A Visit from the McCoy's

Brad and Tara and the boys came for a visit!

The weather was perfect - well kind of. Depends if you like monsoon rains for the first few days, followed by super humidity and 80 degrees in late September!

So we braved the elements and were soaked between museums and such.

Having our umbrellas didn't help all that much when we had 6 boys trying to hold them over our heads.

Let's just say, they need to get taller really quick!

We visited the Bureau of Engraving and Printing where they print money.

It was a really quick tour, only about 45 minutes, but I think that was the perfect time for kids. They loved seeing all the money come off the printer, get cut and banded together ready for the banks. I just wondered if the people who work there get strip searched daily before heading home? Not a job I would want, the searcher that is, making the money might be cool for a few days.

 How tall are you in $1 bills?

 We then hit up Gettysburg. Visiting the museum there and driving past the battlefields and cemeteries. It is such a beautiful place. One day I'm going to go back without kids and shop at the antique stores, secretly I wish I could wear the vintage clothing and have a girdle on with a huge hoop skirt, I'm pretty sure I could hide at least 20 pounds in one of those things!

 The kids especially loved the gift shop and enjoyed dressing up in hats and playing with the guns. Why do we even bother paying the museum entrance fee when we could go to the bookstore for free?

 We of course had to get our picture taken with our good friend Abe Lincoln, I don't think he ever saw this coming, what a group converging right on his lap!

 And this boy, man is he getting big. I remember going to the hospital to meet him, we brought pizza and he didn't even eat any. But now he is 11 and a pretty nice kid to boot, and he eats tons of pizza! Stop growing Braden!

 And this girl was spoiled rotten, again, by uncle Brad. I'm pretty sure her middle name should have been "Lip Balm" because it's all she wants all the time and her uncles are very happy to indulge her, constantly. That is not making my job very easy! She can't understand why mom always says no, but all the men in her life always say yes, except Gage. He is not swayed by the sweet smile and the puppy eyes and the crocodile tears.

We had a great time with you McCoy's. Let's do it again, only  there will be one more of you by then! Tara was a good sport and trooped all around the state in her pregnant state - now if only she'd find out if that were a little pink or blue peanut in that belly we would all be happy :)