A fabulous 4th!

About a month ago I was thinking of what we should do to celebrate the 4th. It would be Logan's first, so it had to be good. I also knew we would have just moved into the new house, so I was not sure about having a cook out. Well, that was all taken care of when Joel said, how about going to the White House for the 4th? Um , yeah! How cool is that gonna be!?!

The White House hosted a 4th of July BBQ for selected military members and their families. I learned later that there were about 1200 total in attendance, from all branches of service. They were families of injured and families whose loved one paid the ultimate price protecting our freedoms that we celebrated that day. Joel and his team from Haiti were invited for their actions on January 12th. They were there when the earthquake struck, cowering in doorways and jumping from balconies of the hotel. I will post a note from Joel on his thoughts and the events of that time at a later post. So anyway, the guys were invited to the White House.

We had to be at the gate at 5 pm. We left before noon Sunday to drive up to DC to catch a metro into the Mall. Got to the nice long line bout a quarter til 5, so we stood in line and chatted with the people around us; Logan just chilled in the stroller and people watched. At this point I was glad I wore a sun dress...it was a tad on the warm side. At 5 on the dot, the Secret Service opened the gates and we proceeded through the 2 ID checks, the metal detector, and entered the White House grounds.

I wasn't sure what I expected, but what was there was impressive. There were beverage stations scattered around the lawn, I think 4 or 5 total, serving sodas, water, lemonade, beer and wine. Tables adorned with red, white, and blue decorations were set up closer to the WH for dining. Corn hole, basketball hoops, hoola-hoops, face painting, balloon animals, a volleyball net, and beach balls were out on the lawn for entertaining. The Army and Marine bands provided musical entertainment during the early part of the evening. The food was set up on 3 tables, and was constantly being replenished; no one would go hungry. Cheeseburgers, hotdogs, grilled chicken, potato salad, salad, watermelon, and corn on the cob was on the menu. For dessert, there were ice cream stations set up in various locations, serving Dove ice cream bars (Joel had 3). President Obama came out and spoke, with Michelle at his side, joined by a member of each branch who was recognized for something they did, including a Purple Heart recipient. The Prez and Mrs then came down and shook hands and greeted the crowd for a bit.

The USO provided show, including Cedric the Entertainer and The Killers. The evening was capped off with a spectacular fireworks show. Logan watched a bit of the fireworks; don't think he was as impressed; too much other things to do, like play with ice in Mommy's drink. He had a great time playing with the beach balls and strolling around. He even 'danced' to the Killers a little bit.

I do have to say it was interesting trying to change a diaper in a port-a-potty (though it was like 5 in 1 building, with AC), just very tight space. I told him if he had to have another change, I was doing it on the lawn of the WH. He passed out before we left the lawn, and slept the drive home, and then went right to sleep after his bath at 320 am. It was a long drive home, after waiting for a metro for 30 minutes. I have to rant a bit, as I was upset at comments made to news reports about the event. Yeah, there is a good possibility your tax dollars paid for this; but your tax dollars are paying the salaries of these men and women defending our country and risking their lives, so deal with it. The USO footed most of it. You go get shot at, bombed, and so on and then say you don't deserve a nice 4th. It just irritates me. I don't care about you political views, support or men and women and let them enjoy themselves (if you won't stand behind them, feel free to stand infront of them).

It was a wonderful evening, and I could no think of a better way to spend Logan's first 4th. How many people can say they had a BBQ on the White House lawn, then watched fireworks while laying on the lawn and drinking wine?

PS- Pics to come soon (hopefully)