread House for breakfast and a carousel ride, we headed over to Amberville Train Station at the villiage. Devin got to make a magic pillow on a big machine. We then went over to Julie's Safari Theater and had a group photo taken with Micky and Minnie. Also roaming the Village was Goofy, Belle and Pluto. They were riding the carousel when we went to load up for our day trip out. It was a toss up between going to Sea World and Universal and the weather forecast convinced us today would be better spent at Universal.

On the way there, Kierynn got sick. This is the child that never ever spits up or is sick. She threw up everything she had eaten in the last week and I had no change of clothes for her. As soon as we parked in the Jurassic Park-ing lot, we went in search of some clothes for the smelly little girl.

Before you get into either park, there are all kinds of shops. We found a store called Fresh Produce and $40 later, we had 2 outfits for Kierynn. Good thing they were marked 50% off! We got her all cleaned up and headed towards the first of the two Universal Parks we planned to visit.

We went to Universal Studios first. If you are a fan of movies, this is the park for you. We went to a few shows and looked around but after a short time, the kids were itching to go over to where there were roller coasters and rides.

It was just a short walk over to the next Universal Park, Islands of Adventures.

Iain really liked the Dr Suess carousel but the bigger kids were chomping to get over to the Jurassic Park area. After some walking (which would be what we did a whole LOT of all week), we were over at the Jurassic Park area.

The water ride was a big hit with the kids. You ride through a water river in a boat, seeing dinosaurs and then go inside. Just as a giant T-Rex bends down to eat you, you plunge down an 85ft drop! We didn't get wet at all though, which the kids thought was a bummer.

They were disappointed to discover there were no real Jurassic Park toys available to buy, they had looked forward to replacing some dinosaurs they had gotten years ago.

We also went over to another ride, Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barge. It should have given us a clue when people getting on the ride were taking off shoes and socks and people getting off the ride were dripping wet. We went merrily on the ride and proceeded to get DRENCHED! Devin was most unhappy at being totally wet and wailed and howled the entire ride. We got him into his jacket and put a blanket over him. He continued to complain until he dried out.

Ryan, our resident daredevil, wanted to ride on Doctor Doom's Freefall. This ride zips you up into the air 150 feet and then drops you. Devin wanted to ride too but was not tall enough. I walked Ryan up and since he said he was ok to go by himself, Mom sat this one out (Although had he asked me, I would have rode it with him!) He came off with a huge grin and we went over to the Hulk Rollercoaster. Again, Nicholas said nope so Dad and Ryan rode the coaster that twisted and took them upside down. Iain was happy that he got to go on an X-Men ride that was very similiar to the Mad Hatter ride at Disney.

To end our day at Islands of Adventures, we made our way back to the Flying Unicorn roller coaster. Ryan wanted to ride Dueling Dragons roller coaster but he was about 1/2 inch too short.

Iain was tall enough for the Flying Unicorn and we rode it three times in a row. Iain sat next to Mom and on the drops and twists, you could hear a little voice saying "Whee!" He really likes the roller coasters.

It was a tired but happy crew who made their way back out the gates and back to the GKTW villiage. We had dinner at the Gingerbread House once we got back. After dinner, there was a horse and carriage giving rides since tonight was Christmas in the Village. The kids rode around with the horse, sleigh bells ringing. We went over to the Castle to visit with Santa and Mrs Claus. Iain even went to give Santa a high five...what a far cry from the screams of Christmas. Each of the kids got to pick a gift out too. Nicholas, Ryan and Devin chose a Beanie Baby, Kaity got a stuffed Christmas rocking horse, Iain got a wooden truck and Kierynn has a Teeny Beany worm. We visited the Ice Cream Palace before going back to our villa and called it a night.

posted by Devin's Mom 9:22 PM

Wednesday, January 28, 2004

 

Disney's Magic Kingdom

We got up early and headed over to a villa near us where there was horses to ride. Kaity had been looking forward to this and was thrilled to see a horse and a pony there. All the kids, including Iain, went twice around a little track. Kierynn sat on the pony for a photo op but she wasn't too happy about it.

After we finished riding, we went to the Gingerbread House to get some breakfast. There was a clown in there making balloon animals for the kids and they each got a plastic spoon with some chocolate kisses on it during breakfast. After we ate, the kids rode the carousel and then we headed off to our first destination.

We decided to go to Disney World's Magic Kingdom first. It was a very short drive from the village, maybe 20 minutes. We parked in the Minnie parking lot, got on a tram and went to a monorail that took us to the front gates.

After passing through a checkpoint to have our bags looked through, we were in and got a stroller for Iain. We should have gotten a double stroller but we learned our lesson and got a double one each time after.

Right off the bat, there were some characters inside the park so we got the autograph books out to get them signed. Devin's GKTW button allowed him (and his siblings) to go right up without standing in line. Although we had the button, we tried not to use it if there was a short line.

The kids were very excited to see everything and we just wandered around a bit before deciding where to go and what to do.

Greg sat out with Kierynn and Iain, who were too small to ride most things, while Denise took the kids on the rides. We rode everything there was just about.

We did go through Haunted Mansion with Iain and Kierynn and Iain was certainly less than pleased. He never screamed or got upset but he did cling tightly to Mom and not want to sit down in his seat. Kierynn just looked around and didn't seem to really be bothered by much.

The Dumbo ride was a big hit with Iain and he liked to make Dumbo go up and down. Peter Pan was another ride that Iain really liked. The older kids tolerated us going on the "baby" rides every now and again since they rode them too. Iain turned out to be a little daredevil and loved the Goofy Barnstormer roller coaster.

The big hits of the day were Splash Mountain, where we didn't hardly get damp, Thunder Mountain Railroad and Space Mountain.

