a great day for some football!

on saturday 3 of us got up before the crack of dawn, schlepped on our football attire, yawned and got in the vue. we left about 6am. the 4th one of us was happily snoozing, nestled under a tinkerbell blanket at an auntie's house. it was still dark. very dark. here are 2 of us before we began our trek.

here is wren. all ready for her very 1st college football game ever! and her new lil bun-bun.

this is the sunrise that we got to watch as we drove east across iowa.

destination: jack trice stadium, ames! wren made it over 3/4 of the way on the walk to the stadium.

here is the daddy and his newest cyclone fan!

expanse of the field at jack trice stadium during pre-game warm-ups.

here are the 3 of us! ready for the kick-off! enjoying a soda and a warm, soft pretzel!

the daddy and his lil cyclone!

although it was overcast & rainy to begin the day, it cleared off and got h-o-t! luckily we had sunscreen and hats.

wren had to bring a couple of her faves with her: bun-bun and her favorite rock in her collection. this is the rock that daddy got her last week when we visited the grotto in west bend, iowa.

the game did not go as cyclone fans would've liked. the hawkeyes won this year. but wren said that she did not really care that the hawkeyes won, she just loved being there (now, that attitude should be adopted by some of the older fans in the stadium. ahem.).

and then the long walk back to the truck began.

and then it ended for wren. she enjoyed the view the rest of the way on the daddy's shoulders.

i love these trees. and those 2 red-clad people.

ahhhh, ready for some ac in the vue! but one last photo. i added some flair to the daddy's truck...just a little uppercase living!

not sure what karl's favorite part of the day was. it certainly wasn't starting and ending the drive in the dark. nor the score.

some of wren's favorites were ordering and paying for her apples all by herself at a mcdonald's en route. having a lady give her 3 bead necklaces at the convenience store to wear to the game: red, gold and black - so each team was represented. seeing cy and the hawkeye's mascot. listening and watching the band from our seats. watching the band march by us in the concourse - right in front of us! (which i had never seen, because i rarely leave our seats during the game...but with wren, we were outta our seats numerous times...good thing we are on the aisle!). getting to pay for her ice cold bottle of refreshing water. ordering a "cookie monster" for dessert at wallaby's and cracking up when the oatmeal/chocolate chip cookie was "as big as daddy's head!". and, enjoying skittles for the first time.

my favorites? listening to wren cheer "go cy-ca-lones". not having to remind her to keep her ballcap on - she just did. watching her eyes light up at the sights, sounds, and tastes that are what make for the stadium atmosphere. but, by far, the best part of the day was this: wren and i went to refill her water bottle and buy a soda for me and the daddy during the 3rd quarter. it was about 1pm. it was hot. the cyclones were not doing well. there were huge lines at all the concession stands. but we got in line and i explained to wren about waiting our turn and being patient. she was so good. we counted people. we talked about the game. we talked about he cute the mascots are. we talked about what we would order. she wanted some candy. so i gave her the choice of peanut m&m's or skittles. after explaining what skittles are, that is what she wanted to try. then i told her the cost of each item: $4.50 for the soda and $3 for the skittles. i showed her the amount of money we needed to pay and she asked if she could hand the money. i told her she could as long as she ordered. she agreed. we had more money than we needed, so i let wren have the dollar and coins for her pocket - she thought the money would enjoy keeping her rock company. as we progressed, wren would count how many people were ahead of us. she was very patient and good. finally, there was just one lady in front of us and before she ordered she turned around and told wren that she would be very fast. she placed her order, paid, and melted back into the sea of fans. it was finally our turn. i ordered the soda for karl & i to share and then told wren to order.

"can i have some skittles, please?" she asked.

"certainly, " the lady helping us said. she got me the soda and handed wren her skittles. "that'll be $4.50, please."

"we had a soda AND the candy, " i reminded her.

"i know. but the lady right before you paid for your daughter's candy," she replied.

"are you serious?!" i asked as i looked around for her. knowing full well that i would not see her, nor would i even recognize her if she were right there...i just had not paid close enough attention to her. but apparently she had paid attention to those behind her.

"she told me that your daughter was so patient and sweet while in line and that it was adorable that you were teaching her about money and skittles. oh! and she said your daughter was wearing the right color!" the lady told me.

"thank you. how very kind," was all i could manage to say.

"you are welcome. have a great day!" she said.

and we did.