Wednesday, June 22, 2011

A long overdue update...part two!

Next on our list of things to update is our trip to Disney World!! It was so much fun. We ran ourselves ragged and came home exhausted! It was so neat to be able to go and spend time as a family. It was fun to ride rides, meet some special characters, and just hang out.

The weather was PERFECT! It was in the low 80's all week with sunshine and even a little breeze. We couldnt have asked for better weather. It did get hot the last 2 days, but it wasnt unbearable. Which was good, because you tend to melt in the heat...

We were there on your 1 year diagnosis anniversary, and I couldnt think of a better place to celebrate beating cancer. There was a fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom. It was all about dreams and wishes coming true....it was so fitting for the moment, and I got emotional watching you jump around and dance to the music and fireworks. Im just so grateful you are doing so well, and looking so healthy. Not just looking healthy, but actually BEING healthy. All your counts keep coming back perfect! Honestly...could we ask for anything more??

Here are some pics of the events... (prepare for picture overload!)

Day one: Plane ride and hotel...
We werent due to check into our condo till
Sunday, but wanted to come a day early so we could
go to the beach. You guys loved the hotel breakfast...you'd
have thought "the lobby" was a 5 star restaurant! Pretty
funny girls.
Day 2: The BEACH, and the Congo (you and your sissies called it that instead of con-do)!

You had no fear when it came to playin in the water...
It was fun to see your amazement at the ocean...very
different from the "beach" at Pineview Resevoir!
I found a clam or mussel or something! It was totally
cool... I thought. It wasnt just the shell either...it was
all still in there and alive...it kept making creepy
breathing noises. Weird but cool.
We also found a starfish...which I kept. I felt
pretty guilty as it died a slow and painful death
on the dashboard of the rental on our way to the condo.
You were adamant we keep it so you could show Ry
once we got home. It was exciting for a bunch of
easily amused in-landers.
It was a beautiful day...looking at this picture I
cant help but wish I was there now. heavy sigh...
Our "congo" for the week. It was on a resort that had
several different pools with water slides and a lazy river.
There was even a golf course, some of which ran right
through our backyard. It was beautiful. We could
have spent a week there exploring and never got bored!
You and your sisters room. They chose to share a bed
and let you have your own...apparently you are a
pretty wild sleeper. You looked so tiny all snuggled
into those great big beds...it was cute.
Me and Daddy's room. Each room had their own
bathroom, so it was nice. You guys thought you
 were pretty hot stuff!
A view of the dining and family room area.
The kitchen was to the right, and there was even a
washer and dryer...which was fabulous!!
 Day 3: Universal Studios...Islands of Adventure
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was amazing!
I have never read the books, and we have only seen
the first movie, but we still thought it was great.
That snow looks so real...hard to believe it was 85
degrees that day.
We met the Cat in the Hat, and to my surprise you
ran up and gave him a big hug. This has
always been one of our favorite bedtime stories.
Also met the Grinch...you kept asking me if he's nice in
the real life, or is he mean like in the movie. I love
this picture because you can totally see the aprehension
in your body language. You warmed up pretty quick though.
The dreaded Merry Go Round. I say dreaded because we
probably rode this ride 10 times! Literally. There were
a lot of big kid rides at this park so we did a lot
of waiting for others on the Merry Go Round.
The day was a lot of fun...as you can see from this
picture. We had to strap you in cause you were in such a
deep sleep you kept sliding out the bottom!
We ended the day by eating in a really yummy restaurant
in the park. Dad got in some good snuggles while we waited
to eat in the "Mermaid Cave"
Day 4: Epcot, and the Princess Breakfast!
We started the day in Denmark with some yummy
breakfast in this pretty building.
Even though Belle isnt looking at the camera, I had to
post this picture because I love how you are
looking at me. Like, "I cant believe Im holding Belles
hand!" You would NOT let go either. It was so cute and funny!
Heres a better one with Belle...youre doing the shy finger grab.
It was so fun to watch you try to take this all in.
I LOVED watching you see the princesses...
Sleeping Beauty!

