Remember

Wow! I was thinking back upon the week while packing to go back tomorrow and I cannot believe all that we have been able to experience. It has truly been the "trip of a lifetime" that we will never forget. We are very tired, sore, but overall in good spirits...ready to go to bed. We have a busy day tomorrow full of a lot of last minute sites here in DC and a lot of traveling. This morning we had breakfast in our wonderful hotel and if you ever come to DC and you are looking for a place to stay...this is the place to be. It is so nice, guest services are so helpful, and the food is wonderful! After breakfast we headed over to the National Archives where we waited in line for an hour and got to see the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and Constitution just to name a few. The lighting in here was so dim, but it was truly one of our most memorbale stops while we were here in DC. Then we headed over to lunch in the Capitol and off to the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court. We are now professionals...and I do mean professionals on the Metro so we zoomed over to the Holocaust museum. I thoroughly enjoyed this museum....that might sound a little strange but the perspective, layout, and overall experience was amazing...life changing. We even went on a Children's Holocaust part of the tour titled "Daniel's Story" in which the students got to experience this time from the eyes of a child and actually walk through his home as he, Daniel, told the story. We also found out if our "Passport person" made it through the Holocaust...mine did! Yea! Not very many did though...at all! Onto the Metro we went and headed to Union Station where we had dinner before heading off to our "Twilight Tour" around DC. Oh, Union Station's restraunt was fabulous with a lot of choices so a few of us opted for sushi and even tried some squid salad, yum! Our tour this evening was very nice, but I am sad to say at this point I cannot keep my eyes open....oh, and today the purple shoes have left me with a beautiful blister right in the middle of my right foot so the shoes are off and this girl is getting to bed....Night. Oh, sorry for few pictures tonight, but it is taking a very long time to upload, I am tired, and honestly not many of the places we visited today allowed cameras. So here's to rest and a busy day tomorrow....We will see you soon.

Walk, Walk, Walk....

Changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Uknown Soldier. Very neat!

At the George Washington Education Center pretending we had swords in our hand....we thoroughly enjoyed taking this picture. We made a memory and laughed about it throughout the day.

The girls checking out all the gardens and animals on Mt. Vernon! This was a must and a priority of what they wanted to do while in Mt. Vernon.

Our view from the rocking chairs on the back fo Mt. Vernon, beautiful! "Land that I love, stand beside her and guide her..."

Capitol Tour with our representative. The kids were so attentive and so great. I

My friends for the day. Now don't get me wrong I dearly love the boys in my room, but these girls made my day and would always stop to look in department store windows and then we would "power walk" just as fast as we could to catch up. We know this season's fashion and all about D.C. We're girls and we got it down!

The home of George Washington. Did you know when they decided to wire the house that Thomas Edison did this for them? Also, did you know that Mrs. Washington did not attend the funneral of General George Washington due to her mourning, but actually locked the room where he passed away and did not return to it until 2 1/2 years later. We learned so much on Mt. Vernon! Very neat place and gorgeous home on the river.

The Tomb of the Uknown Soldier. 21 steps, the uttmost in military respect and honor. I can't remember what the stone on the grave actually said but it was something to the extent of..."The Uknown, Only God Knows..." So much depth here, so much life.

Before boarding the "Spirit of Washington" and heading to Mt. Vernon. This was a great way to begin our day and catch Washington from the view of the river.

Me (yes, I am wearing the purple shoes) with Representative Louie Gohmert at the Capitol. This was such a wonderful tour!

I am trying so hard to convince myself to write this blog....to be honest, I am so tired. It is a good tired though....an "I cannot believe all we did today, I am in awe...that kind of tired." The kids did so great. I will pick up where I left off. Oh, wait...before I forget....as we were sitting in the Capitol tonight one of the youngest congressmen came in with a group of people whom we had seen walking around a little before within the Capitol. Well, you will never guess who it was? Let me tell you, ha! It was the U.S.A. Olympic Gold Medal Men's and Women's Bobsled team. I remember watching this! Then to top it all off they casually pull out their gold medal out of their khaki shorts pockets while we are sitting in the House of Representatives. Wow! Too cool! So I will pick up where I left off earlier....we had dinner here in the hotel where we had all you can eat tacos with all of the trimmings. We like eating here at the hotel, very yummy! Next, we came back to the room for an hour of some much needed time to chill out, dry off, warm up, and get ready for the evening ahead. We then walked, walked, walked, and walked a little longer to the Capitol where we took a private night tour with Representative Louie Gohmert and one of his interns was from Gilmer, Texas. It was a wonderful tour with an abundance of information and the opportunity to see a ton of things. We did not take this experience for granted and just arrived home at 11:30 PM. We are tired, didn't I say that alraedy? The boys are showering and getting ready for bed and I can definately tell they are worn out. We will sleep well tonight...this I know for certain! I also got to meet up with an old college friend whom I was in a sorority with and we got to catch up...she works for Representative Ted Poe here in D.C. So neat! Oh, Hi Mary Shannon and thank you for the sweet text. After a long day it totally made my evening, thank you! Well, the purple shoes have now retired and my feet are now resting on the chair across the table so yes...it is time for this trek to conclude for the evening but I am so blessed to be walking in the trek of my purple shoes.

