D.C. Day 2 - Walk in Like You Own the Place!

Tuesday was the BIG day!  We woke up bright and early and donned our suits and made the trip to the Capitol...Stunning to see up close!!! (However, there seems to be scaffolding pretty much everywhere!)

Behind the scene shot of Kristin Harner, MFBF Director of Public Relations, hard at work making us Farm Bureau members look professional!

2016 Farmers to D.C.

Our "Official" U.S. Capitol picture

We spent our day (sometimes literally running!) between the Congressional Buildings.

Rayburn House Office Building

Longworth House Office Building

Cannon House Office Building

Inside the Senate Hart Office Building

Our first meeting was with Senator Al Franken - nerve wracking way to start the day - but his sense of humor instantly helped put everyone at ease!

Again...there is beauty EVERYWHERE!!!

We wanted to peek in at the Senate Ag Committee but the room was full.  Senator Klobuchar walked past our group in the hallway and said hello and went in...then she came back out and asked us if we'd like a quick look before they got started - OF COURSE!  We hung around until Senator Roberts called the meeting to order with "Amy, who are your guests?"  And she replied who we were and he said, "Yo, Minnesota Farm Bureau, I call this meeting to order"!

Mr. Runge goes to Washington!

We did A LOT of walking!

WOW!  Just WOW!

It's showtime, boys - get it together!

Right at home wandering the halls of the House of Representatives!

Meeting with Ryan Huff, Legislative Assistant to Erik Paulsen - 3rd District.

Schwann's is in the 3rd District so we all got a treat from the office after our meeting! :)

MFBF President, Kevin Paap, giving us pointers after our first meeting.

Our next meeting ended up happening in a hallway - you take what time you can get!  We met with Joe Stanoch, Legislative Assistant to Richard Nolan - 8th District.

Here we go again!!!

Randolph Briley, Senior Legislative Consultant for Tim Walz - 1st District.

Ok, so I'm from a town of 4,500 - I found it impressive that even the garbage cans had the Senate and House logos on them!

Last House meeting of the day...4th District.

Telling our story to Libby Foley, Legislative Assistant to Betty McCollum - their district is the Metro - so they were very interested in first hand rural Minnesota stories.  No, Scott and I don't live on a farm, but it was valuable for Libby to hear that we are truly concerned for our food safety, land, water, trade,...and that we are losing our health insurance.  We shared how our 4-H kids are trained in Livestock Quality Assurance and Ethics (LQA&E) before they can show an animal.  We teach our kids in every situation to "Leave it better than you found it."  I'm a mom and I want to ensure that I'm leading my kids down the right path - where we are at, Ag is the path - we're teaching them to love it and embrace it - it's not my background, but I'm learning with them.

We had a little break before our last meeting, so President Paap took us to the House Committee on Agriculture.

Lots of paintings around the room - Collin Peterson - one of Minnesota's own!

Such a beautiful room!

The balcony of the House Ag Committee...

Scott and I on the Ag Committee balcony - one of my favorite D.C. pics!

Just can't get enough - breathtaking sights and the architecture...

...and the history...

Back to the Senate to end the day.

Geez, Scott, keep your pants on!!!  Too many metal detectors!!!

Senate lobby

Last meeting of the day!

I'm not sure there is enough media covering whatever is going on across from Senator Klobuchar's office!

Completely enjoyed our meeting with Senator Amy Klobuchar and her Legislative Director, Anne Knapke - both powerful women, both strongly versed in Ag issues!

I know I gave them a hard time and called them our "Handlers", but President Paap, Amber Hanson, and Kristin Harner did a fabulous job making sure neither of our two groups ever walked into a meeting alone, that we stayed on topic, and didn't get in over our heads - THANK YOU for making us look professional and giving us the confidence to speak up for what we believe in - telling our stories and raising our concerns!

Looking good, Scotty!

Such a nice guy carrying my bag in his suit and all...

The men of Washington!

Union Station...time for a little sight seeing!

Farm Bureau supper at The Monocle Restaurant - FABULOUS bread, salad, shellfish bisque, crab cakes, and steak!

Bad picture - beautiful dessert (and STELLA)!

True politician - important phone call outside The Monocle - to the three amigos back home!

Wow, still, just wow!  Reflecting on this day in Washington, D.C. is absolutely amazing.  I am truly humbled by the "behind the scenes" access into the functioning of the U.S. Government and being able to express our concerns FIRST HAND IN D.C.

*Thank you to MFBF for supplemental pictures on this blog - it would have been rude of me to pull out my phone during meetings with Congressmen and Staffers and start snapping pictures of the group...and then Scott would have probably asked to take a selfie!

