The Flight to Orlando

After the big announcement on the day of the trip, we headed to the airport. Eli tells me he is afraid to fly and doesn’t want to go. I assure him it is very safe to fly and he flew once when he was around two years old. He knew we were planning on flying to Arizona in a few weeks but this was the first I’ve heard of his fears. He goes on and on about crashing, I’m sure loud enough for other passengers to hear.

Hey, I won’t lie, I get a little nervous flying too. My rational brain tells me statistically it is much safer to fly but there is something about being thousand of feet in the air with no control that makes me say my prayers before take off! It seems like the more I fly, the less nervous I get so that is a good sign.

As we were boarding, I mentioned that the little guy was a little scared to fly. What happened next was really cool and one of the many reasons I love to fly Southwest Airlines. The flight attendant asked if they wanted to see the Pilots and allowed them to visit with them for a minute where they were given wings. This seemed to ease Eli’s nervousness about getting in the air a little!

Sofia on the other hand only cared about the snacks. Asking me numerous times when the snacks would be there. I think she was disappointed we didn’t get cookies.

The kids did fabulous on the plane! Even sitting next to each other and NOT fighting. Unfortunately, things wouldn’t stay this good the entire trip. The good news is on the flight home, Eli announced he had “overcome his fear of flying.”

Stay tuned for more post as it was an adventure filled week – one that took me someplace I never thought I’d go nor can you pay to go, magical meltdowns, vegetarian meals, and of course, the actual conference.

Disclosure: I paid to attend the Disney Social Media Conference. In return, I received highly discounted park tickets, hotel, and a gift bag. There was no monetary compensation or posts required in exchange for this package.

The Disney Surprise

For the past few months, I’ve been hiding something from my kids. What’s that? WE ARE GOING TO DISNEY! With everything that has been going on, it was a welcome distraction for me.

I got into the Disney Social Media Moms Blog Conference for 2011 and decided to take my two youngest kids. They did not know until I picked them up to go to the airport.

I didn’t get the same reaction as some of the parents get in their Disney World surprise videos. In fact, my son flat out refused to believe me until I finally called my husband and he confirmed!

Stay tuned for more post as it was an adventure filled week – one that took me someplace I never thought I’d go nor can you pay to go, magical meltdowns, vegetarian meals, plane flights, magical laundry, and of course, the actual conference.

Disclosure: I paid to attend the Disney Social Media Conference. In return, I received highly discounted park tickets, hotel, and a gift bag. There was no monetary compensation or posts required in exchange for this package.

Disney World Trip 2010: Lost Kids, Trapped on Rides, and Just Complete Fun!

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Of all people, my dad was the one who got us this deal to go to Disney World. My kids have NEVER been and I had been feeling guilty because my oldest child was almost 11 and never had experienced the magic of Disney.  My parents took me to Disney World when I was 10 and I visited Disney Land twice as a teenager.

We stayed off campus at a nice resort. It would be nice to go back and actually stay at a Disney resort for convenience.

We spent day one at the Animal Kingdom, which was cool but very packed. The highlight of the day was seeing Dog the Bounty Hunter and his wife Beth. She actually touched our stroller as they were going into the back entrance of a ride while we were shopping in a gift shop. They look exactly like they do on tv! 🙂

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{Wordless Wednesday} Top of the Volcano to You

My mom and I at the top of a volcano in Guatemala. We did pay for a mule to get up the mountain!

We are quite crazy adventurous!

Ambassadors for Children: My 2008 Trip to Guatemala

Travel with a purpose. Ambassadors for Children was formed in 1998 by Sally Brown, former President and CEO of the largest travel club in the United States. Sally Brown’s followed her vision to combine travel with serving others. AFC is dedicated to promoting peace and understanding through face to face cultural exchange opportunities. AFC has operated hundreds of humanitarian trips all over the world, serving thousands of children, and donating $5 million in aid. What is neat about AFC, is they directly with already established programs in the communities they serve.

People of any age, occupation, and background volunteer for short term humanitarian trips with AFC. No language or professional requirements are necessary to travel. The only requirements are flexibility, compassion, a sense of adventure, and most importantly the desire to work with and learn local people in the host community. Many of the volunteers continue to return to the same location year after year. Our group leader, Christine Taff, fell in love with the people of Guatemala and continues to return and lead volunteers season after season.

I had the opportunity to travel with AFC in March 2008 to Antigua, Guatemala for a one week humanitarian trip. My mom is a officer of the chapter of AFC at my Alma Mater and invited me to go along with her and a group of mostly nursing students. It was a life changing experience to see how people in a poverty stricken country live yet many are still so joyful.

Before you go on your trip, the organizations AFC partners with indicate what services they are in need of. In Guatemala, AFC partners with the Open Windows Foundation and Vamos Adelante. Each trip organized does something different and activities are usually based on the demographics of the volunteers. We were also asked to fill one of our suitcases with hygiene items for donations. (Of course I was able to fill two bags – mine and my mom’s – full of my CVS freebies & cheapies!)

Open Windows Foundation assists children’s education by providing a library, tutoring, technical support, school supplies, computer classes and games. We spent one day here teaching the students about the 5 senses. We planned so many fun activities for the kids to enjoy.

In addition to the fun activities at the school, we did a quick tour of the town. We were also able to visit one of the scholarship student’s home. In Guatemala, like many other third world countries, you have to pay to go to school. The government does not provide any assistance. If you can’t afford it, you don’t go. Through generous donations and sponsorships, Open Windows is able to provide a limited number of scholarships to students who can’t afford to go. This student had made his dirt floor room out of used pallets.

Vamos Adelante operates many villages in Guatemala providing education, health, and nutrition assistance. This is where the real “fun” began. Before the trip, I was informed we would be doing lice treatments. I was a little skeptical about doing this as I had no past experience with lice. I really thought the nursing students would be doing most of the work and I could just assist. Oh, no. We really were involved. It was very humbling to take part in such a needed service such as lice treatments even if it made me step out of my safe little bubble. You do have to be very flexible. We were working in villages with limited water supplies, which makes it hard to provide lice treatments.

AFC provides a much needed service to organizations around the world while allowing one to volunteer for short term life changing humanitarian trip. One thing that really stood out to me was how easy it was to please the children. While many of our own children would scoff because the toy wasn’t the right color/shape/size, these children did not care what kind of toy they received – they were just happy to get a toy. Even more heart warming was the boy who wanted a few extras – not for himself but for his younger brothers and sisters who weren’t there.

When you volunteer with Ambassadors for Children, you are donating time and labor, but there are still costs associated with the set-up and maintenance of the experience in which you volunteer. AFC volunteers, like myself, pay 100% for their costs associated with lodging, travel, safety, etc. If you are interested in traveling with AFC, you do get free evenings and at least 1 day free to explore on your own. There are many opportunities with AFC – you can donate your time and travel with AFC, donate a monetary contribution specified to a project or unspecified, donate needed items, sponsor someone who wants to travel with AFC, or donate to the AFC general fund.

AFC = Traveling with a purpose.

Wordless Wednesday 10/7

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We will never forget….

Wordless Wednesday 8/26

Sofia Hands

Wordless Wednesday 8/19

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So, did anyone catch me sneaking into this picture the expression almost seems to say. Maybe they won’t notice….

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