Cinderella!
Waiting patiently with your autograph book for
more princesses to come to our table.
Snow White was my favorite of the breakfast. She
was so cute and sweet with you and Kate.
Ariel with legs!! You LOVED Ariel.
They had the most amazing shrubs! You were
excited to get your picture in front of the
huge-mongous golf ball.
Dancing while we waited for the fireworks show!
Look at those moves!! Go WeeMee!!
The best seat in the house!! You were glued to the show!
Day 5: Magic Kingdom!
We were only there 10 mins. and we ran into
this guy! You were wondering where Strombli was!
You think hes hilarious when he laughs and his belly
shakes and shakes. It makes you laugh out loud
every time you watch that show.
Then we ran into these two...
You took this pic on the Winnie the Pooh ride...
You were DYING to see these two. I guess Woody
was a little jealous cause you ran up and gave Jessie a
hug, so he wanted one from me! I obliged.
You didnt wanna leave Jessie...she was pretty cute with you.
She danced with you and hugged you and you ate it up!
Gotta love that castle! Gotta love that
family even more!!
Day 6: The Animal Kindom

I have to say I really didnt think this would be my favorite day on the trip. Ive always been a big fan of the Magic Kingdom, but this day was so fun, and relaxing. We took our time, and had a blast.

It was also a day of celebration...this day marked the one year anniversary of your diagnosis! We were so glad to be there with you at Disney World... instead of in the hospital hearing the dreadful news. While you went about enjoying the day, me and dad kept commenting on how far you have come and how much our life has changed for the better this past year. We couldnt help but feel so blessed to have you there with us...just enjoying the day!

The Tree of Life...amazing. It took a whole
year to carve all the animals in this tree. I wish I
could've gotten closer.
You LOVED the Safari Ride. You love animals
in general, but this was like an animal treasure hunt.
I love this picture! That dark shadow in the back
is actually a hipo! You and your sisters and
cousins are totally mesmerized.
They have a dinosaur playground that had a place
where you can dig for fossils. The dirt isnt dirt...its like
super small pebbles so you dont get dirty playing
in it. Genius. We had fun burying you...
...and your sisters!

We saw a ton of characters but I'll only post this
pic. King Louie (you call him King Gluey) is one
of dads favorite characters.
All in all...it was a great day!
Day 7: Back to the Magic Kingdom

We didnt take a lot of pics this day...I dont know why. We were all exhausted I guess.
We happened to walk through here just in
time to catch the parade!
Dancin to the music!
Right after the parade was over...thats sweat not water.
It was super hot that day!
Day 8: Hollywood Studios

This was a fun park, but not a lot for the little ones. You had a harder time this day cause you spent a lot of time waiting for everyone else to go on rides.

I forgot to mention...you measured in at 39 1/2 inches tall on this trip! Most of the rides required at least 40 inches, and they were making NO exceptions at any of the parks.(which I totally understand)  It was hard on our only little dare devil to be left off so many rides. We even went to Target to find taller shoes... but no luck!

Annie and Leo were so cute with you. They gave you
a bunch of special attention!
You got TOTALLY into the shows. This pic
 is of the Mickey Mouse clubhouse show. You
were on the edge of your seat at this one,
and the Beauty and the Beast show.
You LOVED the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground.
You went down this slide about 50 times and wanted me to
take a picture of you going down EVERY SINGLE TIME!
It was pretty hot that day, and I caught you sticking
your head in a little fountain in the playground. Silly girl!
The spider web toy...you thought this was creepy
and didnt go in for a while.
Day 9:  WERE HOME!

You woke up the morning after we got home and were so anxious to go play with Ry and Ty. You spent the whole day playing with them, and I think it was good for you to enjoy some unstructured play...so much of the previous week was all planned out.

At one point you all came out dressed like this and I said,
"Wow, you guys look fancy. Who are you supposed to be?"
You said," Ty's a princess, Im the queen, and Ry's the
one who saves the day." I had to laugh...it was a perfect
homecoming to a fun trip.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

A long over due update..part one!

Wow Wee-Mee! I cant believe its been almost 2 months since I last posted!! SO much has been going on in our family, but I am happy to report that it is all good! You have been feeling awesome, looking healthy, and been super happy and active. Who can complain about that??

We'll start with your May hair update...even though it IS the end of June!

I really dont think these pictures do it justice, but
you are pretty stinkin cute!
LOVING your curls, and its so much lighter
than it used to be!
So, since the last post, your playhouse was completed and moved to its permanent spot in the yard, we have been to DISNEY WORLD and back, totally remodeled our backyard, and we have had a Make A Wish Celebration party in our backyard!! No wonder I havent updated in awhile. Its been so much fun!

