Road Trippin' It With 8th Graders & "High Fives"

It is Saturday May 24 and I arrived back home late last night (around 11 pm) from a 4 day trip with my beloved 8th grade students. We left very early (6:30 am) Tuesday morning on a bus headed for Washington DC. We visited the Smithsonian museums (I only managed to make it to the Natural History Museum with my group), the Hard Rock Cafe, the White House, took a subway ride, and visited the Iwo Jima Memorial and that was only Tuesday afternoon!

On Wednesday we were up very early and had our picture taken on the steps of the Capitol. Then we got to go up inside the Washington Monument and view Washington from high above. Then we ate lunch and headed to the National Cathedral. Next we visited Arlington National Cemetary. We had two students who actually participated in the wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and then got o witness the changing of the guard. This was particularly neat for me since the last time I was at Arlington was when I was in 8th grade and I was in the wreath laying ceremony. :) (On another side note, Arlington is VERY hilly and I would like to give myself special kudos for trekking up the many hills of the cemetary while 6 months pregnant! Go me!) After Arlington we headed to dinner and then took a walking tour of the FDR memorial and the Jefferson memorial. By the time we got to the memorials it was getting darker, which actually ended up being pretty cool. Finally, we headed back to the hotel.

On Thursday we were up very early again and headed to the Capitol once more. This time we got to go inside the chamber where the House of Representatives meets. This is where the President gives his (or her) State of the Union address from every year. There were fewer than 25 representatives present that morning, which was kind of disappointing. However, the representatives that were there were giving 1 minute speeches on various things to basically just ensure they would be on the record. It was an interesting process and it was definitely pretty neat to see the actual building itself. From the Capitol we headed to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. This is where our money is made. It was a very cool process and I was very excited to see the piles and piles of money just laying around and waiting to be shipped. If only it could be shipped directly to me! :) After our tour we went to the Mall where we enjoyed a picnic lunch. Please understand me clearly, I am NOT complaining, however, I must say that it was rather chilly eating lunch on the Mall. While the sun was out sporadically, there was a constant wind that made being outside a bit cold. But, I would MUCH, MUCH, MUCH rather be cold than hot, so I did not complain even once! After lunch we walked over the the World War II Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and the Korean War Memorial. All 4 were exciting to see and our language arts teacher and the students left a book of poetry behind at the Vietnam Memorial. It was dedicated to Clarence "Beau" Casto, who was the only man from West Jefferson to die in Vietnam. (Again on a happy side note, ALL of my students had their poems finished and turned in on time, so their works were all included in the book!) After the memorials we headed to the United States Holocaust Museum. Again, the last time I had been at the museum was when I was in 8th grade. That was 15 years ago and the museum had just opened. I can remember going there, but I didn't remember a whole lot about it. We unfortunately did not have a great deal of time, but I can definitely say that it is a museum that is well worth the visit. My students got a lot out of the visit and I did too! After the museum it was off to the National Archives Building. We got to see the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Since we spent a great deal of time talking about all 3 documents this year, the kids seemed to really enjoy getting to see the actual papers themselves. From the National Archives Building we headed to the pier for our Potomac Dinner Cruise. We had a decent meal and then all the kids (and many chaperones and teachers) enjoyed dancing. I enjoyed sitting and watching everyone dance and got to enjoy the sensation of the baby dancing inside of me! Based upon Thursday evening's experience, this baby girl should be quite the dancer. :) Finally, around 10:15 pm we boarded the buses and headed back to our hotel. It was a VERY long day!

On Friday we were up early one last time and headed out to Mount Vernon. The whole plantation was very beautiful and we got to head down to the Potomac to get one last up-close view of the very pleasant surroundings. After Mount Vernon it was back to the buses and then a VERY long trip home. There was a horrible accident on I-70, so we had to take a different route for a large part of our journey (I-68). It was pretty, but quite hilly. We finally arrived back in West Jeff around 10:15 pm. It really was a great trip and I was very proud of all of my students. They weren't perfect angels, but I would say they behaved better than any other group we witnessed, which is really saying quite a lot. They are a good group of kids and I'm glad they got to enjoy this experience.

Now, with my journey told, I thought I would also complete this "Fivers" challenge that I have seen Amy and Al complete.
The questions are listed one at a time and my answers are right below the indvidual questions.

What were you doing five years ago?
In May of 2003 I had just moved back to Ohio and was settling in with Sarah and Jenny at 58 Crestview. I had just secured my first full year job for the 2003-2004 school year at Windsor Academy in Columbus Public. I was substitute teaching in Dublin and basically enjoying a fairly lazy existence. I wasn't dating anyone and my grandfather was still alive and living with my parents. My sister was getting ready to graduate from high school and life was all around pretty good.

What are five things on your to-do list for today?
Well, it's almost 8 pm now, so I'll reveal what was on my list for today.
1. Get caught up on my sleep (I accomplished this by getting up and eating breakfast and then going back to sleep!)
2. Enjoy eating food that wasn't prepared with tons of grease and prepared really quickly. (We went to a Mexican place!)
3. Play our new Nintendo Wii! (We just got it yesterday!)
4. Go shopping for a rocker/glider. (We went out to the JC Penney outlet store, but had very little luck)
5. Enjoy spending time with Adam and the kitties (I've done this all day!)

What are five snacks you enjoy?
1. Ice Cream - vanilla or strawberry are probably my 2 favorites
2. 100 calorie snack packs (pretty much any variety)
3. Chips with French Onion dip
4. Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
5. Mom's macaroni and cheese (usually a meal, not just a snack)

What are five things you would do if you were a billionaire?
1. Pay off our own and our family's debts (It would be fantastic to be debt free!)
2. Move to Worthington
3. Travel - anywhere and anytime
4. Buy some new furniture (a bigger bed, a new couch, new dining room table and chairs)
5. Donate at least some of the money to a worthy charity (Cozy Cat Cottage?)

What are five of your bad habits?
1. Being too negative
2. Being too hard on myself and others
3. Not cleaning up immediately when I make a mess
4. Not speaking with friends as often as I would really like to
5. Not getting enough exercise and/or eating out too much

What are five places you have lived?
1. Columbus, Ohio (in Clintonville - Kensington and Crestview)
2. Worthington, Ohio (on Stafford)
3. Indianapolis, Indiana (at Butler and 2 different apartments)
4. Florence, Italy (while studying abroad)
5. Columbus, Ohio (in my house in the hood!)

What are five jobs you've had?
1. Worthington Public Library book processor
2. Babysitter
3. Blockbuster Video Cashier
4. Insurance Saleswoman
5. Teacher

What five people do you want to tag?
1. Adam (you can put your replies in my comments section!)
2. Rhian (she doesn't have a blog either and she's in Cyprus right now, so I'm not counting on this anytime soon!)
3. Jerry or Patty (I know you read this!)
4. Mom or Dad
5. Anyone else who feels they have something to share!

Well, I get to go to the doctor again on Wednesday and this will be my gestational diabetes "check" appointment. So, as soon as I learn something one way or the other, I will let you all know! Take care!