It Was Very Official

My dad's swearing in ceremony was awesome. A little nerve-wracking, but awesome. It went something like this...

Stand here, don't stand there. Take pictures in this room, but not in that room. Smile. Be polite and gracious. Don't offend the Kuwaiti dignataries (shoot, I'm pretty sure it was rude when I told them that Kuwait was my second favorite place to live. Um, hello London?!?) Shake lots of hands and listen to a whole bunch of people tell you how incredible and amazing and fantastic your dad is. Which was a little weird, because you know... duh.

I was so nervous and distracted that I forgot to take my camera off manual focus until about half way through the ceremony. Doh!

Official papers... that Asher nearly drooled on.

The signing of the official papers...

Remarks by my dad about how important Kuwaiti-American relations are. A summary of his remarks? "Um, this is the third time we've lived in Kuwait. So don't worry. I know what I'm doing." Actually, that's not what he said. At all. My dad's too humble for that. But really, he's totally the right guy for the job.

My grandma listening to his remarks.

Lots of applause for my dad. Really? This guy? I guess so.

Then my parents stood in a receiving line in order to receive many congratulations...

And we had some great blasts from the past. Like meeting back up with the Tysons. We shared a duplex with the Tysons when we lived in Kuwait back in 91-94. Susan is one of the coolest ladies ever and not just because her brother is the drummer for the Black Crowes. She's also cool because she let me watch Madonna music videos on her side of the house and she didn't tell my mom when she caught me sitting on her wall throwing rocks at passing cars.

My dad's cousin Ronde and her husband Dave were there as well and they brought a totally awesome picture of me with the world's worst haircut. I would be mad at my mom for giving me such awful haircuts but then I remembered that I was the one giving myself haircuts anytime I got my hands on a pair of scissors. My grandma is aghast.

Asher slobbered all over my grandma...

Americans and Kuwaitis... getting down to business.

David was the official baby holder...

Love this.

This is a pic of my grandma checking out a portrait of Madeleine Albright, which strikes me as funny for some reason.

I'm so glad I was able to be at my dad's ceremony. I owe a big thanks to Clark for holding down the fort while I was gone and my friends Kati and Karlee for taking my kids during the day. Thank you for making this trip possible for me!

I've always known that my dad is one outstanding guy but it was neat to hear it from other people. I'm so excited for this next chapter in his career. We're still reeling from our last trip overseas, but I really hope that in a year or two I can bring my kids to Kuwait and show them around my second favorite childhood home. Congratulations dad! We are so proud of you.