The White House!!!- JoJo.

Mama had a big surprise for us!  She got us all tickets to go see the White House decorated for Christmas!!

It was quite an experience.  We had to be there before 9 to check in.  That meant leaving our house before 8.  That's a rare occurrence for the Turners.  Then add in that we had to be clean and nicely dressed.  It was practically a miracle.

Papa dropped us all off a few blocks away from the White House so he could go park the car.  It was an especially cold morning and we all took the opportunity to be especially difficult, made worse by the fact that you're not allowed to take anything into the White House, including strollers or bags.  

When we got to the security centers, they pulled papa aside to double check his identity, probably because they heard him saying outside that the President is not a monarchy and we shouldn't be exulting them and their house like they are.  

But finally we made it through security and into the house.  

Everything our congressman sent us said no cameras.  But when we got there, everyone had one.  Luckily, papa had his samsung, which has a camera, though not a great camera.  Still, some pictures are better than none.  We really liked that the Obamas' dog Bo was featured in all the decorations and we spent a good deal of time trying to find him.

Here's a view of the South Lawn through the curved glass windows of the Blue Room. 

We really liked the tree in the Blue Room.

It was very tall.

This little White House was made completely of gingerbread and had Bo in the front yard and Santa on the roof.

We were far from the only people on the tour.  It was packed.

And I was not a very good girl.  Mama and Papa made the official decision that the next time we do something big like this, I won't be invited.  And that's probably for the best, because I refuse to ever sit still or be quiet and I probably won't remember this.  But Henry (and lately, June) seem to get a lot out of our adventures.  So next time, I will be spending my day with a babysitter.

 
It wasn't until we got outside that we all relaxed and finally posed for a picture.  

Here's a good one of all of us.  There was a nice family there who had older kids (college age) and I think they remembered what it was like to have young kids (while they still laughed at us).  But at least they took our picture.  

An early morning and all that excitement?  Too much for me.  I was asleep before we got to the visitors center.  

But it didn't last long.  We visited the National Tree in front of the White House.

 Around the big tree are trees from every state.  June and papa posed in front of South Carolina's.

June wanted to stand in front of West Virginia's because that's where Grams is from.

Here's the two Wisconsinites of the family.

Henry and mama think DC is okay.

It's not every day you get to dance in a field between the Washington Monument and a huge Menorah.  I could have danced here all day.  

But everyone was getting hungry, so I went back to sleep in the stroller and we went out looking for food.  We skipped our normal lunch place at the Post Office Tower and decided to explore the food court inside the Ronald Reagan Building.  

The food court was a food court, but it was worth going through security to see the huge dance floor in the middle of the building.  It's a dance floor, isn't it?  This was probably June's favorite part of the day.

After lunch, June expressed a desire to go see the Santa Claus in the cabin by the National Tree.  We were just in time for it to open, so the girls went to wait in line while the boys went to get the car (Henry opted out of the Santa visit)/

Mark it.  This is the first official trip we've taken to specifically see Santa and sit on his lap and talk to him.  It took 7 Christmases, but leave it to June to want to talk Santa's ear off. 

What did she ask for?  She described with great detail the present that we got Tessa for Christmas.  She was up there for some time, but Santa eventually got a few words in.  

Here's the official picture.  And another first- when we left, they gave us a card with a link to the website.  Mama forgot about it for a while because she wasn't going to order any pictures.  Lo and behold- the picture was free!  You could just download it!  (Granted, it had a big logo on it, but mama just cropped that off.)  Thanks, United Laboratories, for restoring our Christmas spirit!