Give Kids the World Village - Activities

At the Give Kids the World Village (where we stayed while on our Make a Wish trip) we played putt-putt and enjoyed their carousel. Once you put a princess costume on Catherine, it is very difficult to take it off.

Feeding the Sharks & Stingrays

I don't know why, but sharks and stingrays in the feeding tanks at Sea World do not get fish - they get raw shrimp. I love the intense look on Sabrina's face as we were feeding the sharks!

Catherine has made a career out of avoiding food ... and we forced her to hold a raw shrimp for the picture!! With Sabrina we had to watch to make sure she didn't put the raw fish or shrimp in her mouth instead of throwing it to the animals. Thankfully, we did not worry about that with Catherine!

Meeting Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins came to the Give Kids the World Village. We were impressed with her formal British accent, but the girls were impressed with her lacy dress and her parasol.

Me & Robby

Pictures of my girls range between cute, very cute, and unbelievably cute! But pictures of us we usually don't like because adults are so critical of our own appearance. So I was thrilled when this picture of us in front of the manatee statue turned out pretty good of us! I had even forgotten we had taken it until I got my Dad's pictures from our Disney World trip. Manatees are not very playful or fun,s o they are easily forgotten in the midst of jumping dolphins and Shamu.

Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride

My Dad (who went to Disney World with us) just gave us the pictures he took - so I am adding some more pictures which he took that we did not have.

Arriving in Orlando

Catherine loved pulling her new "princess" suitcase through the airport in Orlando. Make A Wish volunteers greeted us at the airport and showed us where to get our rental car, etc.

Give Kids the World

We stayed at the Give Kids the World Village - Ill post some pictures of the Village itself later. Here is a picture of us checking in to our condo on Sunday afternoon.

Both the girls were shy around the giant mice - you can almost see fear in Sabrina's face!!

Just Like Royalty

Sabrina and Catherine both enjoyed being in the queen's cut-out. I am not sure if they had any idea that this was a form of dress-up, but it seemed like fun.
Because we were on a trip sponsored through Make A Wish, everyone really treated our whole family like royalty - from escorting us past everyone else to the front of lines, to shutting down the princess area so that we could have some private time with the princesses, etc. The trip was absolutely magical!

Teddy Bear Love

Sabrina had fun with the huge teddy bear at the Give Kids the World Village. She is much more of a climber than Catherine ever was. We frequently walk into a room and find her on top of furniture. She has even started moving smaller pieces of furniture around to help her climb onto taller pieces of furniture. It can be very scary for us, but it is a blessing to see how healthy she is. In fact, I did not realize how unhealthy Catherine was until I had Sabrina and saw how energetic and strong she is.

Sabrina's First Manicure

Sabrina got a manicure at the La-Ti-Da Royal Spa at the Give Kids the World Village. Well, she had her fingernails painted. I had to help her hold her hands still, but she seemed to enjoy it!

Catherine's First Manicure

Hasbro (the toy company) sponsored the construction of the La-Ti-Da Royal Spa for children at the Give Kids the World Village. Isn't that the most wonderful name for a children's spa? Hasbro even made a special purple little pony for the girls to have little gifts from the spa.
Catherine got her nails done - she was very good about keeping her hands still while her nails were painted. She chose two shades of pink to match her Sleeping Beauty dress. I was so proud that she knew to hold her hands away from her dress for a few minutes while her nails dried.

GKTW Train

The Give Kids the World Village also had a small train for children to ride. Catherine liked to sit in the front car so she could push the buttons to blow the train's whistle.

GKTW Carousel

They had a carousel at the Give Kids the World Village. I had never seen a pig and chicken on a carousel, but the kids loved it!

Playing in Barney's Boat

The Barney area at Universal Studios had a huge section of imaginative, interactive play zones. The girls loved it. They had colored buttons they could push to make a rainbow. There was a water play area and a sand play area. There was a forest area where kids could walk in and out of trees. There was a toy train, and the toy boat which the kids are climbing all over in these pictures.

Meeting Barney

All of us saw the first Barney show. The girls absolutely loved it. They sang and danced all of the songs we have grown to know from the show. We got to sit in the front row - it was very exciting.

Then, my father and I went to the Jaws ride while Daddy took the girls to a second showing of Barney. After each show, Barney met with the children and parents. The girls were still a bit shy, even with Barney!! I guess the large size of mascots intimidates my small children.