Coach Ketcham.com

 

Day -1 - Sunday June 6th - Here is what I hate about 8th graders... their voicemails...  Best one.. Hannah Edwards, she sounds like a super cheer leader on hers.  Allie Kautzman's goes like this... "hello, wait, wait, I'll call you right back".  Sounds realalistic enough.  Brendan McGrananhan's is very long about why you aren't saying anything... Emmiliany Ortiz's goes "hear the beep, you know what to do."  Going to be a interesting week...

I wonder who will oversleep.  I will sleep a lot better when we get everyone on the plane.  I hope we all make it.  Bedtime!

Day 1 - Monday June 7th -

Day 1

2:36 Am – (phone rings) “Hey Coach Ketcham, where are you?”  I respond with, “Hi Henry, I’m putting my contacts in, at home, why are you at the airport.  You don’t have to be there until 4:00 AM.  Dork” 

3:10 AM – Arrive at Coach Hurdles to leave for airport

3:20 AM – Move her 5 heavy suitcases

3:23 AM – O my gosh, she needs COFFEE, growl growl grrrr grrr

3:45 AM – Arrive at airport.  Delta gate hasn’t changed, but American had changed TERMINALS.  Text very fast.

4:00 AM – All but two people have made it

4:10 AM – Caitlyn Fields arrives

4:20 – Michael Peterson offers me a piggy back ride when we get to D.C.  I hope he is better behaved then his brother was last year.  I could not believe where his brother went in the mall last year.  (If curious, look on day 4 of last year’s trip photos…. )

4:35 AM – Coach Stitt becomes the last one to arrive

4:35 and 30 seconds – Group Delta starts going through security.  Looks like they are all getting through frisk free.

4:36 AM – Hafner and Ketcham shuttled to our new terminal to greet our kids (thank you Mrs. Emery)

5:00 AM – Everyone except Trent McGee has shown up

5:05 AM – They have overbooked our flight and we have 9 kids with tickets but no seats, they work on this.  Austin Cutting, Riley Emmons, Cody Coy, Brittany Conn, Hannah Edwards all appear very calm.  Allie Kautzman has a very worried “Coach Ketcham wouldn’t leave me here.. would he?  Would he?” look on her face.

5:20 AM – Brendan McGrananhan gets frisked by airport security.  Never trust a man with a cast… never… just trust me on this.

5:25 AM – Through security, kids eating food.  By food I mean non-coffee stuff from Starbucks, McDonalds, Candy, and soft pretzels.  Allie appears more worried.

6:00 AM– Ticket agent arrives, and one by one gets tickets for people.  Allie looks more worried

6:30 AM – Our gate is moved…. 3 over.  We move our herd by telling them it is grazing time.

6:45 AM – Plane board, Allie tries to fit in someone’s suitcase, still looking worried.

6:55 AM – Delta flight is loaded, and they are taking off.  Good Luck Delta Crew!!!  Captain Hurdle leads the way.

7:00 AM – Plane is half loaded.  Allie and Cody remain with no seats, but tickets.

7:10 AM – Plane is loaded, Allie and Cody made it.

7:15 AM – Plane is too loaded with kids airline luggage, they start to check bags.

7:20 AM – Josh Chapman is too young, so he has to take my seat.  I “get stuck” in the roomiest seat ever.  I could almost fully extend my legs. 

7:25 Am – American Flight leaves, we are out like a fat kid in dodge ball.

7:58 AM – American - We are out of Texas and over Arkansas; Delta is over Georgia

7:59 AM– It is 66 degrees in D.C. We can’t wait.

Now a quick paragraph about how this morning went from Jillian Chase…

We had to wake up REALLY EARLY to get to the airport at 4:30. Then we waited for Coach Ketcham to get the boarding passes. FINALLY, we went through security and I saw a guy getting frisked and got checked with the metal detector. HA! When we got on the plane it looked REALLY small at first but it got bigger when we went in. I’m sitting between two grown men…… :P and behind Coach Ketcham :D  The announcer guy said we should get there around 10 o’clock a.m. Washington D.C time. I CAN’T WAIT TO LAND!! :)

8:10 AM - Blake Moss is sitting in front of me.  I had him try the Moron test.  He is no match for last year’s champ Abby Aldrich.  Yes, Abby, you are the biggest moron.

