I still haven't downloaded all of our pictures yet, or posted any more. Hope to do that over the next few days. We had such a good time, and met so many wonderful people - the Champions and their families, the WalMart associates, and the CMN folks! I just wanted to say thank you once again WalMart and CMN for such an awesome trip!! We can't wait for November to come so that we can see all of our new friends again!!!

The kids with David Archuleta in the White House. What a nice guy! And such a wonderful voice!!

Wednesday

Today Alison started with a TV interview with Miss America. (The link is posted on my FB page (Mary Williams Johnson). I will try to get it posted here when I get home and get my sister-in-law's help!)

Alison did great on her interview! She has never talked about her accident to people before, so this was a big step for her...

Then we went to the White House this afternoon. Yes - we met the President!! He was very good with the kids. While we were waiting, David Archuleta and Miss America entertained the kids (and the families) with a few songs. Incredible....

Then the President came out. How many people get to be that close to the President and shake hands and such? I took a ton of pictures and will post some when I get home!

After that, we went to the Nationals game. David sang the National Anthem, and the Champion from Idaho threw the first pitch. They both did awesome! Probably the most interesting part of the game was watching the reaction of all the young girls around when they realized that David was sitting with our group! Alison got his autograph and he patted Elizabeth on the shoulder and said goodbye as he was leaving. How cool is that!!!!! We took pictures with him at the White House earlier today. He really seemed like a nice young man!

Well, have to finish packing. I'll post lots more details and photos when I get home. It's so hard to believe that this trip is over. We have had such a wonderful time. We did so many things that most people never get the chance to do. We feel very lucky and blest! More details to follow. Hope our journey home tomorrow is uneventful....

Monday

We went to ESPNZone for breakfast and game playing. All of the kids had a blast. Danny was especially thrilled to play air hockey with Alison!

Part of the program there included Miss America singing a Disney princess song - what a lovely voice. Then the mascot bird-creature from the Washington Nationals dropped in. He invited everyone to the game on Wed night! Then Mark Wills sang some songs. He was terrific!!

After more game time, we came back to the hotel for a bus tour. That was nice to share with the other families and WalMart folks. One WalMart man from Tennessee (William) carried Danny around for a little while. Danny really liked him, and it was very helpful to us!! The WalMart folks that are here are so friendly and helpful. You can tell what a priority CMN is to the WalMart organization...

At the hotel, we had the chance to meet Mark Wills and get a picture. He saw that we were from GA, and was happy to meet us. Turns out he's from near Atlanta too, and his wife is friends with someone in our subdivision. She had followed Alison's story way back in 2004!

After the bus tour, we went to the Air and Space Museum to tour individually. We closed down that museum, and then walked over to the Natural History Museum. Then we dragged ourselves back to the hotel and ordered room service! We were exhausted after such a full day!
So, we went swimming and collapsed...

Alright - can't upload pictures here. Will try again later - for sure when I get home.

Sunday

I forgot one thing from the airport - there was a huge banner hanging as we walked through the airport, signed by tons of people - I'm guessing CMN and WalMart folks welcoming the Champion families. There were pictures of 4 kids on it - and Alison is one of the kids!!! The same banner, without the autographs, is hanging in the motel. I'll post a picture of that later today.

The hotel is beautiful! Once again, full of WalMart and CMN folks helping all the time. These people are so awesome!

We got settled and then had the concierge help us arrange a private night time tour of the sites. We found the most awesome guide. He had been an american history teacher, and then a lobbyist, so he knew so much! Definitely worth the effort and expense. Too late a night for the kids, but they're young - they'll bounce back!! More about Monday soon...

Washington DC

We arrived Sunday afternoon. On the plane we discovered that we were sitting behind the Champion family from Wyoming. There was another family as well. When we landed, they made an announcement that we were special guests on the plane - said our names and states. Everyone on the plane applauded! Then we got off the plane to find the airport decorated with balloon arches throughout. There were all these WalMart associates there waiting for us to get off. They had everyone around cheering and giving us a standing ovation welcome! The Champion girl from DC was also there to greet us. It was so awesome having even perfect strangers involved that just happened to be there! There were CMN people guiding us everywhere, helping get us through the airport! What a welcome!!!!!

We're getting ready to leave for Washington DC tomorrow morning! Frantically trying to pack and remember everything we need. Hope to sign on again before we leave tomorrow, but we'll have to see.

We had our local WalMart kickoff on May 22. It was great!! I'll post pictures from that after this trip. Sorry - time got away from me... More to come.........