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 prints 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.