Sea World, Sparkles, and Sass

What an awesome trip to San Antonio we had!  

Well, kind of.  

We captured many pictures in which I could convince you all that we are the sweetest, happiest family around.  But I'm going to try to include ALL the moments; not just the picture-perfect ones.  

This blog will serve as our family's photo album for this trip, so it is a bit lengthy and probably a bit too much for those of you looking for a quick read.  ;-)

We started our journey to San Antonio mid-day on Friday.  It's about a five hour drive from Dallas.  Maddie had a day of therapy and none of us were too anxious for the long drive.  We were expecting tons of traffic, but it really wasn’t so bad.  Maddie was cranky and SASSY, but fortunately she took a long nap.  Derek drove most the way, but I got to take the wheel when he got sleepy.  One freeway had a speed limit of 80!  That was kind of cool.

 Maddie asleep on my lap.  She slept for about half the drive.  

Big Sister at peace.  

We started our Cracker Barrel commitment that evening for dinner.   Darn, that place is good. 

Maddie found Longhorn baby supplies for her doll at The Cracker Barrel amazing gift shop.  (Thanks for the spending money, Nana!!!)  This kept her entertained for the rest of the drive.  ;-)

We got to our hotel by the time it was dark.  Our first impression of San Antonio: a bit frightening.  There were many people on the street – lurking and asking for money.  No different than any other big city, I suppose. Harmless, I’m sure, but not how you want to be greeted in a new city with two young girls.

The hotel ended up being quite lovely, but we were all a bit cranky after travelling for so long.

Drury Plaza Hotel Riverwalk in San Antonio - fancy!

Morgan's Wonderland

First on our agenda the next day was to visit Morgan’s Wonderland, the country’s only special needs amusement park  This is a really amazing place.  BUT it was really hot that day AND their weren't many opportunities to cool down.  Maddie tried to have fun, but it was a tough-go.  I will tell you about it through pictures...

The first thing Madison saw was the playground.   She quickly rolled over to it and got out of her wheelchair as fast as she could.  This is great, but she became really sweaty and miserable after about five minutes.  We saw the most amazing contraption where a physically-disabled person could give the monkey bars ago.  It's a beautiful idea, but it didn't work out so well for our girl:

(I don't think our videos work on iphones or ipads; we figured that out after our last post.  Someday I'll get that figured out!)

After this, we tried to get her into a bucket swing, thinking that some good swinging might help calm and cool her down.  This just resulted in another ten minute tantrum.  We then found another really, really amazing swing that you can roll a wheelchair right into. This is pretty awesome, as Madison is unable to use a typical swing.  After enticing her back into her wheelchair, she gave it a try.   She loved it for about five minutes:

We also found this fun teeter-totter type thing:

                                                   

Morgan's Wonderland has a building called "The Sensory Village".  In it is a pretend grocery store.  Maddie liked it, but she was so excited she couldn't stay standing.  She fell HARD many, many times, and freaked out all of the little kids.  I tried to help her, but she slapped me.  After spilling her third basket of groceries, she freaked out and threw a fit:

She went back into the grocery store after she calmed down a bit to give the registers a try.  This lasted about two minutes until she flopped on the floor and started screaming again.  How I wish I could help her enjoy these things, but when she is in this mood she wants nothing to do with us.

Savannah wasn't too thrilled yet with Morgan's Wonderland, but was trying REALLY hard to be a trooper. But between the heat and the tantrums, that was tough.  Here is one of the few pics of the girls we got together.  This was sweet, as Madison was helping Savannah's horse move by pushing down a bar with her foot.  Not an easy task for this girl:

 Savannah perked up a little when she found the newscast room where she got to try working with a green screen.  This was some FUN STUFF.  She got to enjoy it all by herself for quite some time, as Maddie was in a time out for calling Savannah "stupid" and hitting Derek in that horse room:

The below video makes me LOL everytime I see it.  Savannah just really, really enjoyed this whole green screen thing (you must try to watch until the end when she does a little dance and then gets washed away!):

Once Madison was free from timeout (there was a service dog there that helped her calm down...  :-)), Savannah wanted to show her how to use the green screens.  Clearly, she wasn't too impressed.  At least Savannah was still having fun!

 The below room afforded us the most peace.  It was a room full of really amazing interactive screens.  For instance, you touch this pool of water and flowers start appearing.  It was dark and peaceful and exactly what Madison needed:

  

 For quite some time it was just our family in this big dark room.  Savannah had the opportunity to do some ballet moves in front of a butterfly screen, and that just looked really cool!

