MSU - Gopher game

A cold day did not stop us from enjoying a MSU football game. We decided to leave Emmit behind due to the cold temps (22 degrees). 

We were invited to the game back in Sept by friends who have season tickets. We jumped at the opportunity and have waited all season for this day to come. Unfortunatly, it was a bit colder than we would've liked, but we embraced the whole experience.

Here is our tailgating spot - yep - 2 tents and thankfully the sides and a heater were included!

Dan, our host and chef. I think we will just tailgate in the future - who needs to see the game when you can have a meal prepared by Dan! We had Philly steak sandwiches and numerous adult beverage choices to keep us warm:

I was a bit nervous when this is what I saw shortly after we arrived to tailgate. We still had 2+ hours till kick off! No, that is not Goldy, its Gerrit in there!

 Shortly I saw this face which made me feel better:

 A little entertainment and learning experience: "shot ski" - something we don't have in MI. A nearby tailgating party had the ski and we supplied the beverage. The funniest part....the song that is sung before the shot is taken: "Jesus hates Wisconsin" - no joke. They sing this little phrase before you can partake. A little harsh, but funny if you understand the boarder battle.

Here they go!

Adam did say it warmed him up - dual purpose!

 A little pregame work out...

Finally, game time!

Goldy, struttin his stuff before the game:

Typical site in November - a pile of snow! The cities got a bit of snow Thanksgiving...Goldy snowboarded down it near the end of the game.

Sparty! Gerrit spotted him first.

Coach Dan...the man!

One of the plays...

Still smiling and warm!

Gerrit did great. He didn't complain about being cold or hungry. We stayed for the whole game too. Emmit had a blast at John and Deb's (Dan, our hosts inlaws) and we are ready for another game next season (although we'd choose earlier in the season when its a bit warmer). 

Best quotes of the day from Gerrit:

Mom, I want to go to a game where there are more Spartan fans...

Why did the Gophers get more kicking practice?

I guess we'll have to take a road trip to East Lansing to get a game with more Spartan fans.

If you watched the game, you'll know Gerrit's observation is true - the Gophers had a few too many 3 and outs and had to kick more than MSU did!

Even though Gerrit had his Goldy hat on, he was sporting his Spartan jersey underneath and was cheering for them. He wanted me to bring his Sparty hat along but I figured the camera and a few blankets were enough for me to carry! 

Loved the game and experience and the cold was not too bad! It was all worth it.

Oh, and the stadium is awesome. I had not been to the new one yet (Adam and my dad went last year). Watching college football outside is so much better than in a dome, cold and all!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sneaky Pete

Last night when I was tucking Gerrit in bed, he was reflecting on the night. 

He said: I was pretty good tonight, wasn't I mom?

I responded: It was a pretty good night, I just wish you wouldn't sneak snacks. (He had opened a box of football shaped brownies after dinner w/o permission and later told me about it.)

Gerrit responded: I didn't like the brownie anyways - it tasted like a frozen brownie and I couldn't get Emmit's open for him to eat.

I asked where the brownie was and he said in his room. When I asked where it was specifically, he said in his cubby. I made him get out of bed and find it before I forgot about it and found it in the spring! He came back with it and says he couldn't get it open because Emmit had made such a mess of it, it was too hard to open! 

I guess I will have to do a better job of putting the treats out of reach. I'm running out of room because the boys can reach quite high in our kitchen!

Homework

Gerrit came home with homework last week. He needed to make some sort of transportation for class. They are studying modes of transportation and could build any kind they wanted to build. 

First, Gerrit wanted to build a rocket and we started planning out what we needed...

Then, he switched to a golf cart....

The whole time I'm assisting on the building of this project, I was taken back to when I had to build a rubber band car in high school. I should say, my brother built it for me and I assisted...kind of like Gerrit assisting me...brought back some great memories and at times I wished Uncle Jeff lived closer because I'm sure he'd build a cooler golf cart than what I came up with!

Skimpy Halloween

Monday night before Halloween, Sue came for dinner to visit with my parents. Little did she know, we were also going to do pumpkins! Neither boy liked to do the cleaning, they left that part up to Sue and mom.

Gerrit was into designing his face as well as cutting it out:

Emmit was just as into it - he's just a wee bit small for the knives! Sue let him 'draw' his face which consisted of coloring on the pumpkin:

Emmit and that smile (sporting a fat lip from a fall earlier in the day).

Opa lending a hand with Gerrit's pumpkin:

Attempting to get both boys to look at the camera with a normal smile was not going to happen tonight:

Sad but this is the best looking pumpkin we grew this summer. I have not had to buy a pumpkin in 6 years until this year. We will start over with growing our own from the previous year's seeds:

Gerrit wanted a Spartan S on the little pumpkin...

Another attempt at a picture of the boys and their pumpkins outside.

And where are the pictures from the actual evening....nonexistent.

This is the best I can do - halloween at the BMX park 2 weeks ago...

Halloween was a tough night - Gerrit had a melt down that almost prevented him from going out that night.

I was stuck in night class so Adam was on his own (with Oma and Opa's help).

They were lucky to get the boys fed and dressed without any serious issues....

So, here's hoping for a few more pictures next year when I am not in class and the boys are a bit older!!

Adam said Emmit got into it running up to the houses because he knew it meant candy. He didn't quite get the 'trick or treat' saying but nailed down 'thank you' which is more important anyways!

Red Barn

Last week was a busy week. Oma and Opa came for a visit. We started the week off by heading north to another bike race. 

Here are the boys lined up for the kids race (we did not do costumes as that was optional).

 Gerrit had a slight issue during the race - his pant leg got caught in his chain...after a few tears and some help from dad, he hopped back on his bike and finished the race.

 Gerrit and Emmit were the only 2 who did the barrier...made their dad proud!

Emmit knocked the barrier over but insisted he do it himself. 

The best shot I could get of the four boys. Luke is on the left, Paul is on the right.

Here is Adam in action - no that is not fire, it is orange cob web decoration on the course to help aid in the Halloween theme of the race.

Oma and Opa are always good sports no matter what the weather is like! 

The race was at a Christmas tree farm - can you tell?

Opa taking in the action. It really was a nice day - not too cold when the sun was out and little wind.

Emmit copying a racer who had just come across the finish line and won.

Not sure what they are discussing, I'm guessing Emmit was getting help with his gloves.

Reaching His Goal

In school, Gerrit takes tests throughout the year to monitor his progress in various reading and math topics. We saw his scores from September and he'll be officially tested again in January. Until then, he does practice tests at school each month and we were given some to do at home. He sat down with his teacher this week to set goals for this winter regarding his scores....

Last night Gerrit asks: what we will do if I meet my goals, mom?

Mom: what would you like to do?

Gerrit: how about have a cake and friends over...he proceeds to describe his Lego birthday party and asks me if I can make a Lego army dude cake!

Mom: why not something with just our family - like DQ blizzards????

Gerrit: Ya, I guess that will work, maybe a game or 2 as a family? Like a running game and I'll give Emmit a head start seeing I'm faster than him.

Mom: sounds good to me....we'll see how much of this he'll remember come January!