I was just going through the blog, cleaning things up a little, and I found this unfinished post in the drafts folder! Ooops!! Better, late than never, I hope.

We had a lot of fun celebrating Obama’s second inauguration! In 2009, Ben and I put on about 15 layers and rode the bus down an eerily empty highway (it was closed except for buses) to the inauguration. We were packed in like sardines and ended up having to walk home (about 10 miles). It was really cool to be a part of history, but this year, I decided to stay home with the kids. Ben did have to go downtown for work, but fortunately he could watch the event from the warmth of his office building.

We did, however, decide to partake in some of the fun inaugural festivities. We had VIP tickets to the California Dems Ball. I didn’t have a chance to go shopping for a dress, so I ordered my dress on Amazon. Ha! Luckily, the dress fit perfectly! (Don’t you love the contrast between the fancy dress and the wild mess of toys in the background?)

The highlight of the party was getting to chat with my favorite California Dem, Nancy Pelosi!

I really wanted to go to one of the official balls this year (those are the ones the president and first lady attend). However, tickets were very scarce this year and we couldn’t find any. But then at the last minute, Ben’s new boss and his wife gave us their tickets!!

My Amazon dress got a second wear (shhh, don’t tell!), but I wore a different wrap, so it was basically a brand new outfit, right?

We decided to drive downtown because who wants to take the metro when it’s freezing outside? (Not me. I never want to take the metro.) Ben had to drop me off and then go park about a mile away. I walked for blocks trying to find the end of the line. It was crazy!!

But I’m glad we didn’t give up because it actually ended up moving pretty quickly. I would say we waited 30 minutes in total. When we were almost to the front of the line, we ran into a girl that Ben had worked on a campaign with years ago. She was leaving the ball and handed us her “special guest” passes. We didn’t know what they were, but it turned out that they got us into a special section with free drinks!

The highlight of the night was for sure when Stevie Wonder played! That was amazing!! The food selection was pretty amusing. I love the fancy signs.

We got to see the Obamas dance, but I wouldn’t say we had a great view…

I did see this famous guy as we were leaving, though.

Ben and I had a fun night and it was definitely one of those things that it will be fun to tell our children and grandchildren about. Here’s to another 4 years, Mr. President!