8:12 AM – Drink Cart starts making its way down the aisle.  This should be fun.  The true fun will be the rush to the bathroom in an hour.  (Evil laugh here)

8:14 – AM Over the intercom, they offer alcohol sales such a vodka.  Blake Moss, sitting in front of me, turns around.  I shake my head no.  They might sell a lot of alcohol on this flight, because they are sitting by our kids, they may want them.

8:16 AM- The guy next to me is watching the pilot to How I met You Mother.  I am so jealous.  What a great show.

8:17 AM– Coach Ketcham starts to wonder if he’ll get bored typing?  I wonder if the people at home care.  Let’s face it, I don’t care.  I love hearing myself talk… er … type.

8:20 AM– I look back and all I can see is Hannah Peterson, why, because she is wearing Austin Dooley’s Kermit the frog baseball hat.  Dork.

8:21 AM – I wonder what plane Delta is up to?  I am guessing Hurdle is reading, Stitt is napping, Shelton is napping, Cindy is carefully reviewing all medical history’s for the case of emergency, Norris is solving 2-step equations and Furgeson is playing with Legos.  I hope Henry Ngyuen is finally sleeping. 

8:22 AM– Hafner looks lost in a good people or US weekly magazine.  I wonder is Sandra is back together with that weird guy, if Lindsey Lohan got arrested or Brittany is in swimsuit shape?  Can you imagine tabloids back in 1776?  Ben Franklin has a new girlfriend, George Washington got implants… teeth implants, and Samuel Adams was at the bar way to late last night?

Now a word from Blake Moss

8:29 – I have had the pleasure of having Coach Ketcham sit behind me. He let me play the moron test and kicked my seat at the beginning of the flight. So far it has been a fun trip. The flight attendant said “Mixed Nuts”. Hahaha. I can’t wait to get to D.C mainly because the the sleeping man next to me is taking up the arm rest.

And a word from Brittany Hafner…

8:34 – I am unfortunately not swimsuit ready (But I learned 10 things to do to make me look skinny) and Sandra is fortunately not getting back together with her cheating husband. Flights are the best time to catch up on all the Hollywood sleaze that I miss during the school year. Some observations so far: Flight was on time this year which is a huge improvement from last year which was over 2 hours delayed. Our shirts are cooler than the other DC tour group and our “Join or Die” Shirts are just our third string. Josh Chapman can’t lie about his age in order to stay in the exit row. What a few months anyway?

9:08 AM – A word from Hannah Peterson – heyyy whats uppp(: so im on row 24D and I just sat in the wrong row which was 23 and now I feel stupid, haha. Anyways im super duper excited for the week and ill be taking a bunch of pictures and such. I stole dooleys hat and I am wearing it! Ha and he has my glasses so yahhh we are going to trade back I don’t know when but I want the hat and the glasses!!! My roomies are peyton, Sydney, and megan ROWEBOAT! My bloggety blog blog is gonna be better than blakes just FYI. Im listening to the song baby- by justin bieber of course. And I have nothing else to say except riley is sitting right behind me and is being a butt! So yahhh now a word from my good friend

9:15 A Word from BLAKE EMERY!!- WELL IT HAS BEEN A Great trip we still have a lot to do the plane is a boring ride at least I got a window seat   and the guy next to me has a ipad so I was watching part of his moviei cant wait till we go to the white house and more fun stuff ok well that’s all for now ;)

9:30 – we start our descent down towards D.C.  80 miles out of D.C.  Should be landing in 15 minutes.

11:58 PM Flight Delta landed

Did I mention how FANTASTIC the WEATHER HAS BEEN TODAY 70 degrees, nice breeze.  PERFECT.

12:30 – ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETARY – The kids did really well here today.  I thought they handled the seriousness of this very well.  They did a amazing job at the tomb of the unknown soldier.

