We are ... Penn State!

Jack's birthday party wasn't the only reason we went home last weekend, although it did give us a very good excuse. Of course, we had to pack every square inch of the 3 full days we had at home with some sort of visit or activity, and we still didn't accomplish everything we wanted to. We are always so busy when we go back to PA to visit, it's often exhausting, but for some reason I always come back to Virginia feeling rejuvinated and ready to go!

Jon and I both realized this is the first time we've been home in the Fall since we got married. Jack's birthday is the most gorgeous time of year, hopefully we can make this a tradition.

We arrived late Thursday night after a tumultuous car ride. Jack refused to go to sleep even though he was obviously tired and it was wayyyy past his bed time. Since when are 1 year olds allowed to have opinions? Anyway, we finally got the lullaby music going and that knocked him out for the last 1.5 hours of our trip.

After Jack's morning nap we bundled him up for a chilly, could-rain-any-second, Pennsylvania day at the Farmer's Market. My mom was taking her class there for a field trip, complete with hay rides, farm animals, playground, corn maize, super slide and lunch. We just met up with them for lunch and a chance for Jack to meet his latest group of adoring 5 year old fans.

Friday night was homecoming at Jon's high school. It was the first time he's been back for a football game since he graduated. Unfortunately, it started to rain so Jack and I had to leave before the first half. But he was really in to it for the amount of time we were there. I think he was paying more attention to the field than I was. Which was good practice for the next day - Penn State.

My in-laws, Jon and I had tickets for the big game that weekend and my parents offered to spend the whole day with their favorite grandson. Then they ended up getting free tickets so we brought Jack along for his (and my) first Penn State game. We picked up some BBQ on the way so we could tailgate in the parking lot, er, field before heading into the game. We had great seats, wayyyy behind the visiting team while my parents and Jack were on the other side of the stadium sitting in the "parents' section". From what I hear, Jack made lots of new friends amongst the Penn State football players parents. It was a fun game, even though our team creamed the visitors. And the halftime show was pretty impressive.

I was never a fan of football before I met my husband, but I've been working on it. The nice thing about Beaver Stadium is that whenever you get tired of watching the field there's plenty of other nice views to check out.

And so, the sun set on yet another great weekend in the homeland. Next time we visit there will hopefully be snow on the ground!