Monday, June 21, 2010

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Day 10

The morning started off with sad good-byes to all our fellow CWFer's. We boarded our bus to begin our long journey home. we started off the day with naps and after a few hours watched the emotional movie World Trade Center. That caused a few tears. We stopped for lunch at Washington, Pennsylvania choosing from Arby's, Panera Bread, McDonald's, or Walmart. (You can tell it's a non touring day because we're listing our selection of restaurants) We lightened the mood with the comedy She's the Man and FINALLY reached our destination in Dayton, Ohio.
They said that there were restaurants within walking distance of the hotel, but we found a six lane highway in the row, so we had to track down Don, the driver, to take us to get some grub. Some ate at Arby's & spent 2 1/2 hours in the pool, while others spent 2 hours in the Olive Garden sharing some laughs. Finally, we ended the night with a meeting by the pool, and learning that we get to sleep in an extra hour before heading out again.

Zack blomquist

Day 9

A week of no sleeping is finally catching up to all of us, but we all got up early and headed to the Pentagon! To get to the Pentagon, some of us experienced our first subway ride (we had a little bit of trouble working the ticket machine). Once we got the tickets, we loaded up, some almost didn't make it in the door! Once getting to the Pentagon, we had to run because they almost cancelled our tour. During the tour we visited the 911 memorial, walked through the 235th birthday party of the U.S. Army, and walked around the whole perimeter of the Pentagon.
Once the tour was over we hopped back on the subway headed back to the bus, and on to the mall via our bus. We then had a free day. Some spent the day shopping or visiting the museums like the Holocaust, Air & Space, or the National Archives. Yet others went to the Hard Rock Cafe, or got conned into buying some great deals at the store by a salesman.
We met at 4 O'clock to head back to a subway then tried getting on a bus (there were lots of states trying to get on the bus). It took three buses to get us all back. Some of us got on free since the driver got irritated that it took too long, which was a good deal for those that didn't have to pay.
Upon returning to the national 4-H Center we dropped our bags and rushed to dinner which happened to be a cookout. After dinner we met as a delegation one last time to fill out surveys about the week's events. We also presented our gift basket to our amazing PA , Aly. I think KAMO got to her because not only was she wearing her "I Love Beef" pin on her headband, but she also vowed to hang the "Eat Beef" license plate in her room. All rather funny considering she is a vegetarian.
Following delegation wrap up was the talent show, opened by Ashley Fitzimmons singing a beautiful National Anthem. Rebekah blew the crowd away with her musical skills and Bryan and Cain provided chuckles with their comedy routines. Surprise act of the night was Harrison who beat boxed Free Bird by request. Finally we danced the night away and packed and hit the hay.

Catherine Huck & Ronnie Hart

Friday, June 18, 2010

Day 8

Thursday started off with breakfast in the Clover Cafe. MMMmmm! No complaints there. There are always 3 to 4 choices at every mealtime and they're all fabulously yummy! Good thing that we get a lot of exercize.

We headed to our daily workshops. After that, most of us found our bills returned from the government committee either accepted, revised, or completely redone. We then had the choice to accept their changes or debate our side at Congressional Session. My workshop chose to deny and debate our side, which is to take physical education out of schools (because it calls for more government funding, excludes those with disabilities, schools would need more teachers to give assistance to such kids, this takes time away from core classes and such activities can be done after school hours and given to those with interest and/or ability). I think it all went really well. Many people had questions about the bills, laughs were had too!

Today was also the last day of committee meetings. Everyone was hurrying to finish last minute tasks. The communications and public relations committee finished up the last of their presentations. We're looking forward to reading their newspaper, and seeing the slideshow and video they've put together for tomorrow night!

Our cultural heritage evening was tonight also. We went to a dinner theater to see "Hairspray". We all looked quite lovely, if I do say so myself.

The show was amazing. We all had a blast.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Day7


Day7

Today was another good day. As expected, we rose up early to start our day with some breakfast before heading to Capital Hill. The Capital Hill experience was started off with a guided tour of the Capital building. One guide happened to be a current student at the University of Kansas.... which was very ironic. Here's a fun fact for you, the President can't enter the Capital Building unless invited by a Senator.
The MO. + KS. delegations were split up to go to their respective Senator and Representative meetings. The highlight of the MO. kids' visit was the meeting with Rep. Blaine Luetkenmeyer. The meeting with Senators Brownback and Roberts didn't go quite as planned where as Senator Roberts was sick. Brownback mostly talked about the oil spill and the healthcare bill. The Kansas Delegation then split up according to their districts to meet with their Representatives.
We then ate supper at the Union Station. Then, we went to the Kennedy Center and watched a very interesting modern dance production. After, we returned, we had free time, where some used it to play cards, basketball, volleyball and other games. Most everyone is tired, but also very excited to see Hairspray tomorrow, and ready for another fun filled day of DC festivities.

