Mayor Clayton, the Mayor of Give Kids the World Village, is actually a Bunny in excess of six feet in height. He was wonderful. Every child had the opportunity to be tucked into bed one night out of their stay by the Mayor. Hannah loved her night. She went to open the door when he knocked and the look on her face when she saw him was one I will never forget. She talked to him and told him about watching Pet Star, she showed him some of her new toys and then she showed him where she slept. (of course he had to be very cautious of the ceiling fans...it was my understanding that he was just getting over some serious injuries to the ears). He spent a good bit of time with Hannah, of course she was so wound up when he left that going to sleep was just out of the question. She still talks about that night.

The Mayor made a big deal out of covering Hannah up...head and all. She giggled (I just new she would have a little accident...ha ha). He gave her a little post card to keep as a souvenier. He was just a wonderul addition to our trip.

Mayor Clayton jumped on Hannah's bed to make sure she had a nice soft matress (the look on Hannah's face was priceless...she looked at me as if waiting on me to yell at the Mayor...ha ha). He fluffed her pillows and gave her a big Night Hug.

The Gingerbread House is where we were invited to have breakfast and dinner every day. It is here that the children that have visited the village have a display of toys, mainly dolls, that they have given the Village as a way of saying "thanks". Hannah gave a beautiful Cinderella doll. They have shelves that completely surround the rooms of this building and these shelves are almost overflowing with gifts from the children. The furniture in the Gingerbread House is scaled down to a child's size and decorated in candy peppermints. It is a very uplifting place and the volunteers were wonderful, they did everything they could to make sure we had everything we wanted/needed.

Quite frequently, while dining, we would have visits from Mayor Clayton, Ms. Mary or Disney characters. It was very unusual to have a "quiet" meal. We met many families here and the volunteers in this facility were absolutely amazing. They made sure we all had everything we wanted and/or needed.

The Magic Castle was exactly that, magical. We met several other children and their families here. We also signed Hannah's name to a "star" and it is now hanging on the ceiling of the castle along with all the other children that have visited the village. There was a "magical play area" that had a slide and a tunnel, there were magical "drawers" that when pulled out funny sounds played and other drawers came open, there was a "wishing well" and there was a "magic pillow" making machine where every child made their very own magical pillow. This was an amazing place that was decorated so nicely. We all really enjoyed it.

Hannah enjoyed playing the arcade games in the magic castle.

Every day there were different characters that visited the village. You never knew who would come running into the Gingerbread house during meals or who you would see on the Merry go Round. Hannah was constantly looking for someone.

Prior to our going to Florida, Hannah would not ride a Merry Go Round. She would tell you maybe "next week", but that never came. She saw the characters and Mayor Clayton riding the one at the village, and it only took a couple days for Hannah to finally say she was ready to ride. I was sort of worried that she would get on and then scream to the point of an embarrassing moment that the operator would have to stop the ride to let her off...NOPE...we had to drag her off and from that day on, when we saw the merry-go-round, she had to ride.

I want to share a few picture's of our "home for a week"...Hannah was so excited to see that we were given a Pink house. It was beautiful. We had two bedrooms, two baths (Hannah's was so huge with a garden jacuzzi tub), a kitchen and a living room with a sleeper sofa. It was just perfect and so pretty and comfortable. Hannah enjoyed the "princess bath" that mommy created, innocently using only half a bottle of shower gel, not knowing it would bubble to the ceiling...the laughter was contagious and we all enjoyed this mess.

Hannah loves horses. She was invited to ride while at the village. It was amazing, these horses were so kind and gentle. The people that volunteered their time to work at the village were amazing. I am so thankful for each and every person, most especially the ones that provided the horses for these children to enjoy.

We took a carriage ride through the village. It was nice. Hannah always enjoys anything with horses, so this was extra special for her.