Growing Up in the White House

Grand Christmases, elite schools, elegant weddings – see what it means for kids to call 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. home. By Oliver Jones

A NATIONAL PLAYGROUND

Long before Malia Obama, Amy Carter was America's First Fourth Grader. She was a John Travolta-loving tween who roller-skated all over the White House, from the East Wing to the South Lawn (here in 1980). What did the White House staff think of her regular sleepovers and pizza parties? "We're not phased by much of anything," says longtime White House Chief Usher Gary J. Walters. "We've seen it all before."