Episode I: The Journey Begins... :: To the Moon and Back

Home Lily's Site Rick's Blog Register About

06/15/06 09:11:07 - Episode I: The Journey Begins...

Category: Make-A-Wish
Posted by: Rick

The day so far:

0415: Time to get Aren up. Last night he specifically asked me to wake him up with a rubber alien squeaky chew toy that we bought for Cayenne on Aren’s insistence. (The dog doesn’t really like it, so it is, by default, Aren’s.) I have no idea where he got the idea, but that’s what he wanted to do. So I walked into his bedroom and started squeaking. After three or four squeaks, Aren woke abruptly – maybe too abruptly. He stumbled out of bed, and once he remembered how to walk, he turned towards the front door, still wearing nothing but a t-shirt and pull-ups.

“Woah, Aren! Are you all ready to go?” He nodded, his eyes as wide as only a child who has been surprised out of sleep can be. “Well, I think you need to take a shower first, don’t you?” He nodded again and we put him in the shower.

0445: Aren was now dressed and ready to go, but MaryBeth and I still had some things to do, so we let him play his new Nintendo DS game, which is based on the movie “Cars”. He immediately sat down and started playing. We didn’t hear a word from him for the next 30 minutes.

0525: We arrived at the Sierra Vista airport and began checking in. It was really weird checking in when there were only five other people preparing to board the plane, including the pilot and first officer. It’s also kind of weird walking in the front door of the airport and being able to see not just the ticket counter, but the baggage claim, the security checkpoint, the waiting area AND the airplane we would be traveling in, all right in front of you.

0605: We boarded our airplane. The pilot let us get on first, which was rather nice. He invited Aren to check out the cockpit, but Aren wasn’t terribly interested. (Part of me thinks that it was because he is ridiculously good at not talking to strangers. If we’re at the store and someone says “Hi”, he won’t do anything more than wave – even if he is physically holding my hand at the time.) The plane left at 0620, and we were on our way.

0658: We land in Phoenix. Let me tell you, this is the way to travel! We made a trip that would ordinarily take us 3 ½ hours in less than 40 minutes. Nice! Now we just have to wait for our next plane to leave – at 1055. Thank you, Sky Harbor Airport for free wireless internet!!!

0845: Last night we put some money in Aren’s wallet, just so he would be able to spend some of his “own money” So, Aren of course had to go spend some. He picked out an Arizona Cardinals T-Shirt (in honor of Kurt Warner, who will be hosting us on most of this trip). He also got a great little surprise for me. He walked up to me (as I was writing the last paragraph, in fact), with his hand behind his back.

“Aren, what’s that behind your back?”

“Nothing…” he said with the type of grin that really should make you worry… a lot. Then he sprung his little surprise. “DAD! IT’S A BUG!!!!” He whipped his hand from behind his back to produce a tiny scorpion preserved in a glass bubble. Nice.

Other Pics from this leg of the trip (click on thumbnail to view):
The scenery about five minutes after takeoff
(

A couple views of our airplane

The ENTIRE airplane -- if I backed up any more, I'd be in the cockpit!

Did you like this article? Or not so much? Login to post your comments!

Comments

flemmanog wrote:

Tim is sad that he is missing out on the breakfast with Spiderman but is more excited for Aren. He wants all the details. For Father's Day I got him a "how to become a superhero book". See if Aren can get some other pointers. thanks

17/06 06:31:24

Add Comment

This item is closed, it's not possible to add new comments to it or to vote on it

All Aren General Make-A-Wish MaryBeth Pre-Transplant Random Thoughts Rick Tatiana Transplant

Aren is undergoing a bone marrow transplant to fix the immune system defects that caused the loss of his little sister, Lily. To learn more, click here.


Home Lily's Site Rick's Blog Register About
Next \| Previous 06/15/06 09:11:07 - Episode I: The Journey Begins... Category: Make-A-Wish Posted by: Rick The day so far: 0415: Time to get Aren up. Last night he specifically asked me to wake him up with a rubber alien squeaky chew toy that we bought for Cayenne on Aren’s insistence. (The dog doesn’t really like it, so it is, by default, Aren’s.) I have no idea where he got the idea, but that’s what he wanted to do. So I walked into his bedroom and started squeaking. After three or four squeaks, Aren woke abruptly – maybe too abruptly. He stumbled out of bed, and once he remembered how to walk, he turned towards the front door, still wearing nothing but a t-shirt and pull-ups. “Woah, Aren! Are you all ready to go?” He nodded, his eyes as wide as only a child who has been surprised out of sleep can be. “Well, I think you need to take a shower first, don’t you?” He nodded again and we put him in the shower. 0445: Aren was now dressed and ready to go, but MaryBeth and I still had some things to do, so we let him play his new Nintendo DS game, which is based on the movie “Cars”. He immediately sat down and started playing. We didn’t hear a word from him for the next 30 minutes. 0525: We arrived at the Sierra Vista airport and began checking in. It was really weird checking in when there were only five other people preparing to board the plane, including the pilot and first officer. It’s also kind of weird walking in the front door of the airport and being able to see not just the ticket counter, but the baggage claim, the security checkpoint, the waiting area AND the airplane we would be traveling in, all right in front of you. 0605: We boarded our airplane. The pilot let us get on first, which was rather nice. He invited Aren to check out the cockpit, but Aren wasn’t terribly interested. (Part of me thinks that it was because he is ridiculously good at not talking to strangers. If we’re at the store and someone says “Hi”, he won’t do anything more than wave – even if he is physically holding my hand at the time.) The plane left at 0620, and we were on our way. 0658: We land in Phoenix. Let me tell you, this is the way to travel! We made a trip that would ordinarily take us 3 ½ hours in less than 40 minutes. Nice! Now we just have to wait for our next plane to leave – at 1055. Thank you, Sky Harbor Airport for free wireless internet!!! 0845: Last night we put some money in Aren’s wallet, just so he would be able to spend some of his “own money” So, Aren of course had to go spend some. He picked out an Arizona Cardinals T-Shirt (in honor of Kurt Warner, who will be hosting us on most of this trip). He also got a great little surprise for me. He walked up to me (as I was writing the last paragraph, in fact), with his hand behind his back. “Aren, what’s that behind your back?” “Nothing…” he said with the type of grin that really should make you worry… a lot. Then he sprung his little surprise. “DAD! IT’S A BUG!!!!” He whipped his hand from behind his back to produce a tiny scorpion preserved in a glass bubble. Nice. Other Pics from this leg of the trip (click on thumbnail to view): The scenery about five minutes after takeoff ( A couple views of our airplane The ENTIRE airplane -- if I backed up any more, I'd be in the cockpit! Did you like this article? Or not so much? Login to post your comments! Comments flemmanog wrote: Tim is sad that he is missing out on the breakfast with Spiderman but is more excited for Aren. He wants all the details. For Father's Day I got him a "how to become a superhero book". See if Aren can get some other pointers. thanks 17/06 06:31:24 Add Comment This item is closed, it's not possible to add new comments to it or to vote on it	All Aren General Make-A-Wish MaryBeth Pre-Transplant Random Thoughts Rick Tatiana Transplant Username: Password: Shared Computer Aren is undergoing a bone marrow transplant to fix the immune system defects that caused the loss of his little sister, Lily. To learn more, click here.
Powered by Nucleus CMS v3.32 - Contact Webmaster