We topped the day off by watching the fireworks over the castle. Devin did great the entire day, running around and playing. After about 7 hours, he started to tire and we got a double stroller so he could ride.

He got a companion Minnie Mouse to keep his Mickey Mouse we got at check in company.

Since we stayed to watch the fireworks, Gingerbread House had already stopped serving dinner. We got some dinner at Burger King and then went to the Ice Cream Palace for dessert. Ryan got a HUGE banana split. After about 3 bites, he knocked it to the floor. The Ice Cream Palace was closed by that point and Ryan was most upset but the fact he could get another in the morning somewhat calmed him down.

After baths, teeth brushing and deciding who was going to sleep where, everyone headed off to bed.

posted by Devin's Mom 10:03 PM

Tuesday, January 27, 2004

 

Off to Florida!

We were up and moving by 5:30 am so we could make it down to Nashville for our 9:00 am flight. Everyone was very excited and got up and ready quickly. Of course, it helped that we were packed and everything was in the van prior to going to bed to minimize what we had to do in the morning.

The drive to Nashville was uneventful and once there, we went to Park, Express, Fly. It was blowing snow and incredibly cold. We dropped off the van and climbed into a limo to ride to the airport in style.

There was little to no line at check in so we were able to get up to the Southwest counter with no problem other than wrangling 6 kids, 2 adults, 5 bags, 7 carry ons and 2 strollers. Once we were there, we found out that we should have had Kierynn's birth certificate or shot record but after a few moments of distress, we got our boarding passes.

This was the first time we had flown as a family since our return from overseas in 1996. Nicholas, Ryan, Devin and Mom all set off the metal detector. After removing shoes, belts, jackets, keys and fingernail clippers....as well as Kierynn's diaper being checked with the metal wand, we got back on schedule.

Since we had left home so early, we really did not get breakfast so once we were at the gate prior to our flight, we broke out the yogurt and juice we had brought along. All the kids looked out on the runway to watch incoming flights and wait for our plane to arrive from Kansas City. Iain just loved watching the planes coming in.

We made it to Orlando with no problems where we were met by two Give Kids the World Volunteers named Trudy and John. They escorted us to luggage claim and then to our car rental. We got a Chevy Venture and were on our way.

Right off the bat, we all saw an alligator sunning itself by some standing water. It was a very short drive to where we were staying.

Give Kids the World Village is located in Kissimmee, Florida. We first went to the House of Hearts to check in. Devin got a stuffed Mickey Mouse, his button to show he is with GKTW and a shirt. All the other kids got stuffed Shamu killer whales and a shirt...to include Kierynn. While they ran around and looked at the scale model of the village, we got checked in and then taken to our villa.

We got villa 156, which was right across from the water park, swimming pool and just a few feet away from the Gingerbread House and the carousel. We had just enough time to run over to the Ice Cream Palace to get a light lunch of sandwiches, hot dogs and chips.

We spent some time looking around Amberville Train Station and then headed to the dock to try our hands at fishing. There is a stocked lake there. In a short amount of time, Ryan had caught 6 fish, Nicholas 3 fish and Kaity caught 2 fish. Devin was not very patient and gave up after he didn't catch a fish right off.

After dinner, Mom went up for an orientation where we got the tickets to the various parks and given information on what we could expect during the week.

Even though it was pretty chilly out, the pool was heated and the kids pestered enough to the point that we took them swimming. In about 20 minutes, everyone was cold enough to dash back to the villa and get into a hot bath to warm up. We had a huge jacuzzi tub in the back bathroom to soak in.

After watching a little bit of TV and planning where we were going to go first, everyone got to bed for the evening.

posted by Devin's Mom 4:50 PM

Tuesday, January 20, 2004

 

Long Day

We are on every other week clinic visits but came in this week since Devin was due for his monthly IV medication. Since he was going to have an IV put in to get the pentamimine, it was decided to go ahead and give him some IVIG as well. This meant that rather than sit for an hour while the first medication ran, we had to wait 2 and a half hours for the IVIG to run then an hour for the other to run. We ended up being in the clinic until close to 2 pm...which makes for a very long day.

His appointment went well though. Dr Frangoul is pleased with how well he looks and is doing. The lingering concern is Devin's weight, which was down a pound over last week. He is eating well but just not really putting on weight and it doesn't seem to matter how much we run his NG feeds.

Next week we will be going down to Orlando, Florida. This is Devin's Make A Wish trip and the entire family is going. All the kids are already pinging off the walls in anticipation.

We will update everyone, including pictures, when we get back.

posted by Devin's Mom 7:37 PM

Tuesday, January 13, 2004

 

Weight Gain!

Yes, yes!! Devin actually gained some weight! He is up 4 lbs from his last visit. He is also eating pretty much on par with the rest of the kids. It is so nice to see him eating like everyone else. He is also eating his veggies again. He got a break from eating them for a bit since he would deliberately throw up if I had him eat them. Now, he is eating them (complete with faces) but doing it.

All of his counts are great and he is great. He has started to walk on our treadmill since it is a bit chilly to bundle everyone up and go walk around the block. Since we know the milage around the block, he just gets up there and goes until he hits that mark. He is not going at a fast pace but he is going and not stopping.

We have been at every two week appointments but we need to go back next week. It is time for his once a month IV meds so we will go do that and then go back onto our two week schedule.

I put up a few new pictures of Devin. One is him working on a Boy Scout project and the other shows him taking charge of his own medications. He will push the meds through his line if I draw them up first.

posted by Devin's Mom 9:35 PM

Thursday, January 01, 2004

 

posted by Devin's Mom 12:01 AM