Wow! What a day! We started this morning super early with breakfast down in the lobby with so many choices. Fresh fruit, waffles with strawberry syrup, sausage, any kind of cereal you can think of, and tons of pastries. Yum! Yum! Then we headed out for a ride on the Metro over to the water for our boat cruise down the river on the "Spirit of Washington." This was really neat and a great time for us to relax and see the countryside from a different perspective. The boat was large and not full of people so we had the bottom to ourselves which was really nice since it started to rain soon after we boarded. Along with the rain came the cold...and rain it did. I cannot promise that we all stayed dry, but I can promise that we are all warm, safe, and having a lot of fun. The "Spirit of Washington" took us down the river to Mount Vernon where we took a long trek up the hill past George Washington's tomb and into the house where we saw dinning rooms, Washington's personal office, 8 guest rooms, servant housing, the kitchen, and the stable/barn where an assortment of animals were housed like pigs, roosters, and sheep. We then went to the George Washington education center which was absolutely wonderful. We saw a really neat 15 min. film that included our seats shaking, snow falling, and some great visuals. Wonderful, we were all pleasantly surprised. Lunch was quick in the cafe with most of them eating chicken nuggets, sandwhiches, pizza, or hotdogs because we were short on time and had to meet back at the Wharf by 1:15. We, of course, made a stop at the Gift Shop and then moved on to take a moment at the tomb before heading to the boat....all in the rain, remember? We were on an adventure and I promise we will never forget all that we experienced and saw around us. It was awesome! Next, we took the metro to Arlington Cemetary where we saw more than our eyes could take in and our hearts could hold. We saw "The Eternal Flame" where Kennedy's family was buried as well as where American heros are buried such as the man whoms plane was flown into the Pentagon (two rocks are placed on top of his grave) and our day at this point ended with a changing of the guards at the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier". We lingered here a little longer and we felt our hearts swell with pride as we truly embraced who we are, where we are, and whom these people have helped us to become. I will not lie....I was overcome with emotion here and am already looking for the lifechanging experience that the Holocaust museum will hold tomorrow....So, I will pause the blog here...save it and head to the Capital for our night tour with Louie Gohmert that begins at 8:15 PM. Be back. It is time to tie the laces on my purple shoes and begin my trek for the evening. I will post pictures and more information upon our return. Thank you to Ramsey's Mom, Pilar, and Aunt Carol for letting me know they are reading this...thanks! More to come...