Arlington National cemetery is an area of 624 acres, veterans and military casualties from each of the nation's wars are interred in the cemetery, ranging from the American Civil War through to the military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Kennedy’s Grave

We saw grave of President John F. Kennedy, who is buried with his wife and two of their children. His remains were placed there on March 14, 1967. His grave is marked with an eternal flame. The remains of his brothers, Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy, are buried nearby. The latter's graves are marked with simple crosses and footstones. I believe the are the only two wooden crosses in the whole cemetery

Iwo Jima - The Iwo Jima Memorial, also known as the U. S. Marine Corps War Memorial, honors the Marines who have died defending the United States since 1775. The Iwo Jima Memorial is located near Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC.

The 32-foot-high sculpture of the Iwo Jima Memorial was inspired by a Pulitzer Prize winning photograph of one of the most historic battles of World War II. Iwo Jima, a small island located 660 miles south of Tokyo, was the last territory that U.S. troops recaptured from the Japanese during World War II. The Iwo Jima Memorial statue depicts the scene of the flag raising by five Marines and a Navy hospital corpsman that signaled the successful takeover of the island. The capture of Iwo Jima eventually led to the end of the war in 1945.

 Dinner at Pizza Unos

WWII Memorial - The U.S. National World War II Memorial is a National Memorial dedicated to Americans who served in the armed forces and as civilians during World War II. Consisting of 56 pillars and a pair of arches surrounding a plaza and fountain, it is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on the former site of the Rainbow Pool at the eastern end of the Reflecting Pool, between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

Girls                                                                                                                      Boys

Lincoln Memorial -  The structure was dedicated to the memory of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, on 30 May, 1922.  Two of Lincoln's best known speeches are inscribed within. Lincoln Memorial has been immortalized by great men and speeches, made at the site. These include '"I Have a Dream" by Martin Luther King Jr., in 1963.

The memorial stands tall with 36 enormous columns. Each of these measure 37 feet in height. The columns represent the 25 U.S. states and the 11 seceded States, after the death of Abraham Lincoln. The names of all the states of the US are inscribed in entablatures, above each column.  The statue of the President stands nearly 20 feet tall! It was carved from white Georgia marble. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Second inaugural address are enshrined in south and north walls.

Honestly…. I am BEAT.

I promise more blog tomorrow.

It is 9:30 here, we got everyone into a room and with only minimal drama.

Maybe more blogs from the kids tomorrow.  Everyone is having fun from what I can tell.

Ketcham Out

I will try to update briefly every morning and again around 10PM

Day 2 - Tuesday June 8th - How early is 7AM.  Many of the boys... it seems a bit to early.  We ha ve a full day scheduled and I can't wait.  Coach Hurdle did not want to wake up when we knocked on her her.  Henry's group, (remember, 2 am airport guy) woke up at 6.  I guess he is just prompt.  Breakfast time.  More later.

Some quick blogs from some random kids.

Tyler Foster writes

Yesterday was amazing! After the plane ride we went straight to Arlington National Cemetery. It was a gigantic military graveyard with a ton of white rows of headstones. We went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and got to watch the changing of the guard. That was a very silent moment. We left there after about 15 minutes and after a tour of Robert E. Lee’s house we saw Kennedy’s eternal flame. It looked cool and in case you haven’t figured out by now… it never stops.

So then we started going to the bus and we left to the Iwo Jima memorial. It’s a memorial dedicated to the marines that fought at Iwo Jima. We took some pictures that will be on the sight so check them out soon.Next, we went to the WW2 memorial. It’s a big fountain that has all places U.S. friendly written on columns. We took some more pictures and looked around at our own pace. I thought it was the coolest thing we saw yesterday.

Finally we walked to the Lincoln memorial. That place is a whole lot bigger than it looks on the penny. We took pictures and walked around for about an hour or so before driving to the hotel (Which is really nice by the way) to get to our rooms to watch TV and sleep.

