by Jackson and Matthew R., 7 and 9 years old
Manhattan

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Jackson R.
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Matthew R.

Jackson: On Saturday, November 5th we visited West point for the third year in a row to watch the Army Black Knights and the Air Force Falcons play against each other in a football game.  The day was going to be beautiful and the weather perfect for a football game.  We had 106 friends on two large buses.

Our departure time was super early but we had lots of fun treats like muffins and munchkins to enjoy on the bus ride.  And we got to sit with some of our friends –Charlie, Tristam, Joseph, Antigone, Nico, Danny, William and Declan.

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Julie, Abbey and Grace

Matthew: Don’t forget Ellyana, Antigone, Grace and Charlotte were also on our bus!  We also watched a movie – Cheaper by the dozen.

Jackson: That’s right!  And so were Avery, Abbey, Kelsey, and Casey.  We also had Aidan who is new to our school and his friend Jackson, same name as me!

Matthew: Before we went into the stadium we listened to music and had fun rock climbing and playing games outside.  They even handed out these ice pops that were like Gatorade but frozen!  The cadets challenged me and my brother to push-ups.  I think I did 42 push-ups!  Ok, maybe not.  Obviously we need to practice more because we stopped but the cadets kept going.  The cadets were so nice and they cheered us on the whole time.

Jackson: We also did rock climbing this year that we didn’t get to do last year.  Matthew, our brother TJ and I waited on line with Corentin and Lorick.

Football Fun with Corentin and Lorick!
Football Fun with Corentin and Lorick!

We made it to the top very fast but that’s also because we had some help!  The West Point cadets are always there to show us their strong skills.  It’s important to know what they do because they’re not like many other schools.  I like seeing the uniforms, the generals with all the medals and the tanks!

Matthew: The West Point Army band was there again this year and they had a large crowd singing and dancing with them.  They played a lot of my favorite songs but the best part was when the singer came to me and let me sing into the microphone.  It was the Justin Timberlake song, Can’t stop the feeling.  I loved it.  Then the cadet picked me up and said thank you.  It was a great feeling! (Note from The Kiditor:  OMG, that’s my favorite song from Trolls and I’m just about to write my review for that movie!)

Jackson: After Matthew finished singing, we got out our tickets and the Army scanned them so we could go to our seats.  We were just in time to see the paratroopers jump out of the helicopter and deliver the game ball. img_55281 It’s always one of my favorite things to see.  The last paratrooper had the game ball and the American flag!  They all landed right in the middle of the field.  Finally they sang our National Anthem.  It was awesome because a lot of people were singing.

Matthew: We cheered on the Army with our flags and our giant, yellow hands that were made out of foam.  I forgot that we also got our faces painted outside with Army colors. The game was fun to watch.  So were the chicken fingers and French fries!  I was really happy to sit with my friends Issa, Jude, Delia, Jack and Daniel and Zaina (Issa’s big sister) since they were on the other bus on the way up. McAllister and Brendan also helped us cheer on the team.

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Our little brother TJ and awesome teachers Miss Sarrazin and Miss Dominguez!

We also got to sit with our teachers!  Mrs. Andermanis, Ms. Sarrazin, Ms. Hassan, Miss Trignani, Ms. Laino, Mrs. Jeurs, and Miss Dominguez.  Mom said to let them watch the game but they didn’t mind us hanging out with them.  We love our teachers and they are so much fun to be with!

Jackson:  The game wasn’t looking so good though for the Black Knights.  The Army had 0 points and the Air force 5.   Although the Army scored finally, they still lost 31-12.  We stayed until the end of the 3rd quarter and left to go back to the tailgate.  As we were leaving the stadium, I could hear the Star Wars theme playing.  Oh well.  Mom said we had lots of food and snacks waiting for us.

Matthew: Back at the tailgate we enjoyed these delicious crepes and fruit kabobs.  There was also sandwiches, cookies and brownies. Yummy!

Jackson:  I wish they had brought hot chocolate because it was getting chilly.  Next year we’ll remember to put it on the list.  But I liked the crepes a lot!  Everyone was playing football and we got to build a teepee from the branches we found.  It was good to see Declan, Desmond, Raymond, and Kevin since we were on separate buses.  TJ got to play with his friends Braden, Jack, Elliot, Amelia, and Lana.  He was so happy to see them and they were also helping build the teepee.

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All 106 of us!

We spent the day with a lot of families and friends.  Some of them were there before and some were first timers like Timothy, Amelia, Eleonore, Abbey L., Evy, Patrick and Julie.  We hope everyone had a great time at the West Point game.  We hope it’s bigger and better next year!  It was good timing too because it reminded us that Veteran’s Day was coming soon.