Cody and Jocelyn's Visit

We finally got some visitors! Other than those who are somewhat obligated to visit us (thanks Moms and Dads!) and of course Aunt Cheryl who passes through town with work every so often, we really haven't had an official visitor yet. Nevertheless, Cody, Jocelyn, and Talmage loaded up and drove down from Wisconsin for a visit. And what a visit it was! We ran here and there, downtown and out of town, and yet we didn't even get everything done we wanted to do. After a whirlwind of a trip we're left with a few pictures, a few bruises, and a lot of fun memories (other than when Nate got his butt handed to him time after time after time in Settlers). To be fair people did pick on him a little bit, but mostly it's just because he's not good at Settlers of Catan. Although he and Cody did do a good job of shooting things on the Xbox. We've picked out some of our favorite pictures from the trip starting with the F.D.R. memorial.

There was danger all around                       so Jocelyn hid in the soup line

We toured the well know monuments, and some of the lesser known ones like this picture we took from the Old Post Office pavilion. Most people will stand outside in the heat and humidity to see the city from high on top of the Washington monument. Locals, and some pseudo-locals like us, know that you can get the exact same view from the bell tower on top of the Old Post Office pavilion. The best part is that there is never anyone in line, and even if there is you get to wait inside with the A/C.

The grown ups played board games, ate some deliciously fattening food, and the kids laughed and fought and played the entire time. It was great to see them together even if they did drive each other nuts occasionally. Talmage would have a toy and Bryn would want it. Bryn would sit in her box and so Tal wanted to get in the box. Bryn had her cup, but wanted to drink out of Tal's. But they did spend a lot of time reading books together, making animal sounds, giving hugs, and laughing out loud. 

We made time during the week to drive out to the less traveled, but much much cooler Air aand Space Museum. It was essentially a giant hanger that looked more like a little boys room than a museum. There were airplanes on the ground, hanging from the ceiling, and stuck on the walls. There were planes, space shuttles, missiles, guns, and helicopters. This was one of the wings of the museum. In this picture you can obviously see all the little bi-planes but if you look closely you can see the stealth bomber, several 

F-16/F-22 type fighter jets, helicopters, etc. 

Here you've got more bi-planes, cesuras, and a giant 707 which is blocking the Enola Gay, a group of German WWII planes, and many, many more planes.

But wait, there's more. This was just a small part of the space wing. Now multiply what you've seen here by 10 and you get a feel for just how big this museum is. But with all this cool stuff lying around you wouldn't believe what Bryn's favorite thing in the museum was.... 

The drinking fountains.

 After a quick pit stop at... CAFE RIO!!! We stopped by the NRA National Firearms Museum. It was nice, and chock full of guns, but it was poorly organized and didn't really have explanations or histories behind the guns. It was more of a big gun safe than a museum. We did find a really cool room with guns from famous movies like the Dark Knight, The Departed, Star Wars, Reservoir Dogs, Quigley Down Under, etc. But the absolute best part was buying a leash for Talmage and trying to keep him from sprinting away. 

Teasing him with a leash is fleeting fun, but the scars will last forever.

(That should be on a Halmark card)

We saw more things than I care to write about but I thought this picture was really cool so I thought I'd end the post with it. We had a blast with the Pehrson clan and can't wait to see them again. However, this time it'll be in Phoenix and Clay, Heather, and Zane will be there! Let the madness begin.