Our time in DC!

WHERE DO I BEGIN?!!! What an amazing time we had in Washington DC this past week. We've decided it was one of the coolest things we've ever gotten to be a part of. We headed out on Monday and stayed the night in Portland. Our flight left the next morning for DC at 6:30 am, so we were up bright and early, and it was a long day of travelling for us. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt, just a few blocks away from the White House, and it was an amazing hotel. We also met up with John Gonsalves, the founder of Homes for our Troops, along with his son, Hunter, and co-worker Tom. Pete Damon (double arm amputee presenting the picture to the President) and his wife Jen were also staying in the same hotel. On Wednesday we got dressed in suits and caught a cab to the White House. We got there at around noon and waited for about an hour before going into the oval office to meet with President Bush. While waiting, we saw Nancy Pelosi, John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, as well as others, but we didn't know their names. That in itself was pretty exciting, especially for Christian. Then we got to go into the oval office and it was truly amazing!!! We chatted with the president and Pete and his wife presented a painting he had painted of the president. It was very special. We were able to get pictures with the president, and all in all, we were in there for about 20 minutes. A pretty good chunk of the President's time! :) That night we were fortunate to meet with some very special staff from North Carroll Community School for dinner. We had a great time talking with them and we wished so much that we could have gone to see the kids at the school. This trip just didn't allow for it, but kids---we were thinking of you all!!! Next time, ok?? Thursday night was the final address, and it was phenomenal. We arrived at 5:30 and two complete floors of the White House were just open for all the guests to wander through. They served a buffet style FANCY dinner, as well as champagne and wines and other drinks. We were able to walk around with our drinks and peruse the rooms. AND, the best part was that we were able to take pictures! We have not been able to do that before, so we were super excited about that. We snapped away and sat on the furniture and chatted for about 2 1/2 hours before we were seated for the president to give his final address. It was very special. Oh, we got pictures this night with he and Laura, too. They were professionally taken, though. They wouldn't let us take pictures with the president with our own cameras. So anyway, it was spectacular. It was pretty much a private party of about 200 people, whom the President said inspired him very much over the last 8 years. So we feel very privileged to have been able to be there. It was like nothing we've ever experienced!! I posted a few pictures...hopefully they'll work. On a completely different note, Christian was sworn-in last week as the newest reserve city police officer for The Dalles. This is a big deal! We're pretty sure he's the first double amputee police officer in Oregon, and possibly in the US. He makes me extremely proud and we are thrilled that he has been given this opportunity! Yahoo! Although we had an awesome week, we were so glad to get back to our precious little Noahbear last night. We missed him sooo much. He is absolutely our pride and joy--what a blessing!


Above--me in the White House china room! Abe Lincoln's china behind me!


Above--me and C in the White House blue room!

Above--us in the First ladie's room

Above--us in the White House library. Absolutely beautiful!

In the East room where the final address was given...just waiting for it to start!