Bailey Montoya writes

We didn’t have to be in our rooms until 9pm. U didn’t have to be in bed yet, so that was awesome.  The beds were so comfortable that it was like sleeping on a cloud. We had dinner before we got to the rooms. Uno’s pizza was really good. Nobody went to bed hungry.   

Don Ton writes

Today, I managed to get myself stuck in the closet somehow. But the highlight of the day was going to the Lincoln Memorial since it was near sunset and it looked coooooool being aligned with that pool of water and The World War II Memorial and the Washington Memorial. The pool of water was interesting to see because of the ducks and their constant need to go potty That nice isn’t it?

Allie Kautzman writes…

Okay so yesterday was fun..except for the fact that my camera ran out of juice. L I managed to get my self out of bed today (not sure how) for todays FUN events…haha

Zoe Gomersall writes

       The Lincoln Memorial was breath-taking. The size of it was just extraordinary, it was a great tribute to Lincoln, though I had no idea there was the silhouette of Robert E. Lee’s face on the back of his head.

Audrey Haddox says

                I really learned a lot yesterday. Not just about DC, but about it’s culture and architecture. It’s really neat to see the place where so many important things in American and world history have taken place.  I absolutely love this city and I can’t wait to see everything else it has in store for me.  Yesterday has set the stage for what looks like an amazing trip.

Coach Stitt says

I have taken kids to Europe two times, but yesterday (Monday) I felt like I had come full circle. When I was in 8^th grade, I took the 8^th grade trip to Washington DC. I was at a charity event on Saturday that was hosted by my 8^th Grade History teacher and I was able to tell her how cool that felt. She was proud.  

I was accused of being in a cult  no less than 3 times yesterday. Coach Ketcham designed us some really cool shirts to wear, but the one we wore yesterday was Ben Franklins “Join or Die” Flag. Getting stares from people looking at 80 kids/adults wearing green shirts, saying “Join or Die” took some getting used to, but I enjoyed talking to the people who actually stopped and asked us.  

7:42 AM - We are off to go to the capital.

Capital Building - We went there first thing this morning.  It was really neat to see the visator center.  We got the tour the dome area, and the old chambers.  There was a really cool spot where John Q. Adam's desk was that due to the shape of the room, you can hear EVERYTHING in the room, Even whispered conversations.  Very neat.  We saw that every state had donated two statues to go in this room.  Texas has Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin.

Library of Congress - Lots of book.  A quick walk through.  Saw Thomas Jefferson's personal library.  THe library was quick but neat.  Anyone with a purpose can use the library.

Supreme Court - Went outside.  Tough guards on patrol.  Took photos.  had fun!

McDonalds - Never seen kids order so fast, and a resturant make food so fast.  Long story, but it was the best choice we had today.  The kids seemed to really enjoy it though.

National Cathedral - BEAUTIFUL.  Woodrow Wilson is buried here.  So is Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan.  BEAUTIFUL.  It took like 62 year to build the 6th largest in the world cathedral.  2nd biggest in the U.S. Also learned that the difference in a church and a cathedral is if the building houses a bishop.  Who knew?

A real gargoyle on the building that the Cutting boy's found.  I promise, it is there, just really high up.  I've never seen Star Wars, (by choice, long story) but even I thought that was cool.

Smithsonian - American History.  Saw Kermit, Dorthy's Slippers, and the Star Spangled Banner flag from War of 1812.

No photos allowed....

Hamburger Hamlet - Hamburger Hamlet is similar to a TGIFridays.  It was good food, many photos on the flicker site.  Good dinner.  Kids had a chance to relax.

Lincoln memorial - Yes, we went back.  It looks even better at night. 

Vietnam - Very near memorial

Korean War - Quick facts we learned

White House - Stopped by for a few quick photos.  Touring on Thursday.

Our shirts - They are getting sooo many compliments!  They look way better then the other groups shirts/vests/id badges.  We are a cut way above the rest.  I counted 5 people myself who wanted pictures of our shirts.

I'm sorry if this is long boring or whatnot.  I am exhausted.  More pictures on Flickr.  Any suggestions send my way.

