Thank You!

Thank You!

One of the many lessons we have learned through this experience is how blessed we are today for all the men and women who have gone before us, working toward and sacrificing for a future that they could only dream of and that we get to enjoy just by virtue of being born in this great nation.

So now we offer our thanks to all those who helped make this trip possible:

1) Thank you to our parents, for allowing us to go (and paying for it!)

2) Thank you to our Traveling Team of Chaperones, Mrs. Bentley, Dr. Ekin, Mrs. Gallivan, Mr. Hellriegel and Mr. Williams.

3) Thank you to our Home Team, especially Mr. Van Patten and Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Williams, and Mrs. Moody.

4) Thank you to those brilliant, brave men and women who have made this nation great for our benefit.

5) Thanks be to God, and to him be all glory.

We pray that God will grant us the grace, strength and courage to use and build upon the foundation given us to continue to pass these blessings along to those who come after us.

Cat's Cradle, by Maddie Ekin

As you may have noticed, almost everyone has a picture on the blog depicting them doing or showing off a completed Jacob’s ladder or cat’s cradle. Madeline, Melina, and I have taken it upon ourselves to teach everyone (especially the boys) to complete these string games. Noah was first, setting the record as THE SLOWEST LEARNER!!!!! I taught him on an hour long car ride and he barely learned it by the time we reached our destination. He had a problem with flipping his wrists so we all helped him do “wrist exercises.” Finally, though, by the end of the day, he learned it so well he became an honorary girl. Next was Talbot, who was taught by Madeleine, was “Not as bad as Noah” (Madeleine quote). Next I taught Sam. WELL, he kept randomly dropping strings and picking strings up, and trying to fix things that, frankly, didn’t need fixing. Finally, at a Friendly’s restaurant, Sam mastered the elusive Jacob’s ladder skills. At that same fateful restaurant, I taught MR. HARVEY!! He, being Mr. Harvey, got it on his first try. Currently, while I am writing this, Melina is teaching Jonathan. Hopefully, his picture will be posted soon too because a picture means success and success is good.

The Capitol Building, by Noah Hellriegel

            First we walked at least five (hyperbole alert) miles from Union Station to the Rayburn House Office Building.  We later learned that a less roundabout path took only about a mile.  We had to go through innumerable (hyperbole alert) metal detectors and x-ray machines before we arrived at Congressman Jay Inslee’s office.  There we met with Achille who was an awesome intern.  He took us through underground tunnels that led to the Capitol itself.  There we went through more safety measures and then experienced our government at work, as Achille left and we waited for forty five minutes (hyperbole alert) before he returned.  Another walk through hot, probably lead lined tunnels brought us to more security before entering the Capitol.  The obvious reason for this security is to catch the people who either bored into the tunnel from the surface, or tricked the first machine (this being the government, all the security was the same type).  After finally getting through security and surrendering our coats and cell phones, we explored the many rooms of the Capitol.  One of them, the Old House Chambers, (Now called Statuary Hall) had a very interesting acoustic feature.  Although the room was very loud, if you stood in one part of the room, you could hear quite clearly a person talking in a quiet voice from far across the room.  It is said that John Quincy Adams took advantage of this phenomenon to eavesdrop on other members on the other side of the room.    

Washington Monument by Jonathan Gallivan

Today we visited the massive Washington Monument.  It stands 555 feet, slightly taller than the Space Needle (518 feet).  Construction began in 1845 and finally finished in 1884 with a gap caused by the Civil War.  A clear color line can be seen on the monument because the stone they used to build the monument did not match the stone they used after the war.  The Washington Monument is an obelisk built without any steel or wooden support. It was fully constructed with mortar and is very strong. An obelisk is a tall rectangle with a pyramid on the top. This shape was chosen because in Egypt obelisks represented immortality. So Washington is immortal in our hearts.  As Henry Lee said in his eulogy of Washington: “He was first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”   We entered the massive elevator and zoomed toward the top.  After disembarking the elevator we explored the top of the monument. Two windows sat on each of the four sides of the monument big enough for a clear view of the city. (Or for someone to fall out of…) After viewing the city from a “bird’s eye view” we traveled down the stairs to the elevator pick up section. If you plan to go to D.C GO TO THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT!!!

More Monuments at Night

Monuments at Night

More Monuments at Night/Kennedy Center

Spy Museum/National Archives

Random

More Barn Dance Photos

Capitol

Hi Everyone! Seattle is supposed to be the rainiest city in the US, but our rain is cold and drizzly. On our way to the Capital, it started raining like crazy. The drops were as big as marbles, and the wind created a whirl of water. It was so humid that we were all sweating in our coats. As we got ready to leave Union Station on our way to the Capital, some people came in completely drenched. They looked like they had gone in the shower with their clothes on!!! The Capital was really cool to be inside. Did you know that each state donates a different statue to represent someone famous from their area? We weren’t able to see the Senate and House in session because it was President’s Day Week, but we got to see where they meet. When we left, we walked into a hurricane! (OK, it wasn't really a hurricane;it was really windy). The wind whipped our hair and clothes everywhere, and our class picture in front of the capital showed us trying to smile with our hair in front of our eyes! We were all relieved when we got back to the parking lot to make our way back to the 4H Center. I miss you guys, but it’s really awesome here! See you all soon!

-Madeleine

National Cathedral

Hi Everyone,
We went to the National Cathedral for a tour. There were many stained glass windows in the building that contained stories from the Bible and history. We also went uo to the 7th floor where one could look outside into the distance. We also tried to find the Darth Vader gargoyle, but we unfortunately did not find it.

-Talbot

More Gettysburg

Cat's Cradle?

A Day at Gettysburg by Duncan Williams

On Thursday, our class went the site of one of the greatest battles in the history of the Civil War: Gettysburg. The national historic battlefield was snow covered and peppered with monuments dedicated to the regiments and commanders of the Confederates and the Union. Our tour guide, John Fuss, was not ancient, but close to it. Filled with a plethora of Civil War facts, he directed us through the entire field of battle and relived the entire conflict. The Civil War was fought between the Northerners, or the Union, and the Southerners, or the Confederates. The Confederates wanted to keep slavery, while the Union believed that the slaves had the right to be free. One of the Union generals was named Sickle. He was a complete moron, and was only a general because, being a politician, had bought himself into the war. After the tour, we visited the super cool museum with genuine artifacts and cloths. It showed the differences of the soldiers. The Confederates wore gray wool, and had secondhand equipment, while the Union had up to date weapons and cloths. After the museum we piled into the van, and went to Ruby Tuesday’s and then back to the 4-H. Gettysburg is a place that I would defiantly visit again!

-Duncan