Sunday Night Football

The Packers are at the Ravens, and so are we!



Being only a couple hours away, of course we had to get tickets and go! We stayed at a downtown hotel and were just a couple blocks from both the stadium and the Inner Harbor. I’m not sure if the boys were more excited about the game or the hotel… they love a good hotel even more than they love a rental car!

"I'm soooo strong! Look at my muscles!"

After a long night of semi-sleeping and waking up constantly for fear a child was falling out of bed and getting kicked in the head and woken up to use the bathroom, we were off to explore. We went down to the coffee shop, ate breakfast, watched a show on the ipad, found an empty hotel ballroom and played football, set up a forest of dinosaurs back in the room, swam in the pool, had snacks, showered, and got dressed—all by 9:30am. Whew. After playing some more and trying to rest, we left for the stadium.

It had been drizzling for the past week, and had just stopped that morning. The forecast said 0% chance of rain all day, and we were ecstatic to not have to watch the game in the cold rain with two little kiddos. However it wasn’t quite done, so we walked to the stadium in drizzle and found a corner of the lower level concessions area to eat lunch. Drew rode the whole way on my shoulders, and we were amazed by the sheer number of Packers fans. They loved Drew riding high, and he got a ton of high fives and even a set of beads!

The football gods were smiling on us, as it stopped raining not 10 minutes before kickoff! After stopping at Guest Services to get the kids lost and found bracelets (they took our seat numbers and gave them bracelets that said, “please return me to guest services.” I found that logical, yet quite amusing.) We wiped off our seats and settled in to the first row of the upper level near the goal line.

The kids did an awesome job of being good and not falling over the railing. Our surrounding fans were welcoming and fun and not obnoxious. Despite the incredibly loud noise of an NFL game, Evan slept through part of the second quarter, and Drew crashed halfway through the fourth (and during the entire walk home). We were thrilled with the Packers pulling it together and making some big plays to win the game!

After the game we were famished and headed to the Inner Harbor. Drew busied himself by playing with stickers while we waited for our order—he always puts them on his lips! We’ve found however that the sticker doesn’t do much to keep him quiet. :)

After dinner we walked around to run off some of our last bits of energy for the evening and ended up reenacting the game on a wide open piece of brick parkway in front of the fountains. The boys were still wearing their game gear, and got quite a few cheers from passing by Packer fans.

In the morning it was time to go. The boys found their “coffee cups” and gave a “Cheers!” to the hotel and Baltimore as we packed up to head back home, exhausted and happy.

On our way home we stopped at "Mommy's Far Away Work" to show the kids where mommy goes on Wednesdays, and introduce coworkers to the family. While chatting in someone's office, Drew decided the best place for him to go was in a bookcase. Odd. But a perfect fit.

After lunch we stopped across the street in the lobby of the Discovery Building to visit their T-Rex and other treasures, and to watch the incredible George Rhodes Audio-Kenetic Sculpture, "Eureka!" I think Drew could have stayed there all day, and honestly so could I. 

It's Snuffy the Seal! See his videos here, here, and here.
An epic promotional campaign for Shark Week 2013!

Then we played and ran one last time before napping all the way home. What an awesome mini-vacation!

Ava turns 3

It isn't often the boys get to hang out with their friend Ava since we live a couple hours away, but they sure do love it when they can. Today was her 3rd birthday party, and while we would have traveled regardless, we just happened to be in town anyway! We got to hang at Ava's house for a while and meet lots of her cool friends, plus paint pumpkins and snack on pizza and cupcakes. (And by "paint pumpkins" I mean douse them in glitter glue and googly eyes, of course.) What could be better? Happy birthday, good friend!!

Meet the Basketball Team

Today is also known as "The Day Evan and Evan became best friends."

We went down to Meet the Team day to see the UVA Men's Basketball team and get signatures. The boys were in absolute heaven, especially when they got to play in the practice gym, tour the weight room and locker room, play ping pong in the team lounge, and see the Coaches offices.

But Evan realized he was in for a REAL treat when we went on the court to get signatures from our favorite players. the only one Evan would stand in line for is his absolute favorite: Evan Nolte. EN is tall, and a good player, and from Wisconsin, and "ohmygoshwehavethesamename!" We got his signature, and asked for a photo, to which he happily obliged. Staging the photo was a bit problematic though, seeing as we have a 3' tall child and a nearly 7'tall player, plus Drew would NOT let it happen with out him. EP stood on a chair, and EN was kind enough to pick Drew up (though he clearly hasn't been around lots of little ones from the way he held him).

