What do the children learn about their father's story in Chapter 24?

In Chapter 24, Grandmother revelas that it was Alex and Conner's father who wrote the journal. Alex says that Froggy gave it to them so that they could find the Wishing Spell to come home, and Grandma says that their father used the spell because he had fallen in love with their mother and explains that prior to his death, he had wanted to bring Alex and Conner to the fairy tale land to show them where he grew up.