Homecoming 2010

This is unusual for me lately . . . I'm going to blog about a recent event!  This past weekend was homecoming here at MSU and we celebrated all weekend, Sparty style.  On Friday night we made our annual trip to downtown East Lansing to watch the Homecoming Parade.  Both Drew and Kate were decked out in their Spartan gear anxiously awaiting the beginning of the parade.  It got off to a loud start with the East Lansing Police motorcyles leading the way with lights and occasional sirens.  Cool!

We met some friends for the parade and I got to hold this little guy before the parade started.  He's so little!  I can't believe Drew and Kate used to be that light and tiny.

Our friend Sarah got to experience her first MSU homecoming parade.  The highlight of the parade for Sarah?  How into the parade JANA gets!!

Kate did a great job of sitting on the blanket and watching the parade.

As you can see, we were all decked out in our Spartan gear.  The kids also had fun joining in the "Go Green!  Go White!" cheers.

Both Drew and Kate loved the parade, but Kate thought the bands were a little loud.  To deal with it, she decided to cover her ears!

As the parade went on it got darker and cooler.  Drew and Kate both pulled on their green and white hats to keep warm.

This is my new favorite picture of Drew.  What a handsome dude!  Both Drew and Kate were fantastic throughout the parade and had a great time.  The next day we tailgated (a.k.a. had a "Sparty Party" as Drew and Kate call it) and my dad, brother, and I went to football game.  MSU's football team has been doing well and there is a lot of excitement in the Lansing area.



Aunt Christina and Uncle Matt

Drew still doesn't seem to get as many pictures (especially not in this post), so here's one of him.  Drew is doing very well in 4-year-old preschool and today went on a field trip to an apple orchard and pumpkin farm.  He's the tallest kid in his class at 47.5 inches.  We learned today that a girl named Cadi is very interested in him to the point of knowing his first and last name.  Apparently she talks about "Drew Aupperlee" all the time.  Cadi is 47 inches tall and the closest in height to Drew.  While on the field trip today she asked Drew if she could hold his hand, and he acquiesced.  However, Drew is totally oblivious to the attention!  Love it!

The picture below was taken after the latest race that Drew AND Kate participated in.  This was Drew's second road race and Kate's first one.  Drew did very well, while Kate did not do so well (attitude-wise).  In the end, they both had fun and look back on it fondly though, which is all that matters!  Jana and Aunt Christina ran the half marathon part of the race.  Way to go!  In the picture below, Uncle Matt is reading to Drew and Kate after lunch.  You can see both Drew and Kate are still wearing their race shirts.  By the way, it's "Uncle" Matt now because of the next set of pictures.

Aunt Christina and Uncle Matt recently were married.  Congratulations!!!!  Drew and Kate came along for the "wedding practice" the day before the real deal.  They had fun clambering over the church and checking it out.  Kate got dressed up for the occassion.

Below Drew is checking out the "horns" at the back of the church (for the organ).  Both Drew and Kate were fascinated by the balcony.  Drew was dressed up too with a button-down shirt and khakis, but he didn't enjoy posing much.

Drew and Kate did some wiggling during the rehearsal, but generally were very good throughout the rehearsal and the dinner afterward.  They were so excited for Matt and Christina!

The secret to keeping them still?  Smarties!  We went through several packages during the rehearsal.

Today at daycare Kate got her hair curled.  She was super-excited about it and proud of the results.  This is all uncharted territory for me.  Is Kate going to be a girly girl?  She got her hair curled . . . and liked it?  Woah. 

This shot of Kate in the bath gives you an idea of the curls.  I'll admit it was pretty cute!!