Congratulations girls you finally made it to see Ellen! The four of you have been so much fun to watch every day. Your giggles make me giggle. You all have indominable spirits and such positive attitudes, even with all the hours you put in each day. You are awesome! Your never say never spirits really showed through when you were freezing your butts off at the Grand Canyon. You still had fun and I'm sure you never complained to anyone. Ellen's staff couldn't have picked 4 better girls to win.

The great care you've received from Ellen's staff speaks so highly of Ellen. That kind of thing always comes from the top. Ellen thanks for all you have done for our girls. You truly have given them a trip they will remember the rest of their lives. I also want to personally thank Ellen's fabulous staff for taking such great care of our 4 Henderson girls, 2 of whom happen to be my daughters. Thank you for all your love, care, and concern for their well-being. You are awesome! The girls always speak so highly of you all. You have helped make their trip even more memorable!

I can't wait until I am in the audience on Monday and I get to see all of you. I have missed you! I am also looking forward to getting to meet Ellen, the woman who is ultimately responsible for all the fun, wonderful memories and also the wonderful gifts that have been bestowed on you. Thanks again Ellen!

Love,
Mom to Bekah and Stephanie and surrogate Mom to Jaime and Jamie

Come back Gottmann! It's not the same without you. Julie's boring, but she's been taking us on lots of walks. We're so proud of you!

Love,
Chunk & Yoshi

Hey Ladies,

I hope you are having a wonderful time and I can't wait until you come back to hear all about your trip. Bekah & Jaime G I missed you last night. Have a wonderful time, you all deserve it & God bless.

Rachel Steinbach

I just want to say that Ellen and her staff picked some pretty fabulous women. They are some of the most fun, positive women I know who deserve a fun little trip - I couldn't be happier for them. I have known them all for about 5 yrs and they will hold a special place in my heart. I just wish their segment was longer - haha I am truly a fan :). Hope you ladies enjoy the rest of your trip.

Love ya,
Elisa

P.S. Everybody missed you last night Bekah - especially our group - we had 8 people!!

I am sorry so many people feel "let down" by this and it is true that for "most people" it would be hard to just pack up and leave at moments notice UNLESS you were SMART ENOUGH to plan ahead of time and let your boss, husband, children, prior obligations, etc... know you did such a crazy thing as submit a video to ELLEN and try to win a cross country trip.

And for those who want to complain about the video so what if the rules didn't state you could submit a video, they tried and it was accepted and they would not have been hurt if it had not been accepted, THEY TRIED and it paid off. HOPEFULLY next time you will try harder to win something you really want.

And for those who don't consider this a milestone or can't see what an amazing friendship they have, it is becasue you don't know them and they cherish everyday and every person they know and don't feel they need to be 50+ to start cherishing LIFE or creating life long memories.

And nobody knows what ELLEN has planned for these
girls day to day but ELLEN and her staff.

I'm sorry so many people have negative things to say, and want nothing more then to ruin what these girls won! You can't change the past and complaining doesn't do anything but waste your time and energy!!!!! I happy to SPEND my time defending people I know!!

Hello all,

Steve Withey here, Rebekah's husband. Gotta say, I don't like how many of you people are talking about my wife and her friends. And I don't appreciate what you've been implying about Ellen's integrity, all the while maintaining that you still "love her," and are, "her biggest fans."

Fact is, these girls have been friends for nearly 20 years, have grown up together, graduated together, gone off to college, come back, had babies, faced a lot of life hurdles, all currently work at the same place together and are all right smack in the middle of turning thirty.

And yes, the whole thing was a big surprise. They did not know anything in advance except that they MIGHT be in the final running. But guess what? Me and the other husbands are JUST THAT GOOD. We can handle the kids. We can take care of the loose ends. When we found out we said, "No problem. This is the chance of a lifetime. We don't want you to miss out. So go. We'll take care of the rest."

I don't dig on the pettiness, gossip, negativity and veiled slams on the girls and on Ellen, her character, her integrity and her staff.

I can tell you this. These girls may be physically younger than some of the other applicants, but their true maturity is obviously much greater.

I will ALWAYS come to the defense of my wife, and in this case of Ellen and her staff as well.

BACK OFF SORE LOSERS. If you truly are Ellen fans - then sit back and watch and enjoy the show. If not, then keep watching...you will be.

Love you Ellen, you crack me up.

Bekah, I miss you so much my heart hurts. Can't wait to see you...kiss kiss, hug hug.

Hi Mommy,
I am Ava Smith. I am 3 years old and my mommy is Stephanie Smith. I just wanted to say hi to my mommy and say that I miss you and I love you. We are having fun at Grandma and Grandpa's today, but I miss you. Talon and I had our baths and now we are getting ready for bed. I can't wait till you get home in 7 more days. Tomorrow is 6 more days and then 5. I prayed for you tonight. I love you. Don't forget my present. Love, Ava

Huh, well I hope it is wonderful for the girls and they really soak up the fun. What an incredible oppurtunity and journey. Best wishes to them and Ellen is a blessing to us all everyday! An angel trully in disguise!

Stephanie Smith (Mommy)
This is a note from your 4 year old son Talon Smith. "I wanted to write you to tell you I love you and I miss you. I also wanted to ask you what are you doing right now? I am at Grandma's and Grandpa's right now and we just planted some plants in the garden. It was a lot of fun. Grandma made some cookies for us and we are having dinner here. I can't wait till you get home. That is all.
Love and kisses and hugs, Talon

Ellen,
I was all set to submit my information to you last week, then I realized that I needed to send pictures along. I was all set to send you my information last night. To my dismay, there were already winners picked. I am sending you my information anyways, in hopes of another winner, still to be chosen. First of all, I want to point out that the 4 of us all live in Vermont. If we were to win, it would truely be a cross-country trip. My husband and I have been together for 11 years now. We just got married last July (07-07-07). We haven't had a chance to take our honeymoon yet. We were actually thinking about trying to do a cross country trip this spring, so we have the time saved up to do so. I just celebrated my 30th birthday on October 25 2007. My husband will be celebrating his 30th this year on April 29 2008. I wanted to do something special for him in honor of this milestone. Our best friends here in Vermont are Jenna and Dan. The four of us get together a couple times a week, and we always have a blast. They just bought their first house last year. So all four of us are celebrating milestones. Thank you for the opportunity of a lifetime. Graciously, Sarah