So you want to visit the White House?

Oh my, my. Are we sore today. We took the jaunt to the White House. We were met by men in dark suits and earpieces with curly wires running down their necks. Really. Our AYUSA contact did the legwork to get us inside. You have to get signed up in advance, get your background checked, and then you are on THE LIST to be let in. We probably now have permanent files in some FBI or CIA office now for harboring a German exchange student.

So since one can't take cameras inside, I volunteered to wait outside with Verena's camera while the kids, Doug and Verena took the tour. They thought that our AYSUA contact was going to lead a tour, so they dawdled inside the warm White House waiting for Betsy while I froze my a** off waiting outside. I guess I shoulda told them that AYUSA never said that they would send anyone for us. How was I to know that they thought that? Anyway, the kids came out bubbling over about all the color-themed rooms. Adam could not stop talking about the blue room (which in actuality could be argued to be the Yellow Room). He loved the wallpaper border that matched the real moire silk curtains and swags. So, I went through the tour too, and took the kids and Verena along for a second ride. It was a real hoot. (Though not as fun as with Adam in the Statue of Liberty in NYC where the boy climbed 156 stairs with nary a whine, and submitted to my weak attempt at humor when I joked with him about the statue not having any underpants as we gazed up her dress from the inside--she's French, you know) Am I going to have to go put up a wallpaper curtain border in his room now? I hope not. I thought his room was finally finished. Anyway, the kids LOVED the tour.

Funny how I often seem to be the only ones asking any questions on these kinds of tours. I asked about the ball and chains hanging from the eagle-shaped wall sconces, and the MIB in that room with the earpiece and curly wire dutifully answered that if you pulled both of them at the same time, all the toilets in the white house would flush. Hah-hah. Really, you can't do that since unless you have two people. They are too far away. Must be a safety feature. He did also say that the eagles were the USA (no kidding bub) and the ball and chains were a symbol of our dominion over the world. He admitted that it sounded arrogant. Hey, the sconces were very very old.

So we finish up with the White House. On the way to meeting a friend or ours to get lunch, I made Verena pose for a pic with the big president cutouts. She chose Bush, not Clinton. Is that even a fair choice? Blech! Now I have one of my Great Aunt with Clinton, and one of Verena with Bush. I have a nice little collection going! Even getting into the food court, we had to go through security. I wonder what Verena thinks about the USA when just about every place we have taken her she needs to go through security. It makes ME really feel how much the world must hate us. Oh well, GB got over it. So will we.

So then we were off to the Air and Space Museum. Mind you, it's too much to ask a couple of five-year-olds to walk all this distance, so Adam and Naomi are usually riding on our shoulders. OMG....the pain. But it was worth it. We walk into the A&S and I look back to see Verena's eyes widen and jaw drop in awe and wonder. Adam and Naomi are too young to "get it", but Verena sees all the large mass of worldwide achievement and surely does. She did remark how she liked seeing it all from our point of view. I had to agree that I like the same sort of thing while watching the BBC news. It's a good way to get a clearer view of the world and one's place in it. It's a good thing we had Steve with us, so that Verena could have some questions answered if need be. We were too busy wrangling kids to be of much help to her.

I was proud that we not only have all our achievements, but a good array of Soviet, and German (the Red Baron especially) and now, private business achievements. Hey, did you know that the A&S now owns the Mars lander? They renamed it, and plan to get a plaque up and mounted on it one day. They already have the plaque made and on display next to the model. Too cute. I was even MORE proud to see a copy of Doug's game "Ace of Aces" prominently displayed in a case outside the WWI section of the museum across from the Red Baron display. Way, way, way cool! My husband has HIS work in the NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM! OMG! Sure that I caught the ear of a security guard or two as I squealed in delight! Hmm....can you be proud and jealous at the same time?

It's now about 5:00 and he kids are now about to implode so we feed them a smoothie, hoist them on our shoulders once again, and make the long trek back to the car. Doug confessed this morning that he felt pretty good about how sore I was today because he thought it was "just him" gettinmg tired under the weight of a kid. He said that every fiber in his body was screaming for relief while we were walking with the kids on our shoulders, but he was going to be danged if he was going to put Adam down before I put Naomi down. Bless him, he didn't, and yes, we are wrecks today. We feel so very old! The thing is that we both need to lose a bit less than that the kids weigh, so think about how much better we'd feel if we could shed what we shed when we put the kids down after the day! Do we really feel that bad all the time?

Next scheduled stop, The Holocaust museum with AYUSA.