Brittany Joerg

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Day6

Today was the third day of adventures and much longer for those delegates who traveled long distances to reach the National 4-H Youth Conference Center. If I may say so, today was the most awe-inspiring thus far.
We headed to Iwo Jima, Arlington, and the FDR Memorials all before lunch. Our P.A. told us a true story about a man that stood at the bottom of the Iwo Jima Memorial to pay respects to his father. Our bus driver, Don, drove the round-about around the monument that honors the lost in the battle for Iwo Jima, Japan. The story told of each of the six men raising our proud flag. Three of the six made it home - most of them as young as seventeen. The story definitely struck reality into our hearts, most of us the exact age of the fallen.
While FDR told of Roosevelt's Presidency, Arlington pulled heart strings as we saw the tomb stones stretched out as far as our eyes could see, standing in perfectly straight lines. What got many of us the most, was watching the changing of the guartd and spotting a fallen hero being lead to his or her final resting place. Leading just ahead was this person's family, including two small children. We'll never forget sights like these.
We arrived back at the National 4-H Center for our workshops and committee meetings. Many of us worked on writing bills in our workshops to be sent to the government committees for discussion and improvements.
Town Hall was presented to us tonight. We were split into groups and given topics for discussion, just like in an actual town hall meeting. Many of the topics got pretty heated (like abortion and the legal drinking age), and when everything had been said and done early, some brought up an interesting question: crunchy or smooth peanut butter?
Fun was had by all at the Derby this afternoon! Many activities were set up by the Healthy Living Committee (Thanks Guys!).
We learned how to make a "smart" action plan and follow through in our delegate group meeting. We had to plan out a first date. Randy had his first date on paper! Let's hope he had a lovely time.
We also received our CWF Polos tonight. Hopefully we'll get to wear them to the Air Force Band tomorrow, providing that it doesn't rain.
Oh, and do you hear that noise? Sounds like it's a game of extreme spoons in the hall tonight! :)

Ashley Davis

Day 5

Our day began with an awesome breakfast at the Clover Cafe, which is stationed on the National 4-H Center campus. Afterwards we boarded the bus and headed to the home of our nation's first President, George Washington. As we drove to Mount Vernon, our P.A. Aly, showed us sights and told us stories of the areas we traveled through.
When we arrived at Mount Vernon we had to wait in line for forever and a day! But boy was that wait worth it. Mount Vernon was immense and beautiful. The outside was made of wood that was notched and covered with sand to look like bricks. One of the delegates noted that Washington's bed chambers were plain and white, while all the guest chambers were bright and exquisitely furnished. Another comment was that the view was amazing! When we were asked to compare Mount Vernon and Monticello, it was unanimous that our delegation preferred Mount Vernon. Some of the similarities we found between the two included the bright green dining rooms ant that both plantations were agriculture based. The green walls were said to show off wealth and assist in digestion. Along with the similarities there were differences between the two. These included the materials that were used to build and the size of the estates.
Once we were finished venturing through the house, we were turned loose to explore the grounds. Some of the sites we took in were the wharf, the old barn, and the grave site of the Washington family. As we neared the end of our visit, we went to the theater which showed the battles that Washington participated in. The theater even snowed! Our visit came to a close and we headed back to the 4-H Center for lunch.
After lunch, we all attended our workshop and committee meetings. In the Government committee, Blake, Ronni and Tori were all elected to leadership positions for the congressional session. Ben Bellar was elected head of the week's video. Rebekah and Cain auditioned for the talent show.
When we finished supper, we went on our "Night View" of D.C. The similarities we noted in all of the memorials was the relation to Greek and Roman architecture. Part way through our tour it began to rain. However, it was right as we viewed the Korean War Memorial. We all thought it was neat to see the names at the Vietnam Memorial. It made us all proud to be Americans!

