Our New Friend Doug

At our hotel, we found Aunt Katherine, Uncle Eric, Aunt Margaret, Aunt Angela, Grandma and Grandpa waiting in the lobby! They'd come to join us for the official reason for our travel -- the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award events.

The MacArthur Award is given each year to company grade Army officers (active duty, guard, and reserve) for outstanding leadership. Jim was one of this year's recipients! In addition to a free trip to D.C., the awardees receive a 15-pound bronze bust of General Douglas MacArthur. Leading up to the trip, the bust was a frequent point of discussion in our house. "A fifteen pound bust? How do you even carry that home?" I'd say. Fear not, friends. They give you a tote bag!

Anyway, the events began with a welcome reception that evening where the winners were introduced and everyone had a chance to mingle. The next day's schedule included an awards ceremony at the Pentagon, a luncheon at the hotel, and then Pentagon tours.

As we were planning this trip, Jim and I agreed that it would be unreasonable to expect the girls to sit through a formal ceremony when they'd be so jet-lagged. We decided to hire a sitter from a D.C. area nanny agency so that the girls could play at the hotel while the grown-ups attended the official events. We used the agency recommended by the hotel, stocked our room with games and toys and food (and an emergency back-up: a portable DVD player for Kathleen) and figured we were set.

That morning Jim headed out early for rehearsals. The girls and I stayed at the hotel to meet family and our dear friend Paulie, who'd travelled from West Point for the ceremonies. (Other friends would meet us at the Pentagon -- Jim's mentor, Dr. Snider, along with Dan and Peter, friends from our days in Germany.) I'd scheduled the sitter to arrive half an hour before I was supposed to depart so that the girls could get comfortable with her and so that I could tell her a million little things that might make the day go more smoothly. Only (and you probably saw this coming), she never arrived! I made several frantic calls to the agency and could get no answer. Time for plan B! At first I thought I'd stay at the hotel with the still-sleepy, unfed girls, but with encouragement and help from everyone, we brought them along instead. I threw random things in a diaper bag (including dresses for the girls, who were in play clothes) while the Aunties carried the girls to the bus. Some day I can regale Kathleen and Madeline with stories about how I re-dressed them and did their hair while standing in the security line in front of the Pentagon...

As it turned out, having the girls along worked out great. There were lots of other children at the event, many of them louder than my own. (Phew!) All the friends and relatives pitched in -- Dr. Snider carried a diaper bag, and Kathleen insisted Paulie carry her purse, and the family all took turns walking along with Kathleen. The only downside was that, since my hands were full of children, I didn't manage to take any photos. Fortunately, plenty of other people did!

Here's Jim accepting his award. We've taken to calling it Doug.

We joke about the award (it's hard not to joke about a fifteen pound metal head!), but we're so proud of Daddy. We think he's amazing. I think you can tell:

After the ceremony and a cake and punch reception, we headed back to the hotel for a luncheon. We hadn't planned on the girls attending the entire luncheon, either, but everyone was wonderful about it. Highchairs and a children's meal appeared out of nowhere. What a blessing! Over lunch we chatted with Paulie and Dr. Snider, relishing the time with them. And when it was all over, we managed this extended family photo.

After lunch, most of the family headed back to the Pentagon for tours, but the girls and I skipped the tour in favor of a nap. We were glad we did. Perhaps one day we'll truly appreciate a tour like that; for now, naps are more our speed.
We finished off our day with a casual dinner out with the whole family and some sight-seeing afterwards. We were honored to be able to visit the WWII memorial with Grandpa, who served in the Army during the war. We were inspired by the memorial and our Grandpa!

When we'd had enough of memorials, we took the Metro home and collapsed into bed. Our full, circus-y day had tuckered us out. We had an early flight out the next morning, and we needed all the sleep we got!