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Saturday, May 26, 2007

White House
This morning was something we have been looking forward to for sometime. One of Jeff's patients works at the White House. He had offered to give our family a tour. After a few reschedules it turned out to be today. We were thrilled that it fell on Memorial Day weekend.

We were not allowed to bring our cameras (which was killing me). So I don't have any great photos of the girls in the Rose Garden but it was a thrill to be there. One of my favorite parts was seeing all the original paintings of the presidents. This is one of my favorites and I loved seeing it. It was a gift given to the White House, by Aaron Shikler, in 1970. It was beautiful.


The STATE Dining Roomthis was how the room looked today but click here
to see all the other ways it can be set up to seat so many.


My other favorite part was standing in the State Dining Room. It only seats about 130 guests. I guess I thought it would have seated more. Carved into the fireplace mantel is a quotation from a letter by John Adams:
"I Pray Heaven to Bestow the Best of Blessing on THIS HOUSE and All that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under this Roof."

Our guide read the prayer out loud, which I was so grateful for. It really was touching. He said many presidents have used that prayer before dinners in that room. How cool would it be to have something engraved in your mantel in your home. I wonder what I would put on mine someday. If I have the home to do it in someday, I just might.

Also of note is that this print is the only print hanging in this room.
A 1869 portrait of Abraham Lincoln. My understanding is that it was a gift given to the White House by President Lincoln's oldest son and he wanted no other pri
nts hanging in this room. (don't quote me on that) our great tour guide who even drove us to get our camera from the car
I learned today that anyone important wears a black lanyard around their neck with the badge tucked into their shirt pocket. They seemed to let those people through quite quickly. I need to get a black lanyard.

this photo of Sally Jane is just making me crazy for her!

We snapped a few shots of the girls outside. Even though it felt like it was 100 degrees outside (the summer is here!) they were nice enough to pose for my many camera shots.

getting ready to give dad many kisses!
this is the tie Jeff wore the day we got married. It has stars on the front and stripes on the back. Jeff was laughing that we looked a little garanimals,
but I thought it fit the bill for our outing and Memorial Day weekend.
I got the girls dresses of EBay(new). A great seller! The dress came with the slip and hair bow and I had no idea, which turned out to be a pretty good deal. Annie Kate has not worn a bishop style smocked dress for awhile and surprisingly she loved it. Which goes to show, I don't believe girls these days grow up as fast as we think they have to.The freedom riders are in town for Memorial Day and were everywhere. I am hoping to talk Jeff into going to the Vietnam Memorial tomorrow after church to see them ride, but the heat may be hard to beat.
we also waked past the memorial for the First Infantry Division.
note the red one made out of flowers. is on the west side of the White House and we had never walked that way before and our guide gave us some great information about this memorial.
quote from website:
this monument was originally built by the World War I veterans of the 1st Division and their friends. President Calvin Coolidge dedicated it in 1924. The center pillar was erected after World War I. It contains plaques with the names of the Division's 5516 dead of that war. In 1957, the World War II Wing (west) was dedicated and includes plaques with the names of the Division's 4325 dead of that war. The Vietnam Wing (east) was dedicated in 1977 and has plaques with the names of the Division's 3079 dead of that war. At the edge of the flower bed, to the front of the Vietnam Wing, is a tablet with a plaque containing the names of the Division's 27 dead of the Gulf War, including the first female soldier and first civilian to be killed while serving with the Big Red One. It has recently been completely refurbished. Responsibility for this monument rests with the 1st Infantry Division Foundation.

Pool Time
The pool opened today! YeA! It was so hot and very welcomed activity for our girls.
I was excited to pull out the girls new towels I monogrammed for the summer.
The pool got a fresh batch of new noodles. No bite marks out of them yet.
Caroline and Sally Jane waiting for our new passes. Now that Caroline is 3 she gets her own pass, she was so excited get her photo taken.Annie Kate seconds before the first jump in of the year.

We came home exhausted and tired. Caroline was so excited to see the Netflix envelope. She had recently asked me to get the Hong Kong Phooey video again. I told her it was coming today and it was the perfect way to end the day, in the cool basement watching vintage cartoons.


It was a wonderful day full of history and reminds me how lucky we are to live here.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow. Wow. Wow. I feel so fortunate you live there, too, because you take such good mental notes and pictures and pass them on to us. Thanks for always including us!

melanie said...

What an awesome day! I love the dresses, the photos and your descriptions of the day. Perfect Memorial Day for sure!

I am loving that you got to use the new pool noodles before any bite marks appear. Your pool looks great!

Anne said...

How awesome that you were able to get a private GUIDED tour of the White House. That's pretty rare these days. I love the White House and feel lucky that I've been able to go there several times in my lifetime. I love the dresses and that awesome tie!

Funny, we were both downtown today. I went to lunch at Rosa Mexicano's and checked out the Portrait Gallery for the first time (see I really haven't seen very much in this town if I haven't been to the portrait gallery in 5 years). I also saw the motorcycles down on Constitution and also a TON near the Verizon Center. It would be cool to see them ride. Do you know more details about the event?