First, the playhouse! It has turned out SOOO cute. Here are some pics of the process from start to finish...
Daddy and Grampy finishing the cement...
You and Ry putting handprints, names,
and dates in the cement...
Daddy using his tractor to move the playhouse
to its official home...
To say this was nerve wracking for me would be
a gross understatement, but dad and grampy
didnt seem the least bit worried they could do it...
...and they were right, and you were SO HAPPY!
While were on the subject of playhouses, we'll show the pics of your Make A Wish Celebration party now. Even though its out of order from our list of things to update...

The party was just this last Saturday, June 18th. It was SO MUCH FUN! We had such a wonderful turn out. We have been so overwhelmed with all the love and support we've gotten this year, it was so nice to be able to share such a happy and uplifting event with all those supporters. You had tons of friends, cousins, aunts, uncles, grammys, grampys, and people from our ward come. It was a bit overwhelming to you at first...you are not one to love the spotlight, or to love talking to people you dont know. But you came around shortly after your "special guests" arrived. RAPUNZEL AND FLYNN RIDER!! 

They were so much fun! They played games with all of the kids, and gave you some special one on one attention. Flynn was hilarious and had an entourage of little boys and girls wherever he went. That was ok with you cause you were totally in awe of Rapunzel and didnt leave her side the entire time.

It was such a wonderful event to be a part of. Make A Wish is such an amazing organization. The whole "wish process" has brought us so much to look forward to the last 6 months, and I couldnt help but feel overwhelmingly blessed as I looked out on the crowd of supporters we had at your party.
First and foremost, your AMAZING wish granters,
Tom Hagerman (he's been volunteering at
Make A Wish for over 10 years!), and lovely
Lezlie Barber (she brought you a Rapunzel doll, dress
and wig, which you wore the entire party!)
Macunzel (thats what Flynn Rider called you) in front of
her treat table! Favorite neighbor Angie made chocolate
covered strawberries, Tom brought a princess cake, and
Lezlie brought "One Tough Chick" sugar cookies!
One of your cute tables...
Me and you with some amazing people...YOUR
WISH SPONSORS! They are Bob Whitney, and Sharla
Ellis. They are a loan officer and real estate agent who are
working together to donate $180,000 of their OWN earnings
this year to Make A Wish! There are some amazing people
in this world...
A small portion of the amazing support we received
at your party, and over this last year. We have been
so blessed!
Rapunzel and Flynn Rider arrived and thats really
when the fun began for you and the other kids!

There was Freeze Dance with Rapunzel...
Red Light-Green Light with Flynn Rider...
Ring Around the Rosie with Rapunzel...

Rapunzel, WeeMee, and BFF Ry. Could you get any closer
to Rapunzel???

Raaaapuuuunnnnzzzzellll, let down your haaaaiiirrr...
and she did.
Flynn and his "smolder", Rapunzel hugging you
super super tight!
Every little kids dream house....did I mention they
brought furniture??? They did. Pics of that will
have to come at a later date...

I look back on what we were doing at this time one year ago, and I cant believe how far you've come! Last June you were at the height of your steroid side effects. Your cute little body was bloated and achey. You felt emotional, tired, and sick all the time. You were so sick, and that first phase of treatment was so rough on us all. At the time, dad and I were on auto pilot I think. Your daily care was exhausting, but we were just so grateful there was a treatment and good prognosis we didnt care. We were, and still are, so grateful you are here with us. You have truly earned the nickname "One Tough Chick." And we are so proud of you!!

Here are some pictures from last June so you can really see the difference...
I remember this day like it was yesterday...
it makes me cry to look at you hurting so much.
You were pretty sick. Look at that steroid belly
poking out of the bottom of your shirt!
This was the first time you tried to jump on the tramp
after you were diagnosed. It was bittersweet...so
happy to see you actually WANTING to do something,
but sad because your legs were so weak you couldnt
jump...thats why you are clinging to the net.
This was just a few weeks ago...look how HEALTHY
you look! Amazing what can happen in a year!

I wish I could articulate better how I feel about all that you have dealt with and handled with such grace, and with such a positive attitude. You have come out of this last year a more confident, happy, outgoing, positive girl You are such a blessing to our family.