ARGENTINA!!

In late-June, Cooper and Alan (and most of Alan's family) went to Argentina for Coop's cousin Bailey's wedding.  Alan posted a bunch of pictures on Facebook, but I pulled my favorite ones to post here.  I don't really know what anything is, so you'll have to ask Alan for more details!

 A 1911 Renault that belonged to someone famous.  Coop loved it!

The salt flats in the Andes:

Coop decked out for the wedding:

Coop giving Diego his ring after it had been held and blessed by everyone:

Apparently, according to Alan's mom, Coop was quite the dancer!

One of the souvenirs Coop brought for me -- a house carved out of salt at the salt flats.

In between big events....

Coop found this clock at a garage sale.  He collects them now, he told me:

For Father's Day, Coop got Alan and gift card, but it came embedded in concrete that he had to smash with a hammer:

Coop and Molly and I went out for dinner at the Mad Greek:

Garage sale

Before I moved to Lawrence, we had a massive garage sale at the Baldwin house.

Part of Coop's marketing scheme:

And Grandma's sugar cookies:

Coop's friend Molly came down to help, and they took a break for the car show that was in town:

And got to ride on our friend Lloyd's motorcycle:

Afterward:

Washington DC day 4

Nothing to do on day 4 but head home.  Coop read the book he bought in a souvenir shop:

On the metro train to the airport:

Airport snacks:

Washington DC day 3

 We started day 3 with a 7:30am tour of the White House.

Coop loved it.

And then to the Newseum, which maybe was my favorite stop in DC.  Coop enjoyed the exhibit on reporting during the Viet Nam war.

And then we took a bus tour of Arlington Cemetery.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Washington DC day 2

We started the day with a Duck Boat tour.  Coop was impressed that it was a real Duck boat, used in WWII.  And he got to drive.

Then we walked on the mall to see the monuments:

Dad had a name of a friend he wanted us to find on the Viet Nam wall:

"Coop, do you have a dream?"  "Yeah, once I dreamed I was being chased by a witch...."  Ok.  Not helpful.

Dum Dum, from the Night at the Museum movie:

And vacation isn't complete without a cockroach, I suppose....

Washington DC day 1

I had a work conference out in DC.  Mom and Coop flew out to meet me when it was over.

They arrived Sunday afternoon, and we hit the Spy Museum straight away:

Dinner at Shake Shack afterward:

And then we walked downtown a bit:

The FBI building where I worked during the summer of 1999:

Mini-Vacation: Hannibal and home

We stopped in Hannibal, MO on the way home to see some Mark Twain places, including a wonderful cave tour:

And the Mark Twain museum / boyhood home:

On the way back to Kansas, we stopped for lunch in Columbia, MO to eat at the Heidelberg, where the Chief Justice of the Palau Supreme Court worked when he was in grad school:

Mini-Vacation: Central Illinois

One of the reasons for the trip was so Coop could see the house where he lived as a baby.  First up, though, our starter home (303 N. Embarras) -- it looks lovely:

Coop outside the house where he lived as a baby:

Hotel:

We visited the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, IL:

And the Cozy Dog Drive-In, home of the one and only cozy dog (i.e. corn dog):

Memorabilia Cooper liked: