Skip navigation
advertisement

Bush twins offer advice for Sasha, Malia

'Enjoy it all,' they say, while also urging girls to be protective of dad

Image: Bush daughters
Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP
Barbara Bush, left, Jenna Hager and her husband, Henry Hager, signal to well-wishers after President Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony  in Washington Tuesday.
Video
  Friendly letter
Jan. 23: Days before moving out of the White House, former President Bush’s two daughters wrote an open letter to Sasha and Malia Obama.

Today show

White House slideshows
Image: U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama arrive at the Grand Hotel in Oslo before attending the Nobel banquet
Reuters
  Michelle Obama's effortless style
The first lady looks as sophisticated in designer dresses as she does in outfits from J. Crew.
Image: The White House Debuts The Obamas' New Dog Bo, A Portuguese Water Dog
Getty Images
  Who’s a good Bo?
See the Obama family’s frisky Portuguese water dog pup sink his paws into his classy White House digs.
Image: Inside the Obama White House
NBC News
  Life inside the White House
An exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the Obama administration and the people who keep it running like clockwork.
Image: Amy Carter goes to school
AP
  First sons and daughters
Under many administrations, the corridors of the White House have resounded with the patter of little feet.
updated 7:05 p.m. ET Jan. 20, 2009

WASHINGTON - Just in time for move-in day, the Bush twins offered their best advice Tuesday to Sasha and Malia Obama on living in a "magical place" called the White House.

In an open letter to the Obama kids, 27-year-olds Barbara Bush and Jenna Hager advised the girls to relish it all — to "go to anything and everything you possibly can."

"Just go," they wrote in a letter published in the Wall Street Journal. "Four years goes by so fast, so absorb it all, enjoy it all!"

Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here

The twins reminisced about their favorite memories of the White House, and gave plenty of specific advice, too, to 7-year-old Sasha and 10-year-old Malia:

  • Surround yourselves with loyal friends.
  • Trick-or-treat down the plane aisle if you're traveling on Halloween.
  • Cherish your pets "because sometimes you'll need the quiet comfort that only animals can provide."
  • And this: "Slide down the banister of the solarium, go to T-ball games, have swimming parties, and play Sardines on the White House lawn. Have fun and enjoy your childhood in such a magical place to live and play."

Sardines is a variation of hide-and-seek.

The twins turned serious at the end, recalling how the public image of their own father got distorted over the years.

"He is our father, not the sketch in the paper or part of a skit on TV," they wrote.

As for the Obama girls' dad, they added: "Many people will think they know him, but they have no idea how he felt the day you were born, the pride he felt on your first day of school, or how much you both love being his daughters. So here is our most important piece of advice: remember who your dad really is."

The entire letter is online at online.wsj.com/article/SB123239885943895155.html

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sponsored links

Resource guide