The Wish

Last week, we went on an epic adventure, the scale of which none of us has ever seen before!

Last week, we took Nicola on her Starlight Wish.

We didn't know what to wish for for her... it's not like she can just pipe up and tell us what her hearts desire is, so we had to stop and think about what we knew she liked, what she liked best, and what made her happiest... and really, it was summed up into two very simple things.

Nicola likes the cold and she likes her sisters.

We thought about what we could possibly ask for that would be something special, something memorable, something that would make her happy... and there was really only one thing that we could come up with.

A trip to the snow.

Thursday morning we left for our adventure. First flight from Townsville to Brisbane, second flight from Brisbane to Melbourne. Picked up a hire car and then found our hotel... at which point Michael and I fell into a heap and declared we were never travelling with four children, let alone one with additional needs ever again! :D

Friday morning Nicola's 'Cold Themed Holiday' started with a trip to meet the Penguins at Melbourne Aquarium.

After that we headed over to Hisense Arena for some lunch and then we got to surprise the girls with tickets to Disney on Ice.

They all thought the show was spectacular, even Nicola who watched the whole show, clapped, cheered and really just enjoyed herself, even though she was so incredibly tired and probably really just wanted to go to bed.

I think her favourite character was Minnie Mouse, she seemed to react best every time Minnie came out!

Saturday was THE day... the day that it was really all about. We were up at 5am to make sure we were packed, double and triple checking everything, then bundling poor sleeping little children through the cold and into the car to begin the drive up into the Mountains.

It didn't take as long as we had expected, but it was soooooooo cold on the way! We had to stop to clean up a sick Squeaky (apparently she dislikes mountain ranges!) and down in the pea soup thick fog on the ground that was frozen solid, I am pretty sure it was below zero... and we had to strip the poor little baby down to her bare bottom and clean her up with wetwipes before putting every possible layer of warmth on her we could get our hands on!

To say it was cold was an understatement... it was FREEZING!!!!

But we persevered up the range and soon enough the girls caught their first glimpse of snow. They started shouting and shrieking with every turn and all the snow they were finding. Even Nicola was getting in on the action with her own little shrieks and giggles and lots of frantic clapping.

All the girls had a brilliant time. They loved the snow... even Nicola got involved in the fun having a few good trips down the slopes on the Toboggan with her Daddy, which she thought was just incredible!

Sunday was a day of rest, a chance to slow down and breathe and share some quality time before Monday's big trip to Melbourne Zoo.

All of the girls loved the animals and the excitement of the day, it was cool enough for Nicola to be able to really enjoy being out and about in sunlight and really just being a part of all the action.

And of course, sharing it all with her very, very best friend, 'Dolly'.

Then it was time to go back to the hotel and pack. Tuesday morning saw us up bright and early, packing all our luggage and souvenirs into the hire car and then heading back to the airport.

The trip home, well, that was about as eventful, problematic and traumatic as it could possibly be... but we are home, at least for two nights... and oh, how wonderful it was to sleep in my own bed last night! Even the girls were so excited to be home! Nicola just about cried with joy when we carried her into her Wiggles Bed.

Tomorrow she goes back to Brisbane for another round of chemo. Our adventure was amazing, it was brilliant, it was exciting and it was fun filled... but tonight we are very firmly back in the realms of reality once more.