Thursday, March 17, 2011

Starting Soccer Season

We started our soccer practices a few weeks ago, and I really enjoy it! Tonight, my team(Gold team: the 8th graders and some 7th graders) and I had our first game of the season. We played BPS (British Primary School) and won 3 to 0!!!! :) This means we are undefeated so far:)

All of my 8th grade soccer-playin' buddies and I have been playing soccer together since about kindergarten. We are all pretty good at soccer by now and have fun with the sport. This year, we are even better because we have three amazing coaches. The two women coaches are our Spanish teachers (we love them) and the male coach is our drama teacher (we love him too). They are really good coaches and they make playing soccer extremely fun too! I think those two qualities are very important for a coach to have.
I was voted one of the three team captains about a week ago. I was absolutely thrilled when I first found out that I was one of the chosen captains. At first, I thought that being a captain simply meant I would get to pick a few of the warm-up drills we would use as a warm up, but today, I learned this was not true at all...

Even though I have been playing soccer for a very long time, I am still not great at the sport. All of the 7th graders (and even a few of my 8th grade friends) were coming up to me and asking me for advice, "where they should be" and stuff like that. When they were asking me these questions, I was very flattered and flustered at the same time. Sometimes, I could answer their questions, but other times I would have no idea what they were talking about and would quickly redirect them to one of the other captains or one of the coaches. haha ;)

Anyways, it was a fun game and I scored one of the goals:) I will keep you updated on the scores of our future games!!!

This is our old soccer team that we all played in from about kindergarten through 4th grade. We were called the Rainbow Butterflies and, as you can see, we had everything with butterflies and rainbows on from head to foot! :)

Washington D.C. Trip

Yesterday, I got back from the most fun and wonderful trip of my life! Our class took a trip to Washington D.C. It was soooooo much fun!!!!! :)

I would write about everything we did, but we did SO much that it would take years to write about it all! We walked around 10 miles every day!!!!! I will just brief the trip for you ...

-------------------THE BEGINNING----------------------

Here we are at the airport. We are all excited.... (From left to right- Monique(Mo), Madeleine, Ashlin, and Amanda)


As soon as we got off the plane, it was pouring rain. AND I MEAN POURING! This was taken from inside the bus we used as a means of transportation throughout the trip.


I also took this from inside the bus. The rain had slowed down a bit and I thought this was so beautiful.


I got everyone's attention while we were stopped on the bus and thought this was so cute!!!

Here is a picture of me(left), Ashlin, and Hannah.

-----------------NEW DAY----------------------

When we first set foot in Colonial Williamburg, this was one of the first things we saw. I thought it was very pretty. This is also a good way to show you what the rest of Colonial Williamsburg looked like... White wood or bricks, and moss growing on everything.


Here is the main street of the town. This street is a mile long and has houses, shops, and other buildings that are just like they used to be back in the day. Some of the houses and buildings are originals. There are people dressed, talking, and working just like they used to. Some of the people even live there! I think that is so cool!!! One man that worked there told us the reason all of them were working/living there was because they wanted to preserve and keep the old ways "alive" so that the memories didn't completely fade away. I thought that was pretty cool!



Here is a picture of one of the houses and a pretty tree that was just starting to bud out. Many flowers and trees were starting to bud and bloom while we were on the trip.


This is a picture of doors to the jail cells. They put half of our group in one of the cells and it was really cramped. They told us that that is about how crowded it would have been when there were actual prisoners living in there. AHHHHH! That would have driven me crazy!


This is one of the side streets. I thought it was very interesting how the trees were growing in an arch shape over the road.


Two men on horseback came while we were exploring the area. They were a lot of fun and talked to us for a while...


Then our tour guide taught us how to play a game that they used to play back then. He wasn't sure what it was called, but he said it was a very popular game back then. It was a combination of cricket and baseball. You would place the ball in the hole, stomp on the lever, which would send the ball flying up into the air, and then you would whack it with the paddle. He let us try it and it was loads of fun! It is cool to be able to say that I played a game that people had played back in the late 1700s and early 1800s.



Okay...If you look at the chair in this picture, you would probably think it to be a normal chair. Actually, the seat of this chair lifts up and becomes a toilet! GROSS Right?!?!?!


RANDOM!!!!!! This is a cool hill with ivy covering it...


We got to walk through the Prince's home and this was over the entrance!!! I want one of those! haha ;)



This was the gateway to the Prince's royal garden. We got to see the beautiful garden and many of the flowers were starting to pop up and bloom. There was also a human maze made out of hedges in the gardens. You can only imagine how much fun a group of 8th graders had in that!!! :) :)


While on our tour, we passed by a bamboo forest, and right then and there, my friends and I decided that was where we would be coming back to spend our free time later that day...

So, here we are. This is how we spent part of our 2 hours of free time... (Me, Laura, Amanda, Kristina, Ashlin, and Marissa).


ME!!!!


We all carved our initials into one of the poles of bamboo:) Shhhhhh... don't tell! ;) haha just kidding... We were allowed to carve our initials... I think...


More bamboo pictures:)


This is us making a star with our fingers while at the hotel.


We had a fancy night out... We all got dressed up really nicely and had a wonderful, hot meal at the King's Crown Tavern. It was very fun! (Amanda, Laura, Kristina, Tierney, Rachel, Charlotte, Kate, Zoe, Anna, Kathryn, Madeleine, Ashlin).

