Here We Go!

We have been planning and preparing for our Champion trip for so long, and were so excited when it was finally time.  We knew it was going to be a great week, but we really didn't know what to expect.  In an effort to make it as stress-free and fun as possible, we decided to stay in St. Louis Saturday night in preparation of our flight Sunday morning.  We had a nice time at the hotel and hung out at the pool for awhile.  I'd like to say we got a good night's sleep, but I think we were all a little too excited and nervous!

We got up bright and early Sunday morning and headed to the airport.  Air travel with two kids with special needs is a bit of a challenge as we are completely incapable of traveling light!  It was quite the accomplishment just to get all the luggage to the airport and checked.  Jayla was fascinated by the whole process but worried that we were going to get in trouble for bringing her nebulizer as the security officers had to hand inspect our bags.

Jason was nervous flying, but Jayla did great.  Dylan slept his entire first flight and most of the second, so he is an excellent air traveller!  The flight from St. Louis to Atlanta was pretty uneventful.  Once we made it to Atlanta and switched planes, I felt much more relaxed.  The flight attendants in Atlanta were prepared for the Champion program and welcomed Jayla when we arrived at the gate.  They gave her a pair of wings which she was very excited about.  Throughout the entire trip, the people at Delta were absolutely amazing... they took such good care of us!

Arriving at the Washington DC airport

Once we arrived in Washington DC, the festivities began in full force.  There was a whole group of Delta employees waiting for us at the gate.  They all cheered and hollered for the four Champion kids that were on the flight.  They then escorted us to a huge balloon arch where we all got our pictures taken.  We definitely got lots of attention from airport passengers as the folks at Delta cheered all the way through the airport!  Once we'd had our welcome picture taken, we were taken to claim our luggage.  The amazing staff at CMN were waiting for us there and helped us claim and load our luggage before taking us to the J.W. Marriott, our home away from home.  We got all checked in and greeted and then went up to our rooms which were AMAZING.

Once settled, we ventured out for food.  Jayla had heard mention of McDonalds on the way in, so our first meal in DC was an old standby.  It turned out to be a great choice because we met a new friend on the way back to the hotel.  This complete stranger - a man in a baseball hat, shorts, t-shirt and flip flops came running towards us from across the street.  He was so excited that we were there and that Jayla was a Champion.  He quickly introduced himself as Mark Wills and asked Jayla what she most wanted to see in DC.  She quickly responded that she wanted to meet the first lady which Mark wasn't sure he could arrange for her :-).  She then said she'd like to see the White House.  Without hesitation, Mark says it's not far and he'll take us.  We're still not sure who this guy is, but he seems legit so we went with him to the White House.  We had a great time getting to know him and his friend Michael on the way and then met a secret service agent that is also a friend of Mark's when we got to the White House.

Once back in the room, we called home and told everyone about our new friend, Mark.  Turns out he's a country music star, and everyone at home was very excited.  We just thought he was a super-nice guy!

The whole family at the White House.  You'll see lots more pictures of Dylan asleep... that's mostly what he did  :-)

After our quick trip to the White House, we rushed back to the hotel for our opening reception.  We met some very nice people from Delta and got our official Champions backpack... it had all kinds of good stuff in it including ACE Pez dispensers!!  We also got to meet all the other Champion families for the first time.  It was a busy, fun day with the promise of so much more to come!

New friends from Delta!  

We loved getting to meet new Champion friends!