UI Homecoming Weekend

Last weekend was The University of Iowa Homecoming weekend. It was also the weekend that we packed up the car with C in tow to head back to our old stomping grounds in Iowa City, and take C to his SECOND game at Kinnick Stadium.

The festivities started on Friday when we arrived mid-afternoon for some quality not-gameday-focused time spent downtown walking around the pedmall, and taking C to the Homecoming parade. We enjoyed making some stops at a few of our favorites...Z'maricks for a late lunch, Hands Jewelers to compile a wish list have our rings cleaned and checked, Bread Garden to pick up some wine for T & I and snacks for C, and finally, Wig & Pen for a takeout Union Jack before heading back to Uncle B & Aunt C's to get settled in for the night before the big game.

As expected, C absolutely loved every minute of the day, and had so much fun playing on the playground in the Pedmall, checking out all of the shiny glass cases at Hands, and being completely enthralled by the amazing people watching and various bands and floats at the Homecoming parade.

 

This is the best snap I could get of the three of us at the parade since C was waaaay more interested in watching all of the little kids holding out bags for candy and trinkets, and seeing all of the fanfare surrounding the different floats at the parade. His heart was won over my a nice lady who picked him out amongst the masses and brought him this pink bead necklace. Oh...and the guy from Procter & Gamble who gave him a toothbrush!

Saturday morning got off to a bit of a late start after C decided to finally sleep in when not in his own bedroom. He's had a super difficult time sleeping when we've been traveling lately, so we weren't sure how the night was going to go. He surprised us all by sleeping a full 12 hours, and didn't wake up until 8:30 Saturday morning. Maybe we need to visit IC more often!

In further hiccups of the morning, after getting everybody packed into the car and making a quick stop for coffee...because lets be real...I don't care what game it is, the world just doesn't exist before coffee...we found a parking spot on our relatively trusty street of choice for game day parking, unloaded C into the stroller, and then realized that we had left the cooler with his milk and snacks sitting on the kitchen table. UGH. T saved the day and went to retrieve it and we made it to the tailgate with just under an hour until kickoff. Maybe not exactly how we pictured the morning going, but we made it in one piece, and had just enough time to have a little snack before heading into the stadium. 

C did a GREAT job at the game, and was a little super fan throughout. While he did need to have his own ticket to get into Kinnick (BIG 10 rules...ridiculous I know), he ended up sitting on T or I's lap for the first half of the game, and then stood up and played for most of the second half when some of the fans in neighboring seats had to leave early. The Hawks won, C got to clap and cheer as loud as he wanted, and everyone had a great time.

By the end of the afternoon, C was completely wiped out, and after stopping at a post-game tailgate, didn't even make it to the car before falling asleep. I think we're going to put the day down as a big success!