As soon as Jaxsen was diagnosed with ALL, our amazing social worker, Mary, put us in contact with the generous people at Casey Cares. Casey Cares is an organization that aims to enhance the lives of critically ill children. The easiest way to do this is by giving the children something exciting to look forward to, whether it be a mini vacation, tickets to a local event, surprises on the child's birthday, or passes to an amusement park. Casey Cares had already sent us to Port Discovery recently, so we were shocked when we received an invitation to attend another fun event so soon. We were even more excited when we found out where they wanted to send us! Casey Cares had paired up with The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus and chose a few families to attend a special event called Painting with the Pachyderms, or as the kids all called it...Painting with the Elephants! Jaxsen was so excited to get up close and personal with the elephants, and so were we! Nick made sure to take the day off from work so that he wouldn't miss out on any of the fun.
The Painting with the Elephants event took place at the Baltimore Arena on Thursday, April 3, the day before Jaxsen's 3rd birthday. What a fun way to kick off our birthday festivities! We arrived at the Arena a little early, which Jax didn't mind at all because that meant he had a few moments to run around the lobby like the crazy boy he is! We were also able to meet the Chick-fil-a cow during this time.
At about 10am, all of the children were invited on to the main floor of the arena. It was really neat being able to walk so close to the props from the circus! Jax stared in awe at the giant trampolines on the floor and the hanging streamers on the ceiling. We were immediately greeted by a tall, colorful clown named Taylor. He told us a little bit about the circus, and then invited us to sit on some benches that formed a semi-circle around a large easel. We chose our seat, and then waited with anticipation for the show to start! Taylor, along with three other clowns, introduced the three elephants and then pulled aside the large purple curtains so they could join us on the main floor. Jax had never seen elephants that close before so he was amazed! One of the elephants, Mabel, did a few laps around the semi-circle so each child could get a good close-up view of her. She was standing only a few feet away from us! She then did a few tricks which impressed all of the children... and adults! She caught a baton with her trunk, sneezed on command which made a tissue fly up in the air, and she even did a few hops and bows. She then walked over to the easel, grabbed a paintbrush with her trunk, and started working on her masterpiece! Jax loved watching Mabel paint. After a few moments, Taylor the clown told us that it was time for Mabel and the elephants to go backstage so they can finish resting before their big show that evening.
Taylor then directed each child to a different area of the main floor, where there were at least 20 easels waiting to be painted on. Each child ran over to the easels and chose which one they liked best. Each one had a large picture of Mabel the elephant on it. It was also equipped with a pack of watercolor paints, paper towels, a cup of water, and a paintbrush. Everything that a little artist would need! While the kids were hard at work, the clowns walked around the area and spent some one-on-one time with each child. Taylor came over to Jaxsen and admired his work of art. Jaxsen was a little shy at first, but he warmed up quickly and enjoyed showing off his masterpiece.
After about 45 minutes, Taylor asked everyone to start wrapping things up. He called everyone back over to the benches so that the photographer at the event could get a group photo of everyone.
After pictures were finished getting taken, Taylor walked over to Jax and asked him if he wanted to learn a cool trick. Jax, of course, seemed excited, so Taylor took him over to the little trampoline and told him to stand on it. Jaxsen seemed hesitant but he obliged. Taylor then leaned down, grabbed Jax by the waist, and shot him up high like a rocket ship! Jaxsen loved it! So much so that he demanded to be lifted up high like that over and over again. Taylor was kind enough to keep doing it, but daddy eventually took over so Taylor could visit with another kid. After a few more minutes of being tossed into the air, we eventually convinced Jaxsen that it was time to leave. Nick and I grabbed Jax by the hand, said goodbye to all of the wonderful people from Casey Cares, and started walking back to our car. We are so thankful that we were invited to take part in such a unique experience that we will definitely remember for the rest of our lives!
No comments:
Post a Comment