Day 3 - Wednesday June 9th - White House

6AM - HOUR EARLY WAKE UP CALL!  WE ARE GOING TO BE BUSY TODAY!  Weee

Did I mention, we lost out first person.  As we were leaving the Hamburger Hamlet last night, The Preisdent of Palestine was getting out of his car.  Long story short, we had to leave the area, as the man with the machine guns told us.  Mr. Norris went back to check for more kids, bu they made our bus move.  We had to go down the street, and Norris had to beg just to cross the street by foot to rejoin us.

Also, as shown in this picture...

.

Coach Hurdle isn't always so... un-clumsy.  She was leaning down to get a drink of her coffee and hit her head on her straw!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I about lost it.  She had a big red dot on her head.  (Giggle)

Blog will be update again late tonight.  Sorry.  We are just so busy, I don't have nay other time.

Feel free to comment on the photos on flicker, the kids love reading those.

Today's agenda

Capital Photo

Air and Space Museum

Washington Monument

Ford's Theatre

Peterson House

Twilight Tattoo Parade

Blogs from this morning...

From Matt Norris

Going to be a great day, so far I was woken by beautiful music “Wake Up before you go go” which was uplifting and inspiring.  The climate in the hotel is one of pain and excitement;  Hurtle with a eye patch on from her night before and excitement about the opportunity to see amazing things today.  Group picture today (I might even be in this one, don’t believe I’m taking it) then to one of my highlights of the trip Air and Space Museum. 

From the Cutting Boys

We are still full from last night.  Eating everybody else’s leftovers at Hamburger Hamlet proved to be a daunting task, but we conquered it in an epic fashion.  Waking up at 6 in the morning proved to be the most exciting part of the day so far, mainly because it is the only thing that we have done.  Hopefully the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum will provide a lot more entertainment than waking up frozen to your bed.  That, and dancing at every monument and memorial possible. Austin seemed to be really attached to the uniform that Washington wore in the Revolution.  I think he is going to look at ordering one off of EBay when we get home. At least we remembered to charge the camera battery today.   The Cutting Boys

Grant Estill Says

We have had a great time here in D.C.! we have gone to so many interesting places and had so much fun. Group B is the best and I look forward to the rest of the trip, and not all the early mornings! –Grant Estill… and Gary Moss is the man.

Austin Dooley writes

D.C. is the absolute bomb guys you all should be extremely jealous that we are here and you are not.  Despite how awesome D.C. truly is I’m getting a little homesick, or maybe that’s just cause we had to wake up at 6am and not getting home till 11.

-THE DOOLEY

p.s. GARY MOSS IS THE MAN   

Blake Emery Board 

D.C is amazing seems like it is going to rain today so hopefully what we are doing is on the inside the trip is so amazing I don’t want to talk about it.  By the way Gary Moss is the MAN!!

Blake Emery board

From Brittany Conn-Vict 

D.C . is soooo cool! I’ve had so much fun so far! (Hannah Simon just handed me a muffin(: …) Goodness there is so much walking though! I mean my  feet hurt! Haha.. D: Don Ton just dropped his toy on Coach Ketchams laptop(shhh don’t tell him) and it like restarted :o …stupid Don Ton.  

  - BRITTANY CONN(:

Darcie Grim Writes...

I love D.C! I’m having so much fun so far, I definitely want to come back sometime. A lot of interesting stuff has happened so far. Mr. Norris got left at dinner last night, and we had to go back for him. That was pretty funny. We saw the president of Palestine too. The hotel has been an interesting adventure, the elevator seem to be a great source of entertainment for some people (they like to push all the buttons at once) as well as dancing in their rooms. I would like to thank my parents for sending me! It is definitely worth something when you go on a trip out of town with your 8^th grade class. It is the best way to remember all of these great people. Ms. Hafner and Coach Ketcham are the coolest people ever!! After reading this, you should go look at all the pictures of us (: They are very attractive, I’m sure.  Well Hannah is bugging me to finish up so she can write something so I will close this off. Thanks!!

n  Darcie GrimJ (The coolest person ever)

 HannahSimon says...

