Memories of Love vacation 2011

Our family was nominated by a non profit organization called Memories of Love. This company is an AMAZING company. We were able to take our family to Walt Disney World!

Animal kingdom @ Walt Disney World
This was our families least favorite park.


Mickey Mouse


My Most Favorite Ride It's a Small World
Daddy & Livie riding Buzz Lightyear

The Epcot Center

The Epcot Center, Zachary chose to use some of his spending money to choose a clam with a pearl inside, well to my surprise he purchased two of the same size pearls and turned them into pearl earings. Which he gave to me. What a sweet little boy.

Derick surprised me as well with a large pearl necklace. My boys are too sweet to spend their own money on Mom. I felt so honored!


Hollywood Studios@ Disney World
Olivia & Kimberlee behind

Sea Worldand Universal Studios. The only items that weren't paid for by the company were airfare and car rental. We had no idea how to raise that kind of money. I decided making home-made cheese balls and offering them for sale just might work. We were so grateful when so many friends and family, even people we didn't know, purchased more cheese balls than I ever dreamed possible. We received very generous donations and feel very humbled and blessed that we were able to make this once in a lifetime vacation happen. We headed to Florida for Spring Break and had a wonderful time. My parents were able to come with us and it was so fun having Grandpa & Grandma at Walt Disney World. My Dad actually surprised my Mom, she had no clue she was leaving on vacation until the morning of. She was ecstatic when she learned where she was going. The kids absolutely loved Universal Studios the best. They loved the fast rides and especially the Harry Potter World.
Hogwarts Express

We were able to try Butter Beer which tasted like a rich cream soda. You could purchase either soda or slushy. Both were so yummy.We ended our trip with a day at the Beach. Our families first time in the Atlantic Ocean. Water was beautiful blue and the kids had a great time swimming, looking for sea creatures, sea shells, and just playing in the sand.
Derick showing us some skills
Eric & I didn't tell our children the location of our Spring Break. The kids found out at the airport. I made some red shirts that said Memories of love vacation on the front and on the back I'm going to Walt Disney World Cancer Free. We blindfolded the kids and slipped the shirts on them. They were a bit embarrassed but when they took off the blindfold they read each others shirts and all started cheering. It was an awesome surprise. We had told them we were going on a special vacation and they would benefit greatly from earning money because we knew they would want to buy things. So my little entrepreneurs began searching for chores. They pulled weeds, cleaned windows, some of them made home-made cookies and sold them to friends and family who graciously donated to the kids cause. They also earned some money for helping us make over 250 cheese balls. It was definitely a family effort. We want you all to know how much we appreciate all the money that was generously donated to make this trip possible.