This past Wednesday, all the interns headed to Washington, DC to take our Child Life Certification exam and also to attend the 30th Annual Child Life Conference. I have been studying for this test for the past year, and I cannot believe the time finally came to take it! This was such a wonderful trip and one that I will never forget. It was also the last time that all of us interns would be together.
At the airport, waiting on the subway!
Once we got to the hotel, we had to buckle down and study study study!!!
Carrie didnt think she needed to study...
I have never studied this hard before in my life.
Tricia's cousin sent us champagne and a fruit plate that night to wish us good luck on our test.
After the test was over, we decided to go get some food!
Tricia and Stephanie had to go back and shower, so Carrie and I decided to go to the ZOO!!
I fell in love with this panda!
I thought it was funny that someone actually has a job to monitor the panda's all day.
That night, we went out to eat for Laura Merriem's birthday. She couldnt stay the whole conference because she was in a wedding over the weekend.
I told our waiter it was her birthday, and she was soo surprised!!
Opening session of conference..
This is a guy that works for Life is Good: Playmakers. I have never seen a presentation as good as his! He had us dying laughing and dancing! Not only was his message good, but it was very very powerful.
There were tons and tons of vendoors set up throughout the lobby selling Child Life items and promoting their different businesses.
This was in the lobby of the hotel.
A Child Life necklace I made while I was there!
bumper stickers and magic wands!
These were neat items that could attach to an IV pole.
At the hot tub!
Saturday morning we had a little bit of time to go sight-seeing before conference started!
The White House!
The Washington Monument.
The WWII Memorial was divided into two sections: Atlantic and Pacific.
We found Georgia!
These are all gold stars, the next picture explains them.
The Korean War Monument.
The Korean Wall.
The Lincoln Monument.
This is the Vietnam Monument.
The next picture is of the Vietnam Wall.
The Vietnam Wall. I have never seen old men cry so hard in my life. They were looking for names and would place their hand on top and just start shaking and crying while another veteran would comfort them.
The statue that was dedicated to the work of the nurses.
The new Martin Luther King Jr. Statue
These next few pictures are all from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial
This is one of my favorite pictures of the trip.
Love these girls!
Us and the Franklin D. Roosevelt statue (and his dog)
A session that I attended.
One of the sessions I attended.
All of us at breakfast on our last morning!
All the interns with one of the most influential people in our lives, our supervisor Kym. This woman has taught us all about Child Life and truly cares about our future. Before we took our exam, she woke up early to find us to wish us good luck and give us a pep talk!
Carrie and I heading to the airport. Funny story.... The person that checked me in at the airport that I was a minor and needed an "unaccompanied minor" status
Chanel LOVED her toy that I brought home for her!
I still am in awe of how God worked everything out during this whole Child Life process, and it is definitely something that I will NEVER take for granted!! I am beyond blessed to have had this experience and also to find my true passion in life!!
