On my 39th birthday in 2023, we accidentally started this Capture Your Moment series with a fabulous Hollywood Studios session. We’ve snapped our way across all four parks multiple times and decided this past spring break was the perfet chance to go back to the park where we started.
Except this time…We. Were. TOYS!
There are several posts that give the rundown on Capture Your Moment, but today I want to focus on the story. For so many reasons.
We had the absolute sweetest photography team in Toy Story Land. They were fun, interactive, great with the kids, and as it would turn out, Joe and Anthony have hearts of gold.
You may or may not know that last year, we were living in the pediatric cardiac ICU in both our home state of Oklahoma and then in Dallas. We made the move to Texas to fight for our youngest, our precious Jewels’s life. It wasn’t until we made the move to Children’s Medical Center Dallas that we were able to get her on the heart transplant list. While this was a huge victory for us, sadly her little body got too tired, and she passed last July while waiting.
On our most recent Capture Your Moment shoot in Magic Kingdom, we dedicated it to her memory and brought a framed picture to include in our family portaits. It’s since become a tradition that we bring her photo with us anywhere we go, so we had her sweet photo with us again for this session.
I explained to Joe and Anthony that we had another member of our party who was joining us via photo. This was to prepare them for my inevitable breakdown during the session, as well as avoid having to explain during the shoot. They immediately locked in and were very inclusive of her photo. And they were even so physically gentle with the frame. Truly respectful.
After we finished our session, they offered to walk us onto Alien Swirling Saucers as a little extra magic. The kids were pumped, and I was happy that was one Lightning Lane I wouldn’t need to grab for them later.
Little did we know that while we were riding, they were working some behind the scenes magic. When we made our way out of space, we were greeted by our photographer and another cast member. They had arranged for us to ride Toy Story Mania, as well!
Of course, this was beyond. But it wasn’t over. They brought each of the kidlets a Toy Story plush…including sweet Jewelsy. I hadn’t cried too much during the photos but lost it right then and there. Not only did they love on the kids who were physically there, but they honored our precious baby girl’s memory, too.
It was truly one of sweetest moments.
Now, I did mention there were a couple reasons I wanted to focus more on the story than the logistics this time.
This trip was also my grandboy’s very first visit to Walt Disney World!
I had taken his mama, our wonderful Haileigh Belle, to Walt Disney World for the first time 18 years ago. In those 18 years, she became a Disney kid enjoying more visits to the World, Disneyland and was especially fond of Disney cruises. In fact, her cutie boy was baking in her tummy on her last cruise.
We were so excited to be able to start our little Big Guy on his magical journey. It was so fun to see him experience the same firsts she did, take some of the same pictures and just see her being a mama at the Most Magical Place on Earth.
Sadly, just two months after this trip, we lost our beautiful Haileigh. I am still in disbelief. She will forever be loved and remembered, and we are already fulfilling our promise to take her precious baby boy on all the adventures she wanted him to have.
The Photos
