Our tour was arranged by Neal Carlton, a former Boy Scout (Eagle Scout) from my dad’s troop. Neal is the Scheduler for the Treasurer. We met the Treasurer of the United States, Anna Escobedo Cabral. She was very nice and greeted all of us, including Allison and Ainsley. We also met a Treasury intern from Alaska named Eric. He is an interesting guy. And we met several of Neal’s friends: Michael, a staffer in Congressman Joe Barton‘s office, and Chris, who works at the Treasury. After our visit, we went over to the Old Ebbitt Grill for lunch.

It was great. The food and atmosphere were wonderful. After lunch, we went over to the White House so we could take a picture. But, the south side was blocked off. And here’s why:

So instead, we took a picture in front of the north side of the White House. Ainsley is sleeping by this point – pretty amazing considering it was cold and windy!

The paper doll in the pictures is Flat Stanley. He was sent for a visit by Maryanna, a second-grade girl from our last church in Texas. Her class is doing a project about different states. Flat Stanley is supposed to visit different states and his hosts are supposed to send back pictures, postcards, and stories about what he learned. So we took him with us today!