Proverbs 31 Mom: Family

It's that time of year! Time to celebrate all the hard work of your favorite High School or College Graduate.

I happen to know a Grad or two and needed a gift to give them to commemorate their achievement. I didn't want to spend a lot on the gift, but wanted something that was both fun and useful. So I came up with this:

A College Survival Kit! It cost me all of $11 to put together!! EVERYTHING came from the Dollar Tree!!!

It has everything need to get a High School Grad off to a great start in college! Here are the supplies:

Large Basket
Laundry Detergent
Fabric Softener
Dryer Sheets
Laundry Bag
Eye Mask
Pens
Highlighters
Index Cards
Mini Stapler/Staples
Ramen Noodles
...and of course...Chocolate!

I even made a tag with a list for my grad so they would know exactly what was in it. :)

To decorate it I wove a cute ribbon in and out of the basket, tied a bow and added a silk flower. You can find these items at the Dollar Tree also, but I just happened to have them around the house.

Put all your items in the basket where they fit and look nice and Voila! A perfect gift for your grad!! :)

This can be done for either a boy or a girl and is the perfect gift! Plus, it only cost $11!!!!

It's finally here! The trip we've been waiting for! We will get to spend an entire week in Florida so that G can meet Mickey Mouse and all his friends!! P and I are so excited we can hardly stand it! We leave on G's birthday to start our trip! I'm so overwhelmed with what Make-A-Wish has done for us and for G! It's going to be the trip of a lifetime! We didn't tell the boys until G's send off party because we wanted it to be a surprise. His party was held at Chuck E Cheese (another place that we've not been before) and he had a lot of fun!

Here's a video of when we told G:

He was highly distracted by the videos and music that he was hearing at this new location, but later (off camera) he understood and got excited! He's very happy and that's what matters to us.

Here are some other pictures from the event as well:

I will post several pictures and perhaps some other videos from the week long trip below, so make sure to check back on this post often!

Day 1 - Travel:
We left on G's birthday and were picked up by a stretch limo! It was awesome! G loved it. We made sure to wear our MAW buttons and when we arrived at the airport, we were given gifts by total strangers. They were just really happy for us and wanted to make our day brighter. It was such a blessing. When we arrived, we received more gifts, a rental car and a villa with even more gifts! We also got to take a trip to the ER because M decided to split his head open on the bed frame. :) That was not a highlight. 3 stitches and 4 hours later we finally arrived to the villa in time to catch 4 hours of sleep before our big meet with Mickey.

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom:

I know this sounds cliche, but what a magical day! G got to meet Mickey...the whole reason we are here and that plus 4 hours of sleep made for a very emotional Mama. :) We met so many characters and got rushed to the front of the line for EVERYTHING! G's favorite ride was Dumbo and M's was Aladdin Magic Carpets. We ended the day with a visit from Santa & a Winter Wonderland Party! Boy does G love to dance! :)

Day 3 - Universal Studios, Island of Adventure:

What a cool place! This my have been our favorite of the whole trip! We started the day with a meet and greet with the cast of Cat in the Hat and then were personally escorted for a meet and greet with the Marvel Superheros! This was a BIG highlight. We didn't tell the kids they were even there and they were SO excited to meet Captain America and Spiderman! They still talk about it. The scenery was amazing and everyone again was so welcoming and spent so much time with the boys! It really impressed us how excited the Superheros were about meeting our boys too. The evening was filled with a pirate party where the boys got swords and treasure.

Day 4 - Universal Studios:

Wow! Even more fun! We started the day off with horseback riding at the Village and then we headed to Universal Studios. Today we met several great characters and saw lots of shows. The boys were the stars and every time we saw a character, they would wave and call them by name! We got a picture with the entire cast of HOP which they told me is INCREDIBLY rare. The boys had a great time drumming and meeting all the characters. The highlight for them today was meeting Barney. I didn't even know they could get that excited! We ended the day with a swim-in movie at the Village :)

The boys are holding the Noisy Crickets

Yes, that is THE Frank the Pug

The actual "actor" from Marley & Me - even the animals treated the boys like stars!

Day 5: Disney Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom & Magic Kingdom:

Today was BUSY! We visited 3 parks in one day. We started out at Hollywood Studios where we got autographed hats from Indiana Jones and met Buzz, Woody, Lightening McQueen, Tow Mater and some Army Men. M wore his Woody costume in anticipation of meeting Woody. It was so precious! Then we headed out to Animal Kingdom to catch the show from Lion King and Finding Nemo the Musical. Both were FANTASTIC! Totally Broadway worthy and the boys were included in the show. We finished the day with fireworks over Cinderella's Castle. This show was one of the favorites for G. He really liked the fireworks.

Day 5 - Epcot:

This was a full day! We travelled around the world in one day. We had breakfast in Florida, wine in France, lunch in Morocco and then headed back through space to America. It was a wonderful trip! We ended the day with Halloween at the Village where the boys got lots of candy and treats!

Canada

United Kingdom

France

Morocco

Japan

Germany

Italy

Africa

Mexico

Day 6 - Village:

Today we spent the day at the village. We played mini golf at the Dino Putt, rode the train and carousel and ate ice cream. We had lots of fun and then we headed home back to the Midwest. The limo took us home from the airport and we slept in our own beds. It was a WONDERFUL trip and definitely the trip of the lifetime. We received lots of great gifts while we were there and will take many more trips this year as a result of this trip.