Sunny Vacay!!

I don't have many exciting stories to report but I will say that I had the best time with my family last week at the beach! This is my third year making an appearance during this week but this year was different because Brian was an additional participant in the fun!! I wasn't quite sure if he could take an entire week of fun so we just made it for half of the time. :)

My sister Laura and my nieces, along with the famous Ryley (Cayton's best friend) and her mom Melissa, were spending the week at my parents' condo at N. Myrtle Beach (my parents live five minutes away) and I didn't want to miss out on the fun!

Brian and I left on Tuesday night (along with his mom who was going with us to SC to visit her cousins) and spent the night at his grandpa's house outside of Richmond. We made it to the beach by about 3p on Wednesday and the fun started almost immediately! We got settled, went to dinner, and then I went to the pool with the kids- all before dusk!

Thursday, we had a girls day of shopping (minus Raygan) while Brian drove his mom to see her cousins. By the way, my mom and his mom are both genealogy junkies and both grew up in Richmond so they did NOT run out of things to talk about. Poor Brian and my dad had no chance of getting a word in edgewise!

We just had a great time hanging out with my family. We didn't do any necessarily exciting or really even story-worthy. We went to the pool and beach a couple of times and went to play miniature golf. But it was all just quality time with Bri Bri and Aunt Beck Beck. It was a great chance to unwind (relatively), ignore the blackberry (mostly), and just enjoy being with my family (absolutely). The only thing that would have been better is if Katherine, Mark, and Nolan had been there too.

I am already looking forward to next year! Maybe next year, we'll get to stay the entire week!! And maybe next year, I'll take more pictures! So since there is a lack of exciting stories, I'll just leave you with a cute picture of me and my favorite girls!!

Germany comes to visit & an update on my wedding singer

Because I hadn't had enough exposure to Europe on my recent trip, my next big assignment at work was on Tuesday when the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, came to the White House to visit with POTUS. I've never been to Germany before and I confess I don't know that much about the country except I do love German chocolate cake and I drive a Jetta.

But really, when a leader comes to see POTUS, there's nothing really distinctive about their country except their flag is hung across the street over the Blair House. An official or state visit is just about the same for all leaders. And not to sound jaded but this was not my first trip to the rodeo. BUT that doesn't mean I don't enjoy each and every one of them!

I missed the morning welcoming/arrival ceremony and the news conference. My job for the day was to cover the State Dinner. Not only was I travel pool for the day but also assigned State Dinner pool (usually it's two different networks working together but the way the rotations fell this time, it was just me.) Maybe it was me, but there didn't seem to be the enormous crazy interest that there has been in the past. Maybe now that there haven't been any WH crashers in two straight State Dinners, the excitement is gone but there's just something about the glitz and glamor that I just love.

I was training one of my new colleagues that day so I asked if he had seen "The American President" with Michael Douglas as President Shepherd and Annette Benning as Sydney Allen Wade. I just love that movie. Anyway, the scene for the state dinner in that movie is about as real life as it comes. Of course my colleague hadn't ever seen that movie (I think it should be required viewing before coming to work on this beat!) so I had to start at square one explaining all the logistics to him.

First of all, we all went out to the North Portico for the official arrival of the Chancellor and her husband. I was up on the risers and had a perfect view of them rolling out the red carpet (literally) for Ms. Merkel.
Then POTUS and FLOTUS came out. FLOTUS was stunning as always. I hope she actually does enjoy that part of the job because I think if I was ever FLOTUS (which used to be a long-term goal of mine), getting all dressed up for such a fancy occasion would be my favorite part of the job.
Then the Chancellor and her husband arrive. They smile for the cameras and go inside.
Now the inside part- I actually missed the inside part this time. I was being generous and let my colleague handle the picture of the couples when they walk down the steps in the Grand Foyer. And my colleague didn't take a picture. Boo. :(

Next came the State Dinner in the Rose Garden for the first time (at least since I've been doing this.) It was a little warm at the beginning but turned into the perfect evening. We were there as the guests mingled. I saw Hillary chatting with Sen. McConnell and his wife, Elaine Chao. I honestly couldn't figure out Hillary's dress. I'm sure there are many people with a much better fashion sense than me but I just couldn't figure out her sheer, yet bedazzled, sleeves.

The best part of the evening was when I found out that Mr. James Taylor was the entertainment for the dinner. As you'll recall, THE MR. JAMES TAYLOR agreed to play at my wedding (whenever that is) a few months ago. He told me to follow up with him. Of course, I'm not engaged yet but I did tell Brian that I might have to pick a date to get on James's calendar if necessary. And he was okay with that plan! Well we were all set up at the end of the Rose Garden and who is walking in, but Mr. and Mrs. James Taylor. I promise you, his wife looked at me like she recognized me and then she waved to me. I was that girl who was giddy and waved back. Then she whispered into James's ear. I'm sure she was reminding him that he's agreed to play at my future wedding. James looks up at me and smiles and waves. So while I didn't get to actually talk to him, I feel good that we're moving in the right direction for him to actually be my wedding singer. I am just POSITIVE that at least he was reminded about his commitment!
We were there long enough to listen to POTUS talk about the Chancellor and the Chancellor to make comments. She was also awarded the Medal of Freedom while we were there. But as soon as the clink of glasses occurred, we were escorted back to the press room and the West Wing basement.
We got to go back out there for the entertainment part of the dinner and I was soooo excited. I've never actually heard James play live before. Even if it was for only one song, I was going to check another thing of my list in life. But instead of hearing my future wedding singer in somewhat of a rehearsal for my future wedding, we got to hear a piece by parts of the National Symphony Orchestra. Now while I love the arts and enjoy a good symphony and they were really good, they were NOT James Taylor. And after that one song, we were escorted out. Just like that. No James Taylor.
To say that I was disappointed would be an understatement. But I was a big girl and didn't cry! :) I was just glad that my long day and the stress of being pool was over! But then the coolest thing happened as I was leaving the WH booth. As I walked out the door, from the other side of the building, I could hear James singing "Carolina in my Mind" with his wife as a backup singer. It was awesome. I took as much time as possible to walk out the door and to the gate. I wanted to soak it all in. I could finally say that I have heard him live in person (well sort of. There was a small building between me and James) and he was great! Plus, I think he passed the audition to be my wedding singer!