Howdy people!! Ive been saying howdy a lot because most people here in DC think that us folk from Texas ride horses to school…everyone has been coming up with horse names to tell them…I just tell them that I’m to poor to have a horse and I a have a horse and that I have a cow named Bessie! J   well mom, if your out there reading this blog thing…I just want you to know that i…..uhm…I accidentally broke my bracket yesterday!! But it was for a good reason! I was trying to fix my new shades that SOMEONE *cough cough* Sarah Rodriguez *cough cough* broke.  So yeah…well DC has been great…unless you have to wake up at 6 in the morning!!! Blech! Oh and let me tell you about all the group pictures we’ve been taking! Coach Ketcham is amazingly awesome and so is Brittany Conn (they were just standing behind me!) well I got to go do some history type stuff! Ta ta for now!

~Hannah Zara Simon (aka the only ninja spy :P)

So early morning... a lot to do....

Capital Photo - We went in front of the capital and got our group photo taken.  Look for some surprises when that is all said and done.  (wink)

Washington Monument - We got tickets... but the elevator was broken.  So, we entertained ourselves...

Don't feed the animals

Air and Space Museum

The Wright Brothers planbe is 85% original!

Ford's Theatre - Where Lincoln was shot.  I wish we had out Theatre Buff shirts.

A bad picture, but that is the both that Lincoln sat in.

Peterson House

Bed Lincoln died on.

Natural History - All sorts of neato stuff... giant squid, blue whales, animals, humans, bones, ect.

Neanderthal of DuPriest                                                                      Animal butt and Trent.... Twins?

ESPN Dinner -

Dinner and Games at ESPN zone!  Kids enjoyed it.  Austin had 43lbs of chicken.  It is ok, it was already paid for and all you could eat.

Jefferson Memorial

Jefferson memorial.

Tired of Dooley -

FDR Memorial -

Overall, besides the Washington Monument issues and we had one girl slip at the lunch area of the Smithsonian... she is ok... (her parents know), it was a good day.  We came back a little early since the kids wanted some relaxing time.  Tomorrow, White House and Nationals game.

Make sure you visit http://blog.letteddywin.com/ and enjoy this website.  The maker of the website has done a great job and is really helping our group out.

More to blog tomorrow.  Tired.  About ready to pass out.

Ketcham... Out!

Day 4 - Thursday June 10th - White House, Nationals Game, National Achives, Holocaust 

Now a blog form Emmiliany :D

Well HELLOOO!!! Ok well yesterday we went to the Jefferson memorial and oh my Lanta! I m am still amazed at all the Detail in every building we go to its insane!!! And the Smithsonian’s for air and space, and natural history were breath takingly awesome, I didn’t know some of those animals existed At some point and time (aside from in movies), then the air planes where just beast!! I loved seeing how they all changed from the earliest ones to the planes we have today. And Today the White House, National Game, and the National Archives YAY!! This should be fun, this week has been awesome …… well peace

Now a word from Jared Arizpe, aka superman….

Hello there, im jared and I bring the party every where I go. Don’t you wish you were as cool as me. Someone is trying to read my blog and im getting very mad at them. So yesterday morning, taylor hosford got pushed into some bushes by coach stitt and completely left  a hole in a bush, how funny is that im just gitting with excitement. Now the funny thing is that ching has fallen asleep first every night and we constantly mess with him. We draw faces on his face and his back. We also electrocute him in his sleep with the little zapper pens that we have. We now have a Frisbee that we can totally beast it up with even though its gotten stuck in trees and we had to send ching up to get it just cause hes so small. I wonder how he feels when he feels taller than all of us? Well now im out, you still wish you were me cause im a beastly beast so back up or we’ll have some issues. Superman out!!!!

Now a word from Zoe Gomersall,

The Museum of Natural History was HUGE!! An hour is not enough to explore the whole thing. I wish we could have stayed longer. Before that, we went to the Air and Space museum, and I got to see the spirit of saint Louis. It was fantastic. Today we’re going to the white house, fingers crossed that I meet Obama.

