The Trip of a LIFETIME!

First I want to tell you all who watch my blog, that I am sorry it is almost mid June, and I still have not posted my art journal pages for May yet. Honestly with end of school year wrap up and all the stuff that comes with summer on it's way, I have been having a hard time working creative time into my schedule. *frown*
I have ideas running wild in my head, but my family comes first, so I have gotten a bit behind on what I wanted to do just for me. I am still working on my pages, actually I will probably just photograph the pages that are done, and then post the catch up ones later.
This week has been MAD CRAZY!
(the back story:)
A few weeks ago, my daughter Quincy came across a contest on MuggleNet.com. She wanted to sign up, but didn't have all the different criteria to submit an entry, so she asked me to sign up- I was all for it!
The prize? An all expense paid trip to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios, Orlando, for a VIP tour of the new theme park DIAGON ALLEY, the HOGWART'S EXPRESS, and also HOGSMEADE that opened a few year ago.
I could have signed up a total of 15 times, but honestly, I kind of forgot all about it, so only entered once.
On Monday mid morning, I got a phone call from a gal named Kat, and a fellow named Keith.  They asked me if I could verify who I was, and that I had entered the contest, etc... at first I was pretty calm, I actually was a bit stand-off-ish, because I get spam calls all the time, for things like having some long lost relative that had money in another country, and all I needed is pay the transfer fees, and the money would be mine, yada, yada... anyway, I thought it really strange, because they sounded like they were in a radio studio- I know what that sounds like, as my husband was a radio personality for more than 10 years. So, they were all done asking me all these questions and verifying my identity, and then they said I had won the trip for 4 to Orlando! I was totally in disbelief! They both had asked if I had checked my email and I said I had not checked it yet today, and they laughed, and said "we know- that is why we called you!" because I had not replied to the announcement of the notification that I won.
I got off the phone with both of them, and I think after a few minutes I picked my jaw off the floor, and my family was looking at me, and begging me to tell them what just happened. I told them we had won the trip, and both my girls were screaming! I made them promise not to say anything, until we got the legal paperwork. It was a long day and a half!!! When the release forms started flowing in, it all started to get REAL! Yesterday we signed all the releases, so they can take our pictures, use our names in their promotions, etc, etc... and then today I got the call from Universal- the travel plans are set, and we are GOING!!!! I don't know if I will stop pinching myself until we get home again, because this is such a dream come true. I have wanted to take my girls to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, since we heard preliminary ideas of them thinking of making a theme park. Both Quincy & Abby have grown up with the stories, movies and lives of the characters. It is a part of our family, a part of our lives. That sounds silly, because it is just "a story" but I really think we have all kind of hoped that we could be in that world at times in our life, and now we get the opportunity to do that!
We honestly would never have been able to afford to take our family on this kind of a vacation. We have only ever had little family vacations to visit other family or "stay"cations and while these are wonderful memorable times, I deep down always wanted to be able to take a family vacation that was just FUN, unadulterated FUN!!!
So, I count my many blessings today and ALWAYS, thank Heavenly Father for allowing us this opportunity, and a great big Thank You to MuggleNet and Universal Studios for choosing our family for this CHANCE OF A LIFETIME DREAM COME TRUE!!!!!
Links below will be of what we will experience-- YIPPEEE, HOORRAAYYY!!!!!
Check out what we get to see here: Wizarding World of Harry Potter
We also get to see The Blue Man Group Concert!