Josh's IncredibleAmazingWonderfulFantastical Orlando Adventure

Last week was the best week of Josh's eight years of life, hands down.  It was the week of his 8th birthday Nana and Papa trip, and I can tell you, he's been waiting for four long years for his turn, ever since Zac's trip to DC.  And then two more longer years since Ben's trip to Hawaii! 

When "the Nana/Papa trips" (as the boys call them) were first conceived back in 2008, and Josh was only 4, he said he wanted to go somewhere with roller coasters.  The idea of going somewhere with roller coasters was tossed around for a few years, always on the assumption that Josh would come up with something more concrete as he got older, but the roller coaster theme seemed to have stuck, and since we've been to Disneyland a handful of times, Nana and Papa thought Disney World might be a fun alternative.  Christmas 2011, while my parents were visiting, Josh saw A Dolphin's Tale, a movie based on the true story of Winter, an injured dolphin who receives help from a Florida marine rescue center.  Josh has developed a deep love for all creature-kind over the past few years, and immediately after the movie he said he wanted to go see Winter.  That sealed it!  Orlando was THE place!

On Mother's Day, my parents and Josh set off for Orlando with a HUGE to-do, must-see list.  Thanks to Groupon, they had many adventures planned in addition to their visits to Disney World and Winter.  Josh, who finished the seventh Harry Potter book on the plane flying to Orlando, was thrilled that their first stop was one day at Universal Orlando, home of Harry Potter World...plus so much more!  The next day they took a swim with manatees, which was fantastic because earlier this year, Josh did a project on the Mangrove Forest and the manatee, its gentle, endangered resident.  The day following their swim, they saw Winter, where Josh had the chance to practice his marine mammal veterinary skills on some stuffed turtles, took a boat tour of the bay and learned from on-the-job marine biologists/ecologists; and because of lucky timing, followed up their Winter visit with a viewing of a rocket launch from Cape Canaveral.  Keeping with the "animal" theme, Josh picked Disney's Animal Kingdom for the location of their first of two days at Disney World, which included a live-animal safari.  Their fifth day they took a fan boat tour of the Florida marshes, seeing many endangered and protected species, and toured Kennedy Space Center, taking a ride in a launch simulator!  Their last full day in Orlando found them back at Disney's Magic Kingdom, similar to Disneyland, where they started the day with a balloon ride up above the park, and ended the day after midnight--shutting down the park because as they headed to the parking lot they passed ride after ride with barely any line and couldn't help but jump on!  

It's funny, in the end, Josh only went on a few roller coasters.

To say the Nana/Papa trips are incredible, amazing, wonderful and fantastic is just scratching the surface.  They are awesome trips, yes, but it is so much more.  It means so much more to the boys and to us.  This week for Josh was a week where he was enveloped in his grandparents' love, one-on-one, purely Josh-focused, for one of the few times in his life, and certainly the longest.  His interests were highlighted and enriched.  He learned so much, fell more in love with things he already loved, and came home happy, helpful and excited.  This, I know, will be one of the defining times of Josh's life, as I am sure is the same for both Zac and Ben.  We, as a family, not just the boys who get to experience these incredible journeys, are so grateful, and so blessed by these trips!

Thank you X 10,000, Nana and Papa!