So this morning we went into the White House.  We got to do our self guided tour.  It was a lot of fun.  Since Lizzie hurt her back yesterday, we are pushing her around in a wheel chair.  Since she was in a wheelchair, we had to go through the back route.  As we (her and I) got escorted through the White House Kitchen, pantry, and other rooms, THE PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES stopped by and said hello to her and ask how she was.  It was really cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We were not allowed to have cameras or cell phone inside, we have no photos of it, but a very cool memory.

We have since went to the Old Post Office had lunch and your kids bought or were given ALLLLLLL sorts of crap.  I told you!

We are currently headed to the zoo, National Achieves, holocaust museum and then baseball game.  I cannot wait.

OHHEMMGEE!!! OBAMA IS SO AHHMAZING! So I got too meet the president of the United States!! We were going to the white house (I hurt my back) so, I couldn’t walk through the whole thing. As anyone else would do I got a wheel chair. There were stairs and I could not go down them so, I had to ride the elevator. Well to get to the elevator you have to pass the kitchen. OBAMA WAS IN THE KITCHEN! He walked out and said oh hi and shook my hand. I of course said hi back and he said what’s wrong with your foot? I said oh nothing it’s my back. And he said oh im so sorry!((: and I said oh it will be fine. And he said well I have to go get ready for my meeting later. I said ok well I guess I’ll talk to you later by!(: and he said by(: IT WAS SOOOOOO COOOLIOO((:        -Lizzy LaBerge

So, White House was amazing.

Went to the ZOO.  Saw the Pandas and all sorts of animals.

After that we went to the National Archives and that was amazing.  We got to see the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, Magma Carta.  Very cool.  Couldn’t take a lot of photos in there.

Holocaust museum,  We didn’t get to spend a lot of time in there, not nearly as much as we wanted, but it was very cool.  We saw Daniel’s Story.   Very touching.

National Game.  Teddy lost the race, but we were on TV and the Jumbo Tron.  The girls won fan of the game and won free food in the ballpark.  You can’t even comprehend how crazy it got.  It was amazing,  We started chanting Adam Dunn and he turned around and tip his cap to us.

Scott Ableman and his son and I.  He took a group of us down to the finish line for the end of the race.  It was a blast.  Thanks Scott!

http://blog.letteddywin.com/

If you watch the race, and watch about the last 30 seconds, you can see a group of us with signs.  Rubio, McGranahan, Riley, Chapman, Ketcham, Cutting 1 and 2, ect.  If you listen, Coach Ketcham yells at George Washington to "Go back to Mount Vernon."

Can’t believe how fast this trip went by.  One more day.  Going to make tomorrow, AMAZING!  MOUNT VERNON.

Day 5 - Friday June 11th - Mount Vernon

BLog....

Now a word from ‘Winnie Cooper’ (Erin Quinn)

Its officially Friday! The last day of the week. Oh my gosh! Its b een such a great week. Yesterday we went to the White House and got a little tour of five rooms. It was pretty cool! Then we went to the National Archives, then we went to The Old Post Office to eat lunch. After that we went to the zoo. The zoo was really cool, they had apes and small mammals. We went to the Holocaust Museum as well. After that we went to the Washington Nationals baseball game. The baseball game was awesome. We have a chanting war with like five other groups that were there. It was fun! I loved this week and it was so much fun. Thanks everybody for everything.

Much Love,

Quinny

Now something from Hannah Edwards

Well it’s the last day in dc and its kinda depressing . the good thing is I have had so much fun!!! The white house, capitol, nationals game and all the museums were really cool. Last night at the game, it was awesome we screamed so much that im starting to loose my voice. ( don ton just walked up… don’t break the computer don!)  Brittany conn is amazingly awesome!! WOOOOOO!!!!!!   This has been one of the best trips ever so much funnnn!  We are leaving so byeeee people reading this have a great day like me!

Love  Hannah Edwards ;)

Ok, just got home.  We got everyone home.  Thank you Lord.  Wow.  Here is the day in review...

Remember How I told you I would wear them out and you'd get your money's worth?  I did not lie.

