Two years after being diagonosed with bone cancer, 8-year-old Julia Cobb’s Make a Wish was to visit Walt Disney World. In October of 2013, Cobb, her three siblings and parents were having the trip of a lifetime, when on the last day Julia fell ill after visiting the Magic Kingdom.

“We deviated to Arnold Palmer in Orlando and in less than 24 hours Julia was gone," said the child's father, Jonathan Cobb.

In a story about Julia’s tragic loss it was a phrase a television reporter used that inspired an epic journey across America.

“They said she went from one Magic Kingdom to the next and those words inspired this trip across America from Disneyland to Disney World,” Cobb said.

Cobb, himself a cancer survivor, had thought about walking across America by himself before Julia’s battle. After seeing the little girl’s fighting spirit that launched the JuCan Foundation, he approached his family about taking a year off from school, jobs and their lives to make the 4,000-mile trek in Julia’s honor.

"We said 'Dad we started this thing as a team and we are going to end it as a team'," said Julia's sister Jenna.

So the Cobbs, including their 13, 11 and 4-year-old children, traveled through the Mojave desert and the snows of Colorado, finally arriving in the Villages on Wednesday.

“We’ve gone through a lot of shoes, I’ve been through about four pairs now,” said Julia's brother Jonathan.

And the family has gone through a lot of emotions, thankful for the words of encouragement and awareness they’ve been able to spread about pediatric cancer.

But now with every step, they are getting closer to returning to the spot where Julia lost her battle.

“It could be a little difficult for some of us to sift through some of the emotion when a small child still remembers seeing her sister for the very last time," said Jennifer Cobb, the family's mom.

After more than 320 days, and 4,000 miles, the family plans to walk into the Magic Kingdom on Father’s Day. It's the greatest gift Jonathan Cobb said he could ever get, having his family beside him, refusing to give in or give up hope.

Lean more about the JuCan Foundation on the group's website.