13 January 2009

Karaoke in the capitol

Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Happy 16th Birthday Roger! (Hans' dad)

Christmas, New Years, Helen's (Kristen's mom) 60th birthday: in VT buried under two feet of snow.

To Boston for a few days to catch up with friends;

Continuing south to Washington DC to see old friends and co-workers. Hans is back on Whisper in Vieques, Kristen is flying back on Thursday. So far no frostbite! Washington is buzzing with inauguration activity: there are lots of American flags, bleachers posters, commemorative Metro cards, etc. Unfortunately we'll miss the occasion.

In Vermont, Kristen's two nephews and the cat playing with Chase's new Thomas train set. Quinten was in charge of keeping the trains on the track, Chase was trying to look the part with his pants on his head, and Rex was supervising.

What fun would we have without karaoke? Suzanne and Mik belt it out...

while Hans and Liberty provide a rousing rendition of Janis Joplin's "take a little piece of my heart" as a duet. You have to hear it to believe it.

Can it be? Karaoke again? Another night..another karaoke tune. This time, Hans, Cesar and Amelia bust out the moves.

The lawn in front of the capitol building set up for the swearing-in ceremony.

Looking down Pennsylvania Ave. towards the Capitol Building which is adorned with massive American flags.

Despite the recession, it appears that some businesses are able to do well with the inaguration fever.

Workers at a hotel just north of the White House hang flags.

Some of you may remember the summer of 2000, leading up to Bush's "election" in Nov. 2000: Kristen stood in front of the White House with a sign reading: "If Bush moves in, I move out (of the country)." She then turned the photo into a postcard and mailed it to friends and family as a sort of personal mail campaign. It only seemed appropriate to welcome President Obama in a more friendly way.

Kristen jumps for joy at the thought of a new president.