Getting food at this place was fairly ridiculous.  It took me 45 minutes to wait in line and get food.  By the time I got everyone's food, the family was really, really hot.  It was at this time, though, that Madison finally wanted to try the bucket swings.  But this had to be "all by herself".  She hopped back and forth between these two swings about 20 times.  They are not easy to get into, and she fell A LOT.  For some reason she did not get frustrated.  But she picked the very hottest time of the day, and picked the swings that had no shade covering.  She got really, really sweaty.

Madison threw a fit getting on the Carousel and getting off the Carousel, but had a lot of fun ON the Carousel.  Plus, they let you go around as many times as you want here, so that helped a bit.  The cool thing about this Carousel is that you can roll a wheelchair right up onto it!  However, we are very fortunate that Madison is not that wheelchair bound.  She chose to get out of her wheelchair and get on an animal.  (Which is actually what caused the fit-throwing.  We were not understanding that she didn't want to stay in her wheelchair and she got pretty ticked off when we tried to roll her chair up onto the Carousel.)

Another pretty awesome attraction Morgan's Wonderland are these cars that they can transfer an entire wheelchair onto.  This was a bit counter-intuitive to us, as Maddie CAN access this kind of ride in a typical way (hopping out of her wheelchair and just climbing into a regular seat), but it was just pretty cool to get on and off a ride like this without so much effort.  (However in the video below you can see HOW much effort it is for all of the workers there!  It was fascinating to watch them in action...):

So...  after all was said and done, of course we are so glad we had the opportunity to visit this amazing place.  If the day had been cooler and Maddie had been in a better place, it might have been a more successful experience for us.  Fortunately, I tend to always put on my rose-colored-glasses when I look back at things, so eventually this will all be one big happy memory!  (Except when I go back and read this blog, I suppose!):

 

Sea World

Next on our agenda was SEA WORLD on Sunday!  We have never been to a Sea World, so this was a wonderful opportunity for our little family.

Over-priced park picture we were suckered into buying!

We saw dolphins up close and personal:

We watched several shows.  The most amazing one was "Azul", which had beluga whales, dolphins, birds and acrobats:

Unfortunately, Savannah doesn't like roller coasters; Madison is our dare-devil!  Madison was able to convince Savannah to go on this kiddie-roller coaster with her:

Derek and I took turns taking Madison on the REAL rollercoasters!  This was the fastest roller I think I've ever been on.  Maddie looked so incredibly petrified, but right when she got off, she gave us this thumbs up and asked to go on it again.  I do worry about her floppy little body on these types of rides, but she always comes out unscathed...

So this was an interesting experience for us to go to the "special" amusement park on one day and the "regular" amusement park the next.  Clearly, we had a lot more fun at Sea World.  (Well, we did have some challenging moments, but they were definitely out-weighed by the fun stuff.)  And this makes sense.  Madison doesn't really like being treated "special".  She wants to enjoy all of the things typical little girls do.  And she is so brave and such a daredevil, I think she needed the stimulation of  what the "regular" park had to offer.  I'm so grateful that a place like Morgan's Wonderland exists in this world, but I just don't think it is for our girl...

The Alamo

Monday, our last day, was "Derek's Day".  :-)  He gave us a quick history lesson on The Alamo, and then we went to visit it.  We could walk there from our hotel.   It was pretty amazing.  Smaller than I imagined.  Not as dusty as I imagined.   

Maddie wasn't especially thrilled with the Alamo.  We stayed outside and counted cannons, while Derek and Savannah really toured around reading and learning...

Other Special Moments in San Antonio:

Enjoying the Riverwalk - what a neat place!:

Enjoying the roof-top pool:

    

An extra snuggly morning in the hotel:

Napping!:

And last but NOT least...

Though we had many struggles throughout this trip, we also had some very amazing moments.  And this was by far the sweetest of them all...

Those of you who know Madison understand that she can be quite infectious.  She says hello to all, and will try to start a conversation with just about anyone.  We tried to curb this at a few points her life (the whole don’t-talk-to-strangers thing), but eventually we just had to “let it go”.

On the last day of our trip we were eating at the hotel’s most-awesome breakfast buffet.  Madison be-friended the most adorable group of ladies from "Jersey".  By the time I had gotten my food, she had already inherited two of their bracelets.  At first I felt bad (do people just give her stuff because they feel sorry for her?) but then realized these gals were actually quite genuinely taken with our girl.  They loved how Madison was so sparkly (oh, how I love that description of her!)  By the end of the breakfast, Madison had ended up with three of their bracelets (these gals were quite bedazzled…) and a request for pictures.  We then exchanged numbers so they could send me the photos:

Madison became an honorary member of their “The Sparkle Club”:

By the end of the day I had received several heartwarming text messages from our new-found friends from New Jersey.  Here is one of the messages:

And here is what these beautiful gals posted on their FB page:

  Turns out The Sparkle Club didn't come out of no where...

