It has been almost a week since we were one of thousands to grace the White House lawn to partake in Easter festivities. There is only one word to describe the experience-Surreal. When we finally were let inside the gates seeing the White House only yards away there were no words to describe it. The pictures don't do it justice but this was our view as we walked onto the lawn:
Who can find the secret service agent? There were also a few perched up on the roof as well...
Many people have asked me how we were able to obtain tickets to the egg roll. About a month in a half before Easter begins go to this website http://www.recreation.gov/marketing.do?goto=acm/2013WhiteHouseEasterEggRoll.htm and enter your name for the lottery. The lottery is open for only a few short days,so its important to check often. Apparently the lottery is somewhat new. In past presidencies people in the greater DC area would camp out to get tickets and many government workers would get them through work. In fact, the majority of the people near us in line received tickets through work. So although many Washingtonians lose out on getting to go the the egg roll it benefits those from away (like us!) I really didn't expect us to win when I enter our name, but a week later we received our congratulatory email. Some tips when going: On our tickets it said no food or drink, but they allowed us snacks and they had free water and juice after going through security. Get there early! The doors opened at 4 pm for our block and we stepped in line an hour in a half early. We brought toys (matchbox cars, small animals,etc.) Jack was great and even shared his toys with the other children nearby in line:
Almost there!
Because we were near the front of the line and were able to partake in all the events that we wanted to do.
The Easter egg roll:
Easter egg hunt:
Poising with the Cat in the Hat and the Easter Bunny:
On President Obama's basketball court:
There was live music at the event. Jordan Sparks and The Wanted performed while we were there. Apparently The Wanted stayed at the same hotel as we did on Monday night. I had never heard of them, but my fourth grade girls were pretty excited when I shared that info with them in class! :)
Presidential gardens
Our swag at the end of the day:
The keepsake wooden eggs were actually made in Maine!
All in all it was an amazing experience that I got to share with my family. No we did not get to meet the Obamas as they were there in an earlier session, but to walk the same grounds of every president after George Washington was pretty darn cool.
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