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...

Football Weekend

I drove over to Iowa City again to spend the weekend with Josh.  Friday night, we relaxed at Josh's apartment because the football game on Saturday started at 11 AM.  We met up with Josh's cousin, Brittany, who was in town from Chicago (she attended Iowa for undergrad), and caught up on our lives.  Iowa beat Minnesota 31-13.  Also, it turns out yesterday was Homecoming for Iowa; I got it confused with Iowa State's Homecoming (which is the end of October).  After spending time at two Iowa football games, I'm looking forward to attending an ISU football game.

My finds for the day: Romney stickers, Waldo, ice cream cone, and Chow from Chow's Gymnastics!

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.