Through all of her sass, God has blessed Madison with the most amazing ability to make true and genuine connections with people.  In a world where everyone just keeps to themselves, Madison has opened the door to our (otherwise private and shy) family to meet new and amazing people.  We are so grateful.

So...  I suppose I have to end this very long and detailed blog with the realization that this WAS an amazing trip.  (Thanks to the Sparkle Club, we ended it on an exceptionally high note!)  It was not easy, and many parts were NOT fun, but our family has new and exciting memories we will cherish always.  

Madison is a super star!!!

This week has been amazing.  I have never seen this kid work or try so hard.  Her endurance, motivation, attitude, and perseverance are absolutely incredible.  She’s on a mission, and she’s not gonna stop!  Every day that I come to pick her up from therapy, she is dripping with sweat.  It is not for a lack of air conditioning – Marika has turned her house into an icebox to accommodate Madison.  She does not want to take any breaks, and will only do so when Marika insists for a snack, drink, or trip to the bathroom.  This is what she looked like after her first day:

A beautiful, sweaty little mess!

Because it is rather hot and humid in good ol' Texas, they started a routine of a morning walk in an effort to beat the heat.  Maddie is walking the length of Marika's (beautiful) block with her walker and without her walker:

The sidewalk is perfect since it is flanked by grass.  It gives Madison a clear path and by trying to not touch the grass, it is helping her walk a straight line.  It is a little bumpy which makes Madison concentrate even more.  In the below video, Madison had walked from the VERY end of this sidewalk (way way way down there!) with no support.  Marika is behind her just to catch her in case she falls.  If Madison asks for help, Marika will put one finger on her shoulder.  The finger is all she needs.  This is day two:

And this is day five (today):

Marika took the video and I got to walk next to Madison. Listen to Marika's beautiful voice encouraging Madison  :-)  The control she has already gained is phenomenal! 

These are clips of the obstacle course Madison is doing towards the end of her day:

That video cracks me up.  You will hear Madison say "it is not a football", as Marika explains the wood is not to be kicked like a football.  And then we get a "Comprendo!" at the very end.  Madison will come out of this therapy trilingual.  She is learning a little Hungarian and Spanish as she goes...  ;-)

The next video shows Marika's expectations and how Madison is rising to the occasion.  She hits the second section of the blue flooring so Marika tells her to go back and do it again.  No fuss.  That's just the way it is and Madison accepts that:

This last video is impressive.  Maddie bending down and throwing objects.  Not falling.  It's beautiful:

Madison is also trying really, really hard to be more tidy when she eats.  One trick Marika is teaching Madison is to keep one hand down on the table.  This gives her some stability and I think it is working.  They also examine the floor after each snack to see if anything has dropped on the floor.  The floor has been very clean!  (And, uh, we are working on having the same expectations at home...)

Marika's Hedgehog, Shuni, is providing A LOT of motivation for Madison!   This is yesterday (I couldn't pick out my favorite pic, so I'm using them all ;-))

Have you ever held a hegehog?!?  They aren't soft and cuddly, but Madison just loves this little guy...  ;-)  She kind of gets the "heeby jeebies" when she is trying to hold him, and will let Marika know exactly when she is done.  I can't decide who is cuter - Madison or Shuni?  :-)

Meanwhile, back home...  (Texas-home, that is...)  Poor big sister Savannah has been suffering with STREP THROAT!!!  Derek took her to urgent care on Wednesday, and the antibiotics kicked right in.  This is what Savannah's week ended up looking like:

She has been a trooper though, and Derek and her will start their adventures next week.  :-)  You will see Madison snuggling here with "Her Shuni"; the stuffed hedgehog we brought from home.  She brings her Shuni with her everywhere she goes now.

When Savannah started feeling better, we DID get a little chance for some family fun.  We made it to Babe's Chicken Dinner House and had the best fried chicken in the U.S.A.!

I am going to go pick up Madison now and then we are packing up the car and the whole family is heading to San Antonio this afternoon for a weekend full of fun!  Madison will start up therapy again on Tuesday, and we'll see if this little one can keep up the amazing pace she has set for herself.  :-)