------------------NEW DAY-----------------------

The next morning, we went to another historical place that had an Indian camp site, a small town, and ships. Here we are at the ship dock... (Back row: me, Madeleine,Kristina, Amanda... Front row: Laura, Marissa, Ashlin).


This is to show how much water they have there...


Eagle feathers were hanging above the chief's bed at the Indian site...


Next, we went to Monticello. Oh My Gosh!!!!! It was the most gorgeous house and estate EVER! It had some of Jefferson's original inventions in it, and it was so interesting!!! We saw his bedroom, his library, his invention room, and many more rooms. Then we got to go around to his "back yard". Hahaha! I wouldn't exactly call it a back yard! It was FABULOUS!!!



Here is one of the side buildings at Monticello.


Monticello also had a small cemetery where the Jefferson family and the workers were burried. This is a picture of Thomas Jefferson's grave...


Here is a picture of some of my friends and I standing with Thomas Jefferson. Haha... (Amanda, Kristina, Thomas, Hannah, Laura, me)...

------------------NEW DAY-----------------------


Now we are in D.C. The first thing we went to see when we got up that morning was the White House. Our teacher told us that when the flag is up and flying, like it is in this picture, it means the President is currently in the White House...


This is me, Kristina, Ashlin, Laura, Amanda, and Monique in front of the White House...


We took a picture of our class in front of these blooming cherry trees. They were SO GORGEOUS!!!!! They smelled wonderful, too. I would tell you everyone's name, but there are sooooooo many of us! haha...


Next, we went to the World War II Memorial. This was my favorite memorial that we visited throughout the whole trip. It was so beautiful and even more amazing at night. The water was crystal clear and sparkled in the sun. At night, the water was lit up beautifully and glimmered even more...


Here we are kneeling in front of the small pond at the memorial. You can just barely see the Lincoln Memorial in the background... (Nora, Ashlin, me, Laura)...



This kind of shows how clean and clear the water was...


Then, we went to the Abraham Lincoln Memorial. When you look at pictures of the statue of Lincoln, you think, "Oh, that's pretty big." You have NO IDEA how big it really is, until you are standing right in front of the thing! It is ENORMOUS!!!!!




Towards the back of this picture, you can sort of see a long, black wall. This is the Vietnam memorial. It was hard to get a good angle on the marvelous memorial so you could see that it is in the shape of a "V". This memorial is soooo cool! It is made out of black granite and reflects like a mirror. More that 58,000 names of soldiers that fought in the Vietnam War are carved into the stone...


This shows you how the wall reflects. This is a picture of my friends William and Charlie at the memorial...

Next, we went to the National Gallery of Art. This is a picture of one of the many fountains in the museum. The museum has gorgeous pieces of art in it, and I admired every piece in it...

------------------NEW DAY----------------------


Iwo Jima was the first memorial we visited the next morning. It is so cool and has a very neat special effect. As you drive around the memorial, the pole of the flag is shaped in a way that makes it look like the pole is actually being raised! It is AMAZING!!!!!


Right next to the Iwo Jima Memorial is the Arlington National Cemetery. This cemetery is absolutely stunning! The sun was just starting to rise, and made a beautiful sunrise in the sky. All of the headstones of the tombs are gorgeous and the grounds are very well kept...


Next, we went to the Capitol. Oh My Goodness!!!!! The architecture of the building is breath-taking...


Here is another angle of the Capitol...



This is yet another class picture of us in front of the Capitol...

Now, we are inside the Library of Congress. This is the ceiling of the main area.... Isn't it magnificent?!?!?!


Here is one of the stained- glass windows in the ceiling in the Library of Congress...

------------------NEW DAY-----------------------


This is a picture of part of the Theodore D. Roosevelt Memorial. This memorial has an interesting set up because it is a big path that you walk through. It is full of beautiful waterfalls, statues, and many of Roosevelt's famous quotes...


Here is a picture of the Washington Memorial reflecting in a pond next to the Jefferson Memorial...


Here is a picture of the Jefferson Memorial...


Another picture of the Jefferson Memorial...


A random, yet pretty bridge... haha...


Next, we went to the National Cathedral. It took 83 years to build and is absolutely, jaw-droppingly beautiful... I am pretty sure jaw-droppingly is not a word, but let's just pretend it is... haha...


A second view of the outside of the Cathedral...


Now, we are inside the Cathedral . This is a picture of two of the stained- glass windows...


Another stained- glass window...


This is one of the two pulpits we saw that stood towards the front of the church. Isn't it amazing how detailed it is?!?!?!


This is at the very front of the church. I am not sure what it is called or how to describe it, but it was marvelous!!!!!


Here is another one of those things at the front of one of the smaller chapels in the Cathedral...


We were all EXHAUSTED by the end of this tour. We had so much fun on the trip, but this is what it did to us...haha... (Claire, Ashlin, Laura, Kristina, Amanda, Madeleine).


Even the chaperons were falling asleep... Hahahahaha :D


Hahahahahahaha......



These are the clouds we were flying over on the plane. Pretty, right?!?!?!
--------------------THE END---------------------

That concludes the Washington D.C. Trip. I had an absolute BLAST and cannot wait for my sister, Isabelle to go on it in a few years!!!!! :)