Julia's Wish

Where to begin? I'll try to start @ the beginning without dragging it out to long & boring you to death. Shortly after Julia was diagnosed in Oct, 2011 we were encouraged by many family members & friends to apply to Make a wish for Julia. For those of you not familiar, Make a Wish grants wishes for any child up to age 18 affected by a life threatening illness. A lot of these children go on to beat their illness, but it gives them unforgettable memories that can last a lifetime. Ok, so back to her wish, it kind of feels like a dream now that it is over & we are back to reality. Make a Wish sent a limo to our  house to take us to the airport. We had never been in a limo before, so that was a treat all in itself! We flew to Phoenix, AZ where a Make a Wish Volunteer was waiting for us. She welcomed us & helped us to our rental vehicle  & gave us directions to our hotel. We had reservations @ The Sheraton in downtown Phoenix. It was amazing!! Everyone was so nice. They even upgraded us to a 2 room suite with 2 bathrooms, 2 beds & a foldout couch free of charge when they found out we didn't sleep good because of Julia's restless sleeping. Poor Becka got kicked all night the first night  & Jason & I couldn't sleep because we could hear the squirming going on :) We slept wonderfully the rest of our stay with Julia tucked in a bed all of her own in the adjoining room.  We had dinner the first night planned for us @ Sams cafe. It was delicious!!!! The next morning we went on a tour of the Wish house. Interesting fact, the first wish ever granted was in Phoenix AZ in 1980. We visited with my husbands cousin whom we hadn't seen in 18 years. Saturday morning we went to Phoenix International Race way for a tour of the garage. We met another family from Ohio who was there with Make a Wish also, we got to tour together. In the garages we got to go inside Jimmie Johnson's car hauler & see all his extra parts & even his back up car. His crew chief Chad Knaus was in there & we took a picture of the kids with him. The kids got autographs from, David Reutimann, Ryan Newman & Becka got Kasey Kahne. That night we watched some of the nationwide race but it was a cold in the stands (at least to our fl blood :) ) & Julia was tired so we left before it was over. So Sunday morning we were back @ the track bright & early for Julia to meet with Kevin Harvick. This was the reason for the trip, the center of her wish. She got to meet him right outside his motor-coach. He came out & introductions were made. Julia had a list of questions for him, how does he like being a dad, did he always want to be a race-car driver, & the one that made him laugh was "Since we are out west, what driver would you like to challenge to a gun fight" His answer was "If I had the fastest gun, Kyle Busch". That made us cheer ;)  Julia got to give him a hug & we took pictures & he signed a few things for her. Her day was made!! The last thing he said was "What is the objective for today?" She thought about it & said "For you to win the race" & he did!!!! What an awesome day!!! It's getting late so I'll sign off for tonight, but I'll finish telling about the rest of our trip soon. Good night :)