My Nephew, The Football Star x 2

Tonight was my youngest nephew's last football game of the season (Jeramie's last game was last week).  Justyn is in fifth grade, and gets to play on a combined team of fifth and sixth graders.  Before his game started (nearly an hour later than scheduled), I watched tiny little football players run around (literally...they had no idea what they were doing).  I didn't know such tiny people played football in full uniform, but it was quite entertaining.

Anyway, I'm proud of Justyn for sticking with it all season long (they didn't win a game).  I hope he gets to be on a winning team next year, but if not, I'll still be his super-proud Auntie Rachel!

Also, I feel it's worth noting we posed exactly the same without even discussing it.  We had to rock through this photo quickly so he could get down to serious football business.  Justyn is so adorable. He's also kind of bossy on the field.  It must be genetics...

(G-Free) Comfort Food

The weather has cooled down quickly (last week's cold snap did me in), and now I'm in the mood for soups.  This week, I've made two soups - mixed bean and squash.  Below are beautiful images someone else took (and they also created the recipes).  You should make them.  I'm loving both soups and think you will, too!

Mixed bean and ham shank soup from Bliss (source)

Creamy garlic butternut squash soup from Undressed Skeleton (source)

For my birthday, Kristina made me the best g-free chocolate cookies (and she delivered two platters of them to my desk).  She got the recipe here.  You should make these, too.  They're heavenly.

Flourless fudge chocolate chip cookies from Chocolate and carrots (source)

The Color Run

On Saturday, I participated in The Color Run in Des Moines.  There were two waves of races - one at 1 PM, and another at 4 PM - with a total of approximately 27,000 participants (and 600 volunteers) according to the Des Moines Register.  Gena and Luke drove down from Minneapolis, and Kari drove down from Ames, and we all ran together (well, we walked and talked a lot, too).  We arrived around noon for the 1 PM race, and ended up being in the first wave of the race (there were about 13 waves).  I had a blast.  I would love to do it again.

Check number13 off my 30 before 30 list!  And then Gena found this other fun run, The Glo Run.  I think it sounds super fun to run at night with a glow-in-the-dark shirt and three other pieces of glow swag.  Sign me up!

Cold Snap

The weather last week was beautiful. The high on Wednesday was in the 80s. Then, by Saturday, we had a hard frost. After waking up wondering why my house was so cold (it was a crisp 63 degrees inside), I decided it was time to turn on the heat. I guess this means it'll probably be on until April...which, according to my math, is about six months away.

The Apple Orchard

It's officially fall.  Maybe not on the calendar (the technical date is apparently on September 22), but in my world it is.  Yesterday was Josh's grandparent's Annual Harvest Festival.  It was amazing as always, and this year there were more attendees than ever before (or at least it seemed that way to me)!  The high temperature yesterday was 82 - it was a perfect day!  I forgot to put the memory card in my camera, so these pictures are from my iPhone and then the really nice ones are from Josh's Aunt Pam (remember, she took some of our wedding photos).  I look forward to this event every fall.  It makes me proud to be a part of such a wonderful family, and I really enjoy helping out and meeting/greeting the guests.  This year, my mom and nephews came along with me.  They all loved it (their naps on the way home were proof of that!) and my mom wants to come back next year to help set up.  I think if she hadn't had back surgery this past June, she would have asked to help make the fresh-pressed apple cider.  Overall, the day was a success!

Pam made this Ad for the family to post on Facebook to promote the event.

Pictures courtesy of Aunt Pam

 

Since we didn't get a family picture this year, here's one from last year.  And then for fun, below that are photos from 2009 and 2008.  Apparently we didn't go in 2010...which is kind of disappointing.  Seeing how Sophie's changed over the years is quite fun - she was so fluffy in 2008 (when she was just a few months old).

2011 Apple Festival

2009 Apple Festival

2008 Apple Festival

The Big Football Game: Iowa v. Iowa State

This past weekend was a legendary Iowa weekend:  the Iowa v. Iowa State football game (read more about the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series here).  The state of Iowa is divided between the two universities.  Obviously, Josh and I always side with Iowa State (all the smart kids do, really).  Since Josh is a student at Iowa, he purchased season football tickets, and we managed (read: Josh negotiated like crazy) to purchase a ticket for me to attend the game with him.  During undergrad, I never went to Iowa City because I was afraid I'd get arrested or something crazy (I've heard lots of horror stories about Iowa City).  This was my first home Iowa football game, and it ended up pretty well.

We started the morning off at a law school fraternity tailgate.  Then, we wandered over to the tailgates near the stadium to meet up with some of Josh's high school friends.  It was fun catching up with them, playing flippy cup, and snapping a few pictures.

The football game was a lot of fun.  Kinnick Stadium was quite impressive.  The Iowa State win (9-6) was more impressive.  It's a Cyclone State for the next year.

My Nephew, the Football Star

My nephew, Jeramie, is in seventh grade and started his football season last week.  He plays on a turf field, and wears the same pads that "the big kids" wear.  I can't believe he's old enough for this.  I still remember when my sister called to tell me she was going into labor...and I told her to wait to have him until I arrived (FYI, that didn't happen).  Anyway, Jeramie looked so old all suited up for his game...and he's basically the same height as I am.  When did this happen?

Jeramie had a great first game, rushing 50 yards to score a touchdown (the team's first of the season and game).  We are all very proud of him and look forward to watching more games this season (and hopefully more in the years to come).

I asked Dina which kid was Jeramie.  Her response, "He's the one wearing black socks."

Touchdown!

After the game, we had the chance to take a quick family picture.  I love having Dina and her kids around and the opportunity to watch them make memories doing things they love.