Thank you for posting about the First Infantry Division memorial. I've always wondered what that is every single time I've driven past (which is a lot!) and now I know.

Your pool does look awesome. I'm sure you'll be spending some good quality time there this summer. How awesome.

Chanel Palmer said...

What a great opportunity for you and your family! I LOVE the outfits.
I can feel your pain about not being able to take your camera, that's cruel.

Kristen said...

Incredible, absolutely incredible! thanks for sharing your special day with us!
The girls dresses were so cute, they looked so darling!

Jill said...

I can't believe you guys were up for swimming after your morning in the heat downtown, you're amazing.

What a cool opportunity, I've never been in the White House (just outside of it). The pictures of the girls are darling, your embroidery skills are staggering.

I'm getting D.C. Fever now that we're thinking about coming out in the fall!

Jill said...

I forgot to say that the John Adams quote carved into the fireplace is awesome. I'm almost done listening to John Adams (27 hours so far!!) and think it should be required reading/listening. I feel so much more patriotic and grateful to the founding fathers after listening to it. It's fabulous.

Rachel said...

Once again, awesome pictures! I love the girl's dresses...you really know how to do a white house tour! A very cool experience! I bet the pool felt good after such a hot afternoon! Always good to end a day of swimming cozy in front of a good movie. My kids love vintage cartoons, as well. We'll have to try that one! Gotta love netflix!

Natasha said...

You are so right about the smocked dresses. Love them! Last week I posted a pic on my blog of my Luci (age 6) wearing one of my old smocked nightgowns. I hope she still loves smocked nightgowns and dresses just as much at 8! Griffin (almost 4) won't wear smocked shortalls anymore and I'm so sad.
What an exciting day for you all. Great pics! Oh, and I love ebay too!

Melinda said...

That is so very awesome you got to go to the white house. My kids are dying to go and see all of the monuments and all in Phili. Their favorite movie is national treasure so now they are obsessed with all of the history.

THanks so much for posting the reciepe. I am going to go this next week to make it all. My family will be soo excited! Thanks.

Elisa said...

How lucky you are! The dresses are so cute, I feel the same way you do about little ones growing up too fast (especially girls).

Lauralee said...

what an experience! sounds memorable! your girls dresses are adorable! And you look great in your hanna andersson! Love it! That dining room is amazing!

Michelle Alley said...

Your post looks as long as mine! It always takes forever to get all those photos loaded. I just love DC from April to July4th. It's great you are able to experience all the wonderful things DC has to offer. Did you make those dresses for your girls? They were really cute. We're in LA this weekend and also went swimming! Great photos and family fun. Have a great weekend!

Andy said...

Love love LOVE those dresses!

Amy said...

If you have the time you should go to Arlington National Cemetary. It's amazing on Memorial Day weekend. When we were there (four or five years ago already!) we went on the Friday before Memorial Day and got to see the Marines putting flags on every grave. It was beautiful!

Doodle Bugs said...

Kristi this sounded like a great day :o) White house, swimming and cartoons :o) The dresses are beautiful. I am passing the link on to my sister now who is still trying to dress her little girl sweet :o) thanks for sharing!

Shauna said...

I am totally buying those dresses. Great photos. What an incredible excperience!

Cara @ Gardenview Cottage said...

that is definatly a day filled with memories! I love hearing what your Saturday beings. It's such a treat! It inspires me to think up fun things to do instead of "just going to the mall." Loved those new summer towels too. Great idea!

Deidra said...

Thanks for the reminder-- two years ago I left DC on Memorial Day. *Sniff* I remember the Freedom Riders. We couldn't get ANYWHERE on Sunday! And I lived on Jefferson Davis Highway, and loved sleeping out on our balcony. I wanted to do so on my last night; it was a constant rumble of motorcycles. SO LOUD!

What a great weekend for you guys!

Unknown said...

Hi, I found you through Andy's blog. Your girls' dresses are just darling! I'm going to check out that eBay seller. Your family looks so sweet. I have this fantasy of someday taking my kids to Washington DC for the Fourth of July, but maybe Memorial Day is better because it's not QUITE so darn hot, although it sounds like it was pretty toasty there for you!

Liz said...

You are one lucky family to go on such amazing excursions! A friend of mine went on a tour at Christmas time, her then 1 year old broke an ornament off the tree. Yikes! Something they'll never forget. You all looked beautiful!

I wish we had a pool like that to swim in!

Tasha said...

What a great weekend! I love the girls dresses! Its really a special thing to get to see the White House, I am so glad your family was able to do that!

michelle said...

Yes, you need a black lanyard! And you look so pretty in your perfect white dress. I'm glad your girls aren't growing up too fast, I like you all in your garanimals outfits!

Hooray for the pool!

Lindsay said...

So jealous, once again. Another thing we never got to see while in DC. We did request tickets through our Idaho senators but no such luck.

I want to echo Jill's comment about John Adams by McCullough. So good. I also loved 1776.