NDSC- Day on the Hill

We got to town early so that we could participate in the Day on the Hill.  About four hundred advocates from around the nation came to speak with our senators and representatives asking for their support on three bills that affect the disability community.  The ABLE Act, Keeping Students Safe Act, and the Trisomy 21 Research Centers of Excellence Act are all vying for support on Capital Hill.  We were split into groups to tackle our own representatives, so we got to run around the offices with other families from Colorado.  Since we were there, these bills have gotten dozens of new co-sponsors- how cool is that???

Our day that day started rather early (we had to be on the bus at 7am- it was rather fun to get two kids fed, dressed, and out by 6:45… when we hadn’t quite settled into the two hour time difference), but it was totally worth it.  We got to sit on the floor of the House of Representatives, while Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Representative Pete Sessions (both of whom have children with Down syndrome) came and talked to us.

Piper celebrated with a somersault on the floor.  I’m fairly certain that’s never been done before.  Someone remarked that maybe it would do our lawmakers some good to follow her lead…

We had quite a bit of time to kill between two of our meetings, so we spent it in the foyer of one of the Senate office buildings with other families who were waiting for their appointments.  Talk about a whole lot of cute at one time.  I’m sure the “regulars” in the building were wondering what, exactly, we were all doing there.  Which is exactly what the NDSC was hoping for.

We waited.  A lot.  It was good for the girls to get their sillies out before being asked to sit nicely in a small conference room.  So I did a lot of toddler wrangling (I wish that was an olympic sport…)  But I LOVE this picture of Addy- doesn’t it look like she knows exactly what she’s doing?  Like she’s on her way to a very important meeting.

After our last meeting, we went to find our bus back to the hotel.  It. was. HOT.  We are definitely not acclimated to the humidity- not to mention humidity plus 94 degrees.  You can see how red Piper was getting, just from the heat.  Thank goodness for double stroller- the girls got to enjoy some serious sister time while Luke and I enjoyed some not-running-everywhere time.

I’m so glad that we did this part of the convention- it was a seriously cool experience!