Blake Madsen

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Day 4

CWF 2010
5/13-Day 4
We were able to get a slightly later start this morning, since it was Sunday and breakfest didn't start until 7:00 instead of 6:00, we didn't leave until 7:40. On the bus, we counted off, practiced the chant, and then we were off to Colonial Williamsburg!
We arrived a Colonial Williamsburg at 8:56. Mysteriously, we got two tour guides to show us the Court House, Where we had the amazing justices Tiana, Ronnie, Brittany, and Rebecca. Ashley was the law expert. Harrison was our stand in jury, and Garret our Sherrif. The case was of petty theivery, of myself stealing a chicken from Amanda. I was found guilty, after Garret banged his big stick against a hard block, and I was sentenced to either the head lock, the foot lock, or whipping. While I thought the head lock would be the best, our tour guide convinced me that whipping would be faster, and I would be able to hold my reputation.
Afterwards, we were guided through the Mayor's Palace, and the Jail. Afterwards, we had an hour to tour the town.
After departing, we arrived at a Travel Store at 1:00 P.M. We had the option to eat at Pizza Hut, Popeyes, or the Reasturant. We left at 2:00.
We arrived at the National 4-H center around 5:00. Immediately, we met Ally, who is our Program Assistant, and we met in our delegation room, the Anderson Room.
At 6:30, the opening assembly started with a bang from the Kansas and Missouri delegation, as we ignited the assembly with our amazing chant, as well as various cheers as we competed against the other states for cheering dominence. We definatly won.
As the flags entered, we cheered and honored our flag and then cheered for our program assistant. We then broke into our workshop groups.
After the workshop groups and committee groups, we met for a pin exchange and social. We enjoyed meeting delegates from 8 other states. We enjoyed the Cupid Shuffle, the Cha Cha Slide and a massive fist pumping session because we love to party.
Afterwards, we had reflections.
Interesting facts:
Our P.A. is a vegetarian.
There are some 4-H groups that don't show animals.
Williams burg was Hot, just because we didn't know if you expected it or not.
Williamsburg was pawned Montechellio.
And Eric (A.K.A. Brick) and Brittiny are awesome flag carriers.
So that wraps up todays blog. We had an awesome 'official' first day, and can't wait for the rest of the week.
You can't see it, but I tugged my ear to say love you Mom, Dad, Collyn, and Carson. And happy birthday Dad.
-Today's Blogger,
Cainejeman Fouard.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Day3


Day3

The day began in West Virginia and another long day of traveling was in store for us. To pass the long hours of the mountain drive, in the morning we watched Night at the Museum 2. We were also informed by Ben that "this is the farthest West I've been." After a morning of travel, we finally arrived at our first event, "Monticello", the estate of President Thomas Jefferson. However, because of a "Severe Storm", our tour was postponed. Once the storm passed, we were finally allowed to tour the house. Some of the interesting facts that we learned about Jefferson is that he ran his estate while creating a nation, that he disliked slavery, but owned slaves. He brought his cook to Paris to learn the "French" way of cooking, and he slept sitting up. The gardens and scenery around Monticello were beautiful and it was cool to walk where our former President walked. Another awesome feature of the estate was the beds. The overall experience gave us more respect for President Jefferson.
Because of the rain delay, we arrived to hotel an hour late. After moving into our rooms, we went to eat at Bob Evans. The food was good, but the service was terrible. Another long day of travel has come to an end and tomorrow we will reach our final destination, Washington, D.C.
Elaine VenJohn

Friday, June 11, 2010

Day 2


Day 2

We made up our chant: (Sing to the tune of I Like Big Butts)
We love 4-H and we can not Lie. You other states can't deny when we walk in
with all our swag we shout out loud and say go KAMO! Go, go KAMO 4-H! Go
KAMO! Go, go KAMO 4-H! Say what?!

To pass time we played Apples to Apples, slept and watched National Treasure and
Dear John (Guys I'm pretty sure we saw some tears...but don't worry we won't tell
anyone) Off the bus we had some quality bonding time at Wally World and for supper
half of the group went to Cracker Barrel and the other half went to Almost Heaven.
Tori Black

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Day 1

Today after loading and heading off from Salina at 8:45, we began our journey. After eating at 10:45 at Hardee's in Topeka, we picked up more delegates and soon discovered that the toilet on the bus was broken. The real fun started after picking up more delegates in Kansas City. We kept entertained by playing B.S., Apples to Apples, and Frogger. After picking up the final delegates in Columbia Missouri, we finally reached our hotel in Collinsville, Illinois around 6:20. We settled into our rooms and set out for food. Some enjoyed shakes from Steak N' Shake, and dinner at the hotel. Later, delegates either enjoyed the pool, or hanging with new friends in their rooms. Carly Anderson

They're on the Road

Our 2010 Kansas 4-H CWF group hit the road from Salina at 8:47am this morning.  We'll look forward to hearing from them throughout the trip!