Well let me begin by saying that these purple shoes did some major treking today. We walked a lot and the weather was great with a slight breeze that was just enough to keep us cool and the warm sun shinning bright. I wonder how many of you are reading this....I hope some of you are. This trip is truly amazing and I am so excited (as are they) for the students who are getting to "live out" this opportunity to visit their nation's capital. Our morning started at 8:30 Am with a wonderful breakfast down in the hotel lobby full of eggs, waffles, fruit, oatmel, and a whole lot of other things that I cannot wait to try till in the morning or...just a few hours. Ha! After breakfast we headed to get some great pictures in "the mall" area of the Capital and the Washington monument thus followed by a great game of "President and Vice President Tag" which I made up on the spot with some extra free time we had this morning...so fun! "The Mall" area is full of tents and such for "Earth Week" so we have had a good time looking at some neat sculptures and such that wouldn't normally be there. We then headed to the Smithsonian museums and had SO much fun. I must say that my favorite was an exhibit titled "Dresses of the First Lady" that showcased Innagural attire that the First Ladies have worn as well as their accessories. Very neat! I would be lying if I didn't add that the "Star Spangled Banner" exhibit, Hope Diamond, and Julia Child's kitchen were not high in the runnings for favorite today as well. We had lunch in one of the large cafe's in the Natural History museum and I must say my turkey sandwhich there with a olive tapenade and fresh mozzerella has been my favorite meal thus far. Yum! Next, we headed back to the hotel (and trust me by this time our feet were t-i-r-ed...TIRED! So, we freshened up for dinner and headed to the Capitol Bistro (I think?) and were able to order off of the menu whatever our little hearts...excuse me, hungry tummies desired. A lot of us had the fajita bar in which a chef grilled us our fajitas with all the trimmings....not to mention a fabulous salad bar in which a lot of the kids got a great helping of veggies! Yum, again! We headed back to the fabulous Residence Inn Marriott to write in our journals and then down to the pool for about an hour. The kids loved it! My group and I headed back to the room for some oreos and milk before showers, our tradition of wathcing the Discovery channel, and bed. Yes, I still hear them awake. Oh, goodness! Our night tour of the U.S. Capitol got postponed because Louie Gohmert had to attend a funneral so we rescheduled for tomorrow evening. Yea! I am really looking forward to this! The kids are doing great...Matt, Ian, and Maddie were two that I noticed that were totally into every aspect of the museums, thus loving to ask question and linger just a little longer than some of the others. It was wonderful. Ramsey is full of life and excitement as always and Savannah, Ella, and Virginia are very much into taking pictures and letting us all know of any interesting fact that they learned during the day. I love it! They are so fun! Tomorrow mornning our way up call is for 5:45 AM and I have set 2 alarms to ensure that we will be up and ready down in the lobby for breakfast at 6:30 AM. Whew, if any of you know how much I love mornings, or my lack of love for mornings would be proud to know that I am making it and each afternoon Doreathea makes sure to have 2 packets of coffee by the coffee maker so I can make it extra strong in the mornings. Tomorrow should be our coolest day here and currently we are looking at a chance of rain, but nothing this group cannot handle. I promise. Each and every one of them are amazing. This is such a strong community filled with love and adventure. Well, I am off to bed as the whispers in the other room have died down and my eyes are getting a little (ok, a lot) ready to close. Here are a few shots from our day...in order this time. Oh, and as for the purple shoes....the have experienced so much with me today, were so light and comfortable and have some amazing stories to tell. Goodnight from D.C.

Ella checking out Washington Monument early this morning. If I could put a caption with this picture it would be..."Look guys, I see the Washington Monument. Do you guys see it?"

The boys in the "Dresses of the First Lady" Exhibit. They were so great while I relished in th

dresses for just a few minutes and even added a few comments such as,"Look at that necklace!" or "I think it was strategic planning when they desired her dresss to sparkle when it hit the lights." This was great! We got to see Martha Washington's dress today, too.

This was a highlight.

The kids favorite quote when seeing these shoes, "Reagan, I don't think we are in Texas anymore." In this same exhibit were things like the first Kermit the Frog, Apollo's speed skates, an olympic torch, and some costumes from "The Lion King." Very cool!


A hands on appraoch to the printing press. We each got to do it and take one home for our scrapbooks. It took a lot of work to make our print on one small paper.

Dinosaurs. Yup, very cool and very big. The guys really liked this stop in my group and were full of questions....and some pretty great comments.

A sloth and in the bottom of the picture you can see an armadillo. Look at it compared to the size of the armadillos we see today. Big difference, don't you think?

My group for Tuesday, April 20th at the Museum of Natural History.

The Hope Diamond. Wow! I don't even know what to say. I thought it would be big but have been repeatedly reminded that is the color of the diamond and not the size. This was hard to see because it was full of people at all times but it rotates and we waited our turn to get a look at this beautiful diamond. Wow!

My wedding ring. See it fits on my finger perfectly! Please forward this to my future husband.

My diamond ring again...just in case "he" needs to see it from a different point of view.

We ended our day at the Air and Space Museum with looking at the Wright Brothers Exhibit in which we were reminded that we can do anything we dream or set our minds to with patience, passion, and a whole lot of hard work.

Keep on treking purple shoes. Good night!

Hello, D.C.!

Hello, D.C.! These pictures are actually in opposite order so I do apologize if that causes any confusion. We are having a great time and have already experienced so much. Here is a little taste of our journey from today....