About 10 minutes later, while we were in line for another set of signatures, EP turns to daddy with curiosity in his eyes - he's clearly been pondering this question for a while - and asks, "Daddy, do you think Evan would babysit me some time?" (Melt) We told him to go ask! So EP ran back to EN and asked. EN was great - he said Sure--though maybe the summer would be a good time instead of during the season, and EP was thrilled.

Another 10 minutes later, EP grabs Daddy's pant leg and asks with urgency and semi-panic, "Daddy WAIT! We don't have Evan Nolte's phone number!!" (Aww!) He ran back again to an amused EN gave him his number that went something like this: 555-111-2323. EP tried so hard to remember it! He was thrilled to make the connection with his basketball hero.

 

 

"Player, did you get hurt? I'll fix you."

 

"I'm a doctor!"

Let's see if I can lift this one... 

Go Hoos!

It's Evan and Evan! And Drew too!

And yep, EP is standing on a chair.

 Will you babysit for me?

Can you give me your phone number 

so my mommy can call you to babysit?

"You guys keep standing in line for signatures.

I'm going to wait here."

Drew's planning a take-over of Ms. Katharine's desk. 

She has pretty markers. I don't think we messed it up too much!

Coaches meeting

We got to chat with Mr. Coach Tony Bennett himself!

Balloon Morning

We see hot air balloons all the time in the spring and fall here in Charlottesville, and the boys are enthralled. What a treat to walk out this morning and hear the unmistakeable hiss of one coming right over our house! We stood and watched for a while as the balloon lazily floated nearer and nearer, then up and up and up.

Fall Evenings

Just hanging out outside this evening, enjoying the great early Fall weather. Practicing some bike riding (or just modeling the uber stylish helmet) and watering the now fully grown zinnia seeds we planted on Mother's Day!

ELCA Day of Service

Our church joined congregations across the nation in today's celebration of the 25th anniversary as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for "God's work. Our hands." Sunday. It coincided perfectly with Rally Day and the first day of Sunday School. The younger kids stayed after morning service to meet their new teachers, then packed Blessing Bags which were distributed by the older high school youth to our community's homeless population. Over 30 bags were packed and delivered! While the littles were doing that and learning about serving others and sharing, the teens and adults (and Drew-aged littles) spread across the community for service projects. Congregation members packed meals at the Loaves and Fishes food bank, helped the Rivanna River Authority clean trash from the river's banks and trails, held a "donuts and games" event at a local mobile home community, visited and sang with residents at an assisted living center, packed food boxes for an upcoming mission trip to Southwest Virginia, organized collected school supplies for kids in need at the neighborhood elementary and middle school, and cleaned the gardens in front of the neighborhood's middle school.

Our family joined the gardening group down the street. (Evan initially wanted to do the donuts event, but was good with digging in the dirt once he realized it wouldn't be him getting the donuts!) Mike, Drew, and mommy joined several middle school youth and several adults to clean out the planting beds at Sutherland Middle School while Evan was in Sunday School. We spent about two hours weeding, raking, trimming bushes, and cleaning the beds, oftentimes fighting against the rock-hard dirt. Thank goodness Mike was there; his muscles were sorely appreciated by all us women and youth! His years of practice digging in our flower beds at home really showed. Evan was able to help for the last portion too, and both boys were amazing helpers carrying sticks, planting new flowers and plants, and carrying much-needed water to both plants and workers. We thought the project really made a difference, creating a more welcoming and clean entrance to the school, and we all left sore, sweaty, tired, and happy to have contributed to the community.

 Evan and Caden write messages to pack in the Blessing Bags for the homeless. 

Evan's look translates to: "More art? Seriously? When do we play?"

The planting bed around the Sutherland Middle School sign: before.

 After: much better! 

That evening church held a Rally Day dinner in the parking lot. It was hot, but the friends and food made it much easier to bear. Lots of "regulars" showed up and a good number of neighbors attended as well. The kids played basketball, swung on the swings, played in the sand, climbed on the ark, and generally ran around trying to sneak brownies from the dessert table; the adults laughed together and snuck a few brownies of our own; and we all enjoyed great music from the PLC Praise Band. Thank  you Greg for tirelessly chasing the boys long after the rest of us stopped being able to keep up! :)

 

A beautiful sight to walk home with: 

Shark Class

Evan's class started journaling today! This is going to be a fascinating project by the end of the year to see how their thoughts have grown and their writings and drawings change over time.

They also started "using the library" - each Friday they get to pick their own book to take home and return the next week. It's great to see them so excited about reading, and starting to learn the responsibility of returning things on a deadline.