I have no idea where to start... When I found out that Children's Hospital in Boston was flying my family out to D.C. I had no idea what to expect. We got on a plane and after a delay we were off. My family did really well, and besides the fact that my ears killed, and that our shuttle got lost we made it to our hotel :-)

I had culture shock walking underneath the sign that said 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue and entering this beautiful building.
This was like no hotel I've ever stayed in before. Although the hospital got a discount we were staying in rooms that were normally $1,000 a night! We had fun ordering room service, and enjoying the big rooms.

On Tuesday morning the real fun began :-) God blessed us with gorgeous weather and we loaded onto a bus for a tour of D.C. Our first stop was the Air and Space Museam where we saw fun things like Amelia Earhart's plane, the Wright brothers plane, the luna rover, german war planes, many cool planet exhibits, and so much more! Then we left and headed to the jefferson memorial where we had a picnic lunch and had a gorgeous view of the washington monument. Then we got to see the White House! It's funny after seeing Independence Day, Air Force One, and a bunch of other movies centered around the white house, when we saw it, it seemed smaller than I imagined but so cool! The building was beautiful even with the "impeach bush signs" and all the security on the roof, it was pretty sweet :-) But, I had one photo oppurtunity with Bush and I completley blew it! I blinked!

haha! kidding... Bush was in Iraq, but here is a fun picture of me with S.J. and Andrew in front of the White House:

After leaving the white house we headed back to the hotel and had a meeting where we learned all about "lobbying" and what the next day would look like with meeting and talking with the senators at the capitol.

That night they had a special dinner planned for us at the National Zoo and the band Scythian played. They were incredible! These guys had an Irish feel to them, and their amazing fiddle playing made me want to learn the violin again :-) We watched as these guys made dreams come true, including that of my little brother Andrew. Andrew loves music and he has a very good ear. These guys let him come up on stage and play around ten songs with them. They kept "upgrading" his instruments, and they let him play a shaker, tambourine, they taught him how to use a washboard (haha it was awesome :-) the drums, accordian..... They were pretty much blown away, and wanted him to go tour with them, hehe. It was fun watching Andrew up there, and these guys made the difference in so many kids lives, it was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip. I love Irish music, and the smiles on these kids faces were incredible! The animals did not even come close to that experience! Andrew and I each got one of their CD's too, so we can have ourselves a regular Irish Pub experience anytime, without the beer of course :-)

Wednesday was crazy. We were all dressed up to go to the capitol, had breakfast with Senator Kennedy, camera's were everywhere so that was intimidating. Then throughout the day we took a tour of the capitol, and met Charlie Bass, and John Sanunnu. It was kind of a blur, but we were able to advocate the importance of Children's Hospitals to the people who have the power to change things and bring great support.

With a visit to the Lincoln Memorial, Starbucks, and back to the hotel, we were already back on our journey home. It was an incredible trip and my family was so blessed to be able to have this experience and meet some great families. Being able to experience something like this and have it all be free was an incredible blessing and I know it meant the world to Andrew and to my family, so thank you Children's Hospital!

I will add websites with more pictures from the trip when I am not so tired, and when Scythian, and Children's Hospital get their links up.

As for the normal adventures in life, my last day at work is tomorrow, then I am hoping to have a sleepover saturday night with a few of the junior high girls, then off to Maine next week! Namibia is only fourteen days away.

I also have started reading "Seizing your Divine Moment" and I love it so far. One of my favorite quotes so far is so straightforward it makes me laugh, but with some nerves of graduating next year it's been helpful. "If the future terrifies you, take it one moment at a time." :-) I have so many thoughts on just the first two chapters, but that's for another entry.

Be Blessed everyone, and remember to seek after Him in everything!

~Amanda

PS: Currently my picture option isn't letting me add any more pictures to this entry, but I will soon!