Wednesday morning we headed to the Federal Bureau of Engraving and Printing. This is where they print money and it is only one of two in the country. The other one is in Philadelphia. We actually thought it was the same thing as a mint before we went, but were surprised to find out that a mint is where they make only coins and there are only two of those as well - Denver and D.C. . It was a very fun and interesting visit! My only complaint is that there were no cameras allowed. In fact, there were no cell phones allowed either and we had to go through pretty tight security and a metal detector to do the tour. We started out with a movie and then went on a 45-minute, guided tour on a walkway with a lot of windows overlooking the plant. It was very cool to see the sheets of paper er, I mean fabric, go through the big printers, then be cut and packaged into "bricks". The coolest thing is that there are new $100 bills coming out next spring and we got to see them! That is what they were working on that day and boy were there a lot of them! They were very colorful and didn't look real, but were very cool! Unfortunately, we didn't get a free sample, though! :-) We were very glad that we made the trip and look forward to going to visit one of the US Mints someday soon!
Then it was time for lunch and to say goodbye to the Dallas/Fort Worth area and head home to Las Cruces. It was unanimously decided to have Steak 'n' Shake one last time for lunch since we loved it so much and we don't have them at home, even though it meant a little bit of a drive out of our way. It was worth it, though!
Then we hit the road for our 10-hour trip back. The trip going home is always longer, it seems, but this one went just as smoothly as our trip there. The kids stayed awake a lot longer than I expected, playing with some of their new toys they bought during our stay:
In the picture below, Dr. Colton and his assistant, Nurse Cady, are doing surgery on her new koala bear with his new Cabelas leatherman tool:
I am happy to report that the surgery was a success and koala bear was ready to be a comfy companion to Cady when she went to bed that night! :-)
Yummy refreshments always make the long drives better such as the Dr. Pepper Cady is drinking below. She got it at the Stockyards but decided to save it!
Then finally, with only a few hours left, the kiddos gave in and went to sleep! We were really hoping they would, too, because the very next morning they were leaving on a camping trip for a few days with their Gramma Suzy and Papa Jimmy and needed to rest up a bit.
It was a wonderful trip full of interesting and exciting discoveries, great food, lots of fun, wonderful buys and most importantly - Family Time, our favorite!!
Such a happy little guy:
Then, the kids and I got to see him again Monday morning because Leigh Anne asked if I would get some pictures of the two of them while they were here. Here are a few of my favorite shots:
While there, I wanted to snap a few of Colton and Cady with their newest cousin:
He was so cute how he would study them - like he was trying to see if there is a family resemblence! Either that or just trying to figure out his crazy cousins!
It was a fun morning and I appreciate Leigh Anne asking me to do it. That was, sadly, there last day here, as they were leaving the next morning. So, after Colin got off of work that afternoon, we drove out there to say our goodbyes. We are not sure how soon we are going to see them again (for sure in the Fall), so what does his Aunt Tammy do, but insist on some more pictures!!
It was a short visit, but we enjoyed seeing them! Can't wait until next time!
Grammy and Grampa were not only at the last game, but also joined us for the party:
So did Nana:
I am so very proud of both my guys:
Cady is proud of her Daddy:
Here is a close-up of the picture. I love how each of the kids signed it and put their number:
We were all super excited to be headed to the Stockyards National Historical District! Back in the days when cowboys were driving cattle on the Chisholm Trail, Fort Worth was the last major stop to load up on supplies and such. You can read more about the history here:
So many great picture spots - I loved it!!
Fun stuff everywhere!
The Grapevine Railroad goes right through it, but unfortunately, it only runs Thursday through Sunday. Something to look forward to for our next visit!
Right across from Stockyards Station was the Cowtown Cattlepen Maze. Colin and the kids took a stab at it while I stood on a shaded platform and watched. I also helped a little, too! ;-)
It took them 20 minutes to complete and due to the heat and humidity, it was a long twenty minutes! Luckily, we were there right when it opened and they were the only ones in it!
After that, we did a little more exploring and found more fun picture spots:
It was definitely the highlight of the day!! Next, Colton spotted a mechanical bull and he just had to ride!
Cady decided it didn't look too difficult, so she decided to give it a go too:
There was one other thing down at the Stockyards that I had to see before we left and that was Billy Bob's Texas - the world's largest honky tonk and voted the best country music venue for about 11 years in a row. So many of my favorite singers have performed there and I was really excited to see it!
In the daytime, they open it up for families to see and put out all the country music memorabilia to look at. The walls are lined with blocks of concrete with a variety of performers' hands in them from Miranda Lambert to Merle Haggard. My favorite was this Asleep at the Wheel one with the imprint of Ray Benson's boots:
It is such a huge place that it even has its own bull riding arena:
One of these days, Colin and I are going back to Fort Worth for a long weekend alone and going to go to Billy Bob's to see a live show, do some dancing and watch some bullriding! :-)
After leaving the Stockyards, we drove over to Cabelas - another store a lot like Bass Pro Shops. Colin and I have been to the one in Phoenix but this was our first time to visit the Dallas store. We knew from the moment we drove up and saw the neat statue in the front that it was going to be a good one:
A cool pond where the kids fed the fish (like the one in Phoenix):
Lots of cool mounts:
Hotdogs, pizza, turkey leg, peanuts and snow cones were all on the menu for dinner and snacks! You can see evidence of the snow cone on Cady's mouth and tongue in the above picture! :-)
In the end, the Rangers pulled it off and beat the Pirates 6 to 3:
