blink & you'd miss him . . .

Greetings all,

Our brush with President Obama is over.  We were a 28 hour pit stop between APEC in Hawaii & East Asia Summit in Bali.  So literally, blink & you'd miss him.

 We saw the motorcade on the way to school, a blur of speeding cars.  So i did some shopping in the city, then i thought i'd stake out the school President Obama was secretly obviously visiting, due to the media & police presence.

 This reporter was so lovely, some sweet grandparents next to me posed for photos with her.  She was even using hair spray prior to the live cross for when the motorcade came whizzing past.  Ooppss, she was sneezing.

 Lucky Campbell High School year 9 & 10 journalism students met with him in the library.  The Federal Police were so funny on ANZAC Parade, chatting to the crowd, sitting on the curb, leaning on the fences, sending SMS on their phones & swinging their arms to stay alert - they are so NOT the Army!!  The funniest thing i saw was a Kia Carnival filled with Secret Service - seriously, a Kia Carnival, they looked like a school mum in a rush.  Ever heard of a Kia Carnival in a high speed chase or rocking up to stop a riot??

 Then the motorcade starts up again . . .

 & the helicopters circle above . . .

 & there goes the President, again.  He so totally waved at me!!

Off he went to Darwin & landed at the Air Force Base we used to live on.  I don't miss aviation gasoline on my washing!!  They're expanding the Army Barracks to include thousands of US Marines, yay, we still have property up in Darwin, so house prices will rise.  The ratio of men:women in the Northern Territory is 5:1, now ladies have hunky Marines in the mix.  Have you noticed that everyone in Darwin is thrilled about the base??  It's going to bring so much money to that beautiful tropical city!!  We'll sell our property so we can build a home but we'd love to have held onto it, so our children can visit their home town in the future.  Love Posie

a very wordy Presidential Wednesday

Greetings all,

Simply could not cope with a Wordless Wednesday today, not with such an incredible week already!!  Air Force One has landed in my adopted home town of Canberra.

 US President Obama flew into this view - Canberra may be our nation's capital but it's a regional city in the middle of a sheep paddock, population of the Australian Capital Territory is under half a million people!! 

 Hmmm, he landed just in time to clog up the school run.  Children were stranded as buses & parents were stuck in grid lock between the airport & Parliament House, but no one was unhappy, we had plenty of notice & it's exciting . . . Canberra is not known as a 'happening place' so to have Queen Elizabeth last month, President Obama this month & OUR Crown Princess Mary next month visit, we're feeling a bit important, special & smug.

 I'm wondering if i might try my luck at a photo opportunity at the War Memorial tomorrow?? 

 Rumour has it President Obama is going to visit a local school in Canberra.  Hmmm, might supervise which shorts my son wears just in case??  Nothing like the school ringing you to say your son's shorts are ripped - if only i knew how to sew??

 I wonder what delicious food we're going to serve the President of the United States of Amercia.  I highly recommend my Sunday night's roast beef.  I just know they'll try to make him eat crocodile & kangaroo in Darwin tomorrow, so cliche (but tastey).

 Fresh garlic beans & salty rosemary potatoes, mmmm.

 Feeling completely exhausted this week, a mix of pride & heat stroke . . . at the high school state finals for athletics.   

 My eldest girl is a long distance runner, long & high jumper, winning places in the regionals, but to our shock, she came 3rd in the ACT for javelin??!!  She's reserve for the national finals.  All this talent, completely untrained + she's petit, once she gets some power & height, i can't imagine what she'll be capable of.  She absolutely loves sport & i hope, like me, she never thinks it's uncool.

 Before we went out to the Australian Institue of Sports, i swung by Peter Alexander for a little congratulations gift & could not resist these banana bloomers!!

She liked!!  We danced & then back to reality to finish an assignment.  Yawn.  Love Posie