Hear all about Kiki's experience at Camp Kosovo during the First Ladies' 56th Military Appreciation Tour!
Tjeta Redskins Fans!
It's KiKi and I'm so blessed to be on my first military appreciation tour with seven of my sisters. Oh wait... we're not alone, we have five Redskins Super Bowl Champs with us and an amazing liaison, Patrick, to make sure we stay on schedule. What a honor it is to travel abroad and bring joy to our troops that are away from home. As we make our way through Europe, our first stop on the 1st ladies 56th tour is Kosovo!
When we arrived in Kosovo, JD from Bondsteel Army Base greeted us at the airport along with three men, Sgts. Killins, Warren, and Geels. What an honor to be escorted by them! We were able to check in to the beautiful Swiss Diamond Hotel and ate lunch outside at a cute cafe. After that we practiced for our upcoming show, followed by a walking tour of Prishtina. Seeing landmarks such as the Cathedral of Saint Mother Teresa and Bill Clinton's Statue and Boulevard made us hungry for dinner at Restaurant Liburnia, who served us traditional foods with welcoming hospitality. As our day came to an end, we were ready for the next day and excited to meet the troops on base.
Day two and the purpose of this trip is to show our soldiers gratitude and love. We're escorted about 45 minutes from Prishtina to Camp Bondsteel Military Base where we enjoyed lunch and chatting with the troops in the mess hall. After a brief tour of the base and a second rehearsal, it's off to a flag football game! Of course our Redskins Alumni stepped in as coaches and referees, and we cheered on the sidelines. Finally its showtime!
Our show isn't just about us dancing but allowing the troops to participate, so there's trivia, a dance contest and even a conga line! Our last dance of the night, Proud, leaves every teary-eyed and proud to be an American with even more meaning since it's the oldest dance in our tour show and the 1st ladies performed it for the first time at Camp Bondsteel in 1999. The icing on the cake for me was that we were there to thank them for their service, but in return, they surprised us with Certificates of Appreciation for everyone on the tour.
To see the joy on the troops faces was priceless. Having someone tell you that you made a bad day good for them is what this tour is about. This was only day two and my heart is full and I'm looking forward to what's in stored as we continue this journey.
See you back stateside... HAIL!!!
KiKi