Rob, Bishop, and Ramsey at he ending to a wonderful day as we toast to D.C. with some bottled water and the excitement of all of the adventures in the week ahead. Cheers!

This was my first time to see this musical and it was full of laugther and some great actors/actresses and musicians. We laughed and learned that the temptations within the world often "snowball" and take us on an adventure that leaves us in love, trouble, and ultimately so lost that we decide to "feed the plant."

How many people get to say that they actually saw a play while at Ford's Theatre?

WE DO!

Before our trip on the metro this evening after finishing a wonderful pasta dinner at the hotel and headed towards Ford's Theatre for "The Little Shop of Horrors" live musical.

The boys loved to find some really cool doorways and stairs along the way. As an only child I am learning about 5th grade boys....full of energy and always looking for an adventure.

The National Cathedral. Enough said, right? Well, I must say that as part of the Episcopal church I could not have been more proud to be standing amongst such a parish that represents unity and hope to the Washington, D.C. community. Tonight before bed I had my friends Ramsey, Bishop, Nathan, and Rob tell me the "highs" and "lows of their day and this was each of their"high." I could not have been more proud. We talked about how it was not only a church, but so much more to this city and in many ways the foundations of this country. It was a wonderful ending to such a long day and our first stop on this adventure.

A great way to star the trip.

Mrs. King liked to sing to us while we traveled on the bus today. We thoroughly enjoyed it and we let her know it. We are already looking forward to tomorrow's song. What will it be?

Having a little fun while in Washington, D.C. Please note this smile it is full of so much excitement and adventure.

The heart and soul of this trip right here...well, of course without Mr. Abernathy and THE Mrs. King. We finally saw our luggage tonight about 10:15 PM so we are thankful to see our suitcases and rest knowing we have some clean clothes for in the morning. Yea!

And so continues the trek of my purple shoes...after a little sleep of course!

We Are Here....

The National Cathedral

The "Group"

The inside of the National Cathedral

We are here in Washington, D.C. We are on our way to "Pasta Night" in the hotel. We are all hungry and pretty excited to be here. On our way to dinner, riding the metro to Ford's Theatre and to see "Little Shop of Horrors"...off we go! More to come later tonight....I promise!

3:30 AM

3:30 AM. Enough said. It will be here before I know it, but at this point it just seems as far as July. I am now packed and my purple shoes are ready to go. I keep wondering if my other friends are getting some much needed rest, or if they keep double checking their alarm just as I to ensure that we will not run late. Or maybe they keep looking in their suitcases to make sure that they remembered everything. (fingers crossed, we have it all) The seats in my SUV are down and I am ready to put in some luggage and head to the airport with a strong cup of coffee, some new songs on my iPhone, and a lot of excitement. By this time tomorrow we will have embraced Washington, D.C. to its fullest...this is so hard to believe. I really enjoy history and as "cheesy" as it may seem I like to stand still and think of all that has happened in the very exact spot that I am standing. A lot of the time it gives me chills and takes me back to what is most important, other times I cry, and most always I leave a different person than the girl that arrived. I think when we travel we do things that we would have never tried when at home. Traveling opens doors, thus creating countless opportunities for us to find out more about the place we are vising, but most importantly more about who we are. We come back tired, with cameras full of pictures, and stories that we will always remember. We will be traveling to the land of our forefathers and stand amongst the leaders of our nation in the midst of change and more importantly hope. What an experience! There is this one word that keeps coming to mind when thinking of D.C......"freedom." May this word lead us down the road of change as we embrace this city, whether we be sitting in the airport early on Monday morning or amongst the many exhibits within he Smithsonian. My mom was tellling me some Washington, D.C. facts this afternoon and one that I thought was truly interesting was that George Washington has 220 years of overdue fees from New York City's oldest library. Don't you wonder where those books are? We will get to our hotel late tomorrow night....but do not worry I will post, I promise. I pray that God will grant us safety as we travel. I pray that He will impress upon us who He is in our history yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I pray that we come back changed. I pray we realize the importance of community with one another and within our country. I pray there is no illness, injury, or homesickness. I pray for rest, for fun, and lots of time to fellowship. I pray that God would open our minds to the knowledge of a God that is alive within the foundations of our country. So farewell Texas and hello to maybe a few cherry blossoms left, the home of our President, and to many new memories that await us. Get ready for some breathtaking pictures, incredible stories, and the experience of a lifetime. Ready purple shoes? Here begins the trek ready, set, here we go.....