Fourth of July

O.k. I am ten days late posting this, but that means I am catching up!

As mentioned previously, we had the opportunity this past 4th of July, to attend festivities at the White House. The USO sponsored, and the President and First Lady hosted a barbecue and celebration in honor of the troops.

When we first got word that Trent was selected to receive one of the invitation for the Coast Guard, I worried a lot about my kids and their ability to sit still and behave properly and such. No worries. The event was so well planned to cater to families and young children. There were so many activities, that are kids had a great and memorable time, and though they were just fine when the President addressed us, they were far enough away that they could have played through it and been fine. We really had a great time, and we will remember it forever. They had a great photo station set up where we could take pictures with the White House in the background. I can't post the picture right now, because I don't have the ability to scan it in. I might add it later though.

When we initially arrived, our kids thought the wait in line to go through security was an awful thing to endure. It was 15 minutes, and we were in the line of last names that start with U-Z, so our line was considerably shorter than the others. That did not placate my girls though who asked countless times how much longer they had to wait to get in.

Once we got in and grabbed some drinks (Jon was so thirsty at that point), we were off to enjoy the activities. The girls went straight for the face painting.

Jon was not at all interested in getting his face painted, but he was all about the made to order balloon animals and balloon hats. He requested a crocodile hat and wore it with a great deal of pride until one of the eyes popped. We had many pops before the night was out but, surprisingly, not huge freak outs about the pops.

Ashley requested a lightening bug, and Sammy asked for a dragon. If you ask me, Sammy's dragon looks a lot like Jon's crocodile, but that is fine.

I loved the balloon made decorations they had out. Someone has quite an imagination that is for sure.

Me being me, I also love how one can stand on the South Lawn of the White House, look across the National Mall and still see the statue of Jefferson in his memorial. Yes, I'm nerdy like that.

We had hot dogs and hamburgers and salads and watermelon like most of the rest of you I am sure. There wasn't any complaining about the waiting this time. They enjoyed watching Uncle Sam walk around on his stilts though.

I asked Sammy if hot dogs taste better at the White House. She just replied that it is a hot dog. Too true.

After eating, we enjoyed the volleyball and thought about the bean bag toss.

The Marine Corps marching band came out and marched and played before the President came out to speak. The President and Mrs. Obama personally visited with 20 of the invitees to honor them for their service. Those men and women joined the President and First Family on the balcony during his remarks. I should have crowded in further for a better picture, but I chose a half way between my kids and the President place. I am sure you can find pictures and video of the President's remarks if you really want to. I have to note that Trent and I both noticed something that few others likely did. It was a little disappointing, but not surprising. While speaking, President Obama mentioned twice the soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, and coast guardsmen. However, when he finished his remarks, he noted that the Marine Corps band would play some songs he thought we all knew. They started with the Marine Corps theme song and then went through each theme song. For what it is worth, Semper Paratus was right in the middle. One of the President's daughters asked him a question about it, and he leaned over (but was still completely within microphone range) and explained to her that the band was going to play the FOUR theme songs for each of the FOUR branches of the military. No love for the Coast Guard. So sad.

The ice cream came out at that point and there was more playing before the USO concert took place before the fireworks. The four figures below, who Jon referred to as the gobble heads, came out. They had Washington Nationals jerseys on that said George Tom Teddy and Abe on the back. I think they might have been one of Jon's favorite parts of the evening. Jimmy Fallon hosted, and we heard live performances from Michelle Branch and the Foo Fighters. Watching Jon head bang to the Foo Fighters was hilarious. There was a big influx of more people at this point. We have a few theories about who else came for the fireworks, but we aren't a hundred percent sure we are correct. The fire works were fun. We laid out a couple of our commemorative USO lawn blankets and had a good time. Even though the streets and the metro were packed afterwards, it wasn't too terrible. The traffic getting back was surprisingly easy to negotiate. We had a really great time.