Let's go State!

Last weekend I was so excited to have a nice college football Saturday and cheer PSU onto their 2nd victory! The weather was so cool that it just felt like the perfect "fall" day to watch college football. I did panic a bit when I looked at the TV schedule and realized that the Penn State game was on the Big 10 network which we did not get. Have no fear, my wonderful husband went ahead and ordered the Big 10 network just so I could watch my Nittany Lions this football season. Isn't he great?!?! I decided earlier in the week that I am going to try and make a new dip recipe every football Saturday that we are at home thanks to a fellow blogger's (BooMama)wonderful idea to do a 'Diptacular Blog Carnival' on her blog. The first dip I chose to try was a 'White Rotel Dip'. I have heard so many praises about Rotel on other people's blogs...mostly some wonderful southern ladies...and have been wanting to try it :) This dip was so easy to make and so fast! We ate it with tostitos and fritos and it was just wonderful! Here is the recipe if you want to try it out for yourself.

White Rotel Dip

3 packages of pork sausage (mild or spicy is fine - but use at least 1 maple-flavored)

4 packages of cream cheese

2 cans of Rotel tomatoes

Brown sausage and drain. In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients and heat until cheese is melted, being careful to stir often. Serve with tortilla chips.

While the dip was a success, we did have one minor disaster. We DVR'd the game so we could watch it while Jarred took his nap. So, Jarred was just finishing his lunch and getting ready to go down for his nap while I was finishing up the dip and other lunch foods. Since we wanted to watch the game while we ate, I set up some TV trays in the living room with the dip, chips, wings, etc. Well Jarred wanted some chips so he climbed up on the couch beside me. Soon thereafter he says "Mommy, what's this?" just as he leans forward and the tray table tips over sending the dip and my soda flying across the living room! It flew so far that it splattered all over the white carpet and wall. I really should have taken a picture of the mess! Needless to say, it was time for Jarred to go take his nap :) It did all come out of the carpet so that was great news for us!

(even the cat wanted some :) )

On Sunday we celebrated my father-in-law's 60th birthday by throwing him a surprise party. I think he was actually surprised! Happy Birthday, Grandad! Here are some pictures from the party. Enjoy!

We Are...Penn State

I know I am so behind on blogging. So, I'll start from now and try and post things from the past few