Day 5 – Woke up early and went to Mount Vernon.  The home of George Washington. It was hot and most students were not able to see the awesome 4D movie because of the crowd and time restraints. L

Mount Vernon was very cool.  It is amazing how nice Washington’s House is still.

Washington Monument – We took a bunch of fun photos and spelled out HILLWOOD 2010.  Also, table-top Riley Emmons.  Brendan McGranahan licked the Washington Monument.

Walter Reed Medical Museum – Kids got to touch brains, see the bullet Lincoln was killed by, see the world largest hairball. Most students were drawn to the birthing video. They have all taken an abstinence pledge.

Now a word from my Great friend, Brittany Hafner….

Today is bittersweet because it is my official last day as a Husky. L I will be moving to Timberview in the Fall, but I am glad that I ended my years at Hillwood with some amazing students in DC. This definitely won’t be my last trip to DC though, as I plan on returning next year as the DC Consultant. I have amazing memories of rumors about me, licking elbows, and blocking boys from getting girls numbers. I am truly blessed to be a part of this incredible group and to have this wonderful experience.

Brenna Lemke….o man wow you should have been there Thursday night at the ball game lol wow…..we were on the news, we got broadcasted, and we were the only funn ones there cuz we were yelling screaming and jus goin at it and not scared to have funn and the best part bout it I think would have been Terrance….i mean jus sayin…..lol I had lots of funn I think I would fail 8^th grade to do this again but id rather stay in high school…..it was an amazing experience…..

Gabbie Rodriguez…..well let’s see this week has been amazing! I’ve loved everything, not so much all the walking on the first day but I think we all got used to it. All the museums and monuments and things were really cool. I think my favorite part was the baseball game. Nationals won!!! But it was so crazy. Chanting and cheering, hanging out with friends,  and oh and the BIG SCREEN!!! That was pretty awesome. By the end of the night I swear, non of us had our voices.  This year has been the best year ever. 8^th grade 2010…I will always remember. Well we are at the airport now…I guess ill see you back in Texas. Home Sweet HomeJ

Hafner and I am no match for Alrich.

As we loaded on the plane.. a little diddy started going through my head....

Final Wrap up by some of the kids...

Washington DC was probably the most educational and fun vacation I ever took. It had so much history to soak in, and with every step you took there was something new to learn about. I really enjoyed the Lincoln Memorial and the view of the Washington Monument everywhere you went. It showed just how big the monument actually was. The National Baseball Game was fun also. I'm not a baseball fan, but Coach Ketcham made the experience actually fun with the chant war we had against another school. The part I didn't enjoy was Mrs. Hafner's and Coach Ketcham's rude joke they played on me by telling me that I possibly couldn't ride the airplane home because my seat was the only one the airport overbooked. Hahaha? But I forgive them. I will always remember the trip I took to Washington DC in 8th grade.
 
~Allie Kautzman (Coach Ketcham's favorite student)

A quick wrap up of the trip (from Trevor):

                My favorite part of the trip was the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. The flight simulators were especially cool, because not only could you control them, they could go upside down. If we could have gone up in it, the Washington Monument would have probably been my second favorite part. On a more negative note, I don’t think I’ll eat another hamburger in the next month and a half. Almost every day, we ate at a McDonalds, or another hamburger place that night. The best place we ate at would probably be Pizza Uno, because they have really good deep dish pizza. Overall, there couldn’t have been a better place to have a summer vacation from the neat places we visited with friends, and I thank my grandparents very much for funding the trip for me.  Maybe next time I’ll get to visit the president too!  

Trevor Taylor

Hey Coach Ketcham,
Out of the entire trip the funnest thing that I liked about the trip was going to the Smithsonian and being able to walk around with my friends and learn at the same time. If I had to choose one thing I didn't like about the trip it was going to so many memorials. I think that instead of going to some of the memorials,  the group should've been able to spend either more time at the other places we really liked or to spend more time at the hotel to sleep. Having Coach Stitt, Coach Hurdle and Ms. Hafner with us was definitely fun. Laughed a lot! Thanks for the greatest trip!

Bo Baker