Dream Factory

A few days ago members of the Dream Factory visited our house to talk to Ammon. His application to have a dream fulfilled was accepted but there was one small problem:  the wish had to be completed before he turned 19 which meant they had about two weeks to get it all put together.

Ammon's dream was to watch a movie being filmed. He wanted to see how it all worked from the behind-the-scenes view point. We had put on the possibility of going to Disney Studios in California before we realized that we had such a short time frame to get this completed. Ammon said he would also be happy to do something locally. They continued to interview him to see what made him want to do this and why he was so interested in film. He told them about the documentary he is making in his video production class that he has entitled, "Butts & Bellies" (that's what he sees and this is about his view point of life).

Two days after meeting with us, they called and asked us to meet them at Payson Park at 1:30 today. I left work at noon and Jim picked up Ammon and Brenden from school. What a very, very special day Ammon had!!  There were four women that are all volunteers that work with the Utah branch of Dream Factory. This company is similar to Make-A-Wish except they like to grant dreams to chronically ill children - not just terminally ill children. Make-A-Wish will not accept any Spina Bifida child. I am so grateful to have found this group! They rocked the day!

Kelly Baadsgaard Leadward went to school with Adrianne and knows her well. Jen Clemments Clark also went to school with Adrianne and remembers her but wasn't as well acquainted with her. I was so impressed with the group of women. They love this job!

 Here are the women involved with this project. Jen is the short woman in the middle - Kelly is the one in pink behind Brenden.

 They presented a large bag of gifts to Ammon.

 He got a GoPro camera which will attach to his wheelchair which will allow him to complete his "Butts & Bellies" video.

 He got a $100 iTunes gift card.

 And he got an IPad which is something he has wanted for a long, long time.

We then went to main street in Payson to watch the last day of filming of a Christmas holiday Hallmark film being made starring Candace Cameron Bure. We are not allowed to publish any of the photos until after the movie has been released around the 1st of December. I have them in a folder on my computer if anyone wants to see them when you visit. Candace was extremely sweet and kind to Ammon. She is tiny! All of the managers, directors, producer, etc. talked to Ammon and welcomed him to the set. He was able to sit behind the director to watch what the director sees behind a screen. He saw them repeat the same short segment over and over and over. We asked a million questions and everybody took time to explain their jobs. It was one awesome experience for all of us! At 6:00 p.m. we went up to their base camp and had dinner with them, which was delicious. They were going to continue to film until midnight but my legs had given out on me and we convinced Ammon that we needed to go home. He wanted to stay with them forever.

Last night he also had a very sweet, wonderful experience. Todd Hansen, host of the BYUtv show "Story Trek" came to our ward to give a fireside to the youth. It was a very spiritual meeting and very interesting to hear how he comes up with the place to go, the people he finds, and the stories he records. He said he has an "Executive Producer" for this show - and that is the Lord. 

Putting the two days together was almost overwhelming! While we didn't get a trip to California, we were thrilled with what we did get - in fact, it was the perfect wish for Ammon. They did far more than we expected they could ever do. Have I ever said how much I love Hallmark movies?! Well, as soon as it is advertised, I'll let you know which movie to watch for Christmas holiday cheer.

Thank you, Dream Factory! I will spread the good word about your fantastic organization every chance I get. We are most grateful. You will all have to call Ammon to ask him about it. He'd be more than happy to tell you all about it.