Fish out of Water-Welcome to Washington

Last week Scott and I had the AMAZING experience of traveling to Washington, D.C. with a group of Farm Bureau members.  We had a heck of a time deciding if we could/should go or not - we have these 3 young busy kids and a very demanding job - and it's not exactly easy to find time to get away.  Add to that my (irrational) fear of flying and traveling and the fact that we've never left the kids for more than 2 1/2 days....well, Scott had his hands full just dealing with me and my neurotic tendencies and all...It's WAY too much to post the whole trip in one sitting - so I'm going to break it down day by day.

We dropped the kids off at Grandpa & Grandma Runge's on Sunday night since we needed to be at the Farm Bureau office in the Cities by 4:30 a.m Monday morning.  Grandpa was a little concerned it looked like they were moving in...

After a few tears between the kids and me (as I said - I never really leave them...) we were off!

We arrived at the Farm Bureau building bright and early and taxied (my second time ever!) to the airport for our 6:55 a.m. flight to D.C.  

Our view of the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport while waiting for the Metro in Washington, D.C.

First time on the Metro!!!

Ya'll know what a foodie I am...this was one of the first sights I was greeted by in D.C. <3

Day 1 we chose Poutine - Fries with gravy and cheese...

...and Street Tacos - one of my hometown favorites - have to say they are better in MN!

 SOOOO AWESOME!!!

Couldn't pass up a pic of Scott getting a "treat" from a food truck!

Time to get down to Farm Bureau Business - Pretty official looking if I do say so myself!  We spent Monday afternoon touring the American Farm Bureau Federation building and then discussing topics that are currently effecting us back in Minnesota that we wanted to be prepared to discuss with our Congressmen.

View from the top of the American Farm Bureau Building

So I compare this experience to a little bit like "The Real World" that used to be on MTV in the good old days - we were dropped in D.C. for a week with a group of like-minded people but no one really knew each other that well.  Crazy that by having a common interest you can make some really cool, new friends in only 5 days - regardless of age, location, or vocation!  I want you to each know that you made the trip a wonderful experience from the our time with the Congressmen, to Ubers, to taxis, to meals, to the bars,...just getting to know where everyone comes from - I wouldn't trade that time for anything! 

MFBF President, Kevin Paap, showing us AFBF President, Zippy Duval's office

Minnesota's display at the AFBF building

Super tired - Scott & I at the top of the AFBF building!

LOVE this!

Monday night we were all on our own for supper.  The 3 couples on the trip decided to go out for Italian and drug Linda Brekke of the Linder Farm Network along with us!

Straight out of my dreams - an authentic Italian restaurant where we could eat on the patio!  Excellent first night in DC!!!

Linda Brekke (Local celebrity #1 on the trip!) - Linder Farm Network - Sounds exactly the same in real life as she does on the radio (almost weird to sit next to her at supper and keep hearing a radio voice in your ear)!  Super cool lady and a riot to hang out with!  Here we were texting Lynn Kettleson the pic I had just took of Linda enjoying her glass of wine with Jeff Tank (which showed up on Facebook minutes later!) while hanging out with the "senior" Farm Bureau members on the trip.

My AMAZING tortellini!  Day one was incredible - can't wait to share day 2!

In 3...2...1

In just three short days I will lose all my babies to another year of school.  Where the heck did summer vacation go?!?!  I was so excited for the last day of school in May I never even took the time to wrap up the year on my blog!  As I try to wrap my head around all the adjusting and schedule changes that will go on in the next week with the new school year coming, I feel the need for closure on kindergarten, 3rd, and 6th grade.

The last day of school for Keeley-3rd, Katelyn-K, Barbara-6th, Jacob-6th, & Sara-9th

I swear I don't color coordinate them - they just tend to always dress alike!!!

We are SO proud of Keeley for receiving the "Citizenship Award" in Mrs. Taylor's room

Keeley also was recognized for her role as a "Student Leadership Representative"

The moment I waited the WHOLE stinking long school year for!!!

Although his start was a little rocky in 6th grade, Jake turned it around and did an excellent job academically.  He will start 7th grade as the varsity football equipment manager, earned a spot in Junior Jazz Band, and is the 7th grade class vice president.

My girls are home!!!

Kate had perfect attendance!  (Keeley missed it by one day.)

So for the next 3 days I will give a few extra hugs and kisses, spend more time watching cartoons, making their favorite meals, and using every one of my superpowers to stop Monday morning from coming...