Smithsonian Museum of American History

 So we went to the American History Museum today!  It was just as empty as the Mint was yesterday - this is really the best week of the year in DC!!  This is a HUGE museum and we only saw a very small fraction in the two hours that we could keep focused for!!  It definitely deserves another visit - although there are so many things to do here, I don't know when we will go back!

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing

This morning we made a quick trip into the district to visit the Bureau of Engraving and Printing - where they made money!!  I guess during the summer it's usually really busy and difficult to get into but today it was almost totally empty!  We got a parking spot right outside and walked right onto a tour!  This is seriously the best week to visit anywhere in DC - we aren't in school yet and the rest of the country is!!
You can't take any pictures on the tour of the Money Factory but it was really cool to watch so many bills being printed! It's a real working factory and you walk through catwalks over the factory floor!  The kids thought it was pretty neat but Declan was tired!

Maryland Renaissance Festival

 We made our annual pilgrimage to the Maryland Renaissance Festival today!  The kids had so much fun and it's really amazing to watch them grow up before our eyes!!  We have gone so many times before and each time it's different becuase the kids are at different stages.  This year Aoife made it all the way to the top of the climbing wall and Emmy almost made it. Aidan tried the expert wall and found it was much harder than he thought!  Declan made it about 1/4 of the way up the little wall- just about the same as Aidan did when he was Declan's age.
So much fun and a good "end of summer" outing!!

Anchor Cookies and Ombre Cake

 This weekend I made these cookies and Ombre Smash Cake for the first birthday of the baby that I made a babyshower cake before he was born!  It was fun to see everything come full circle!!  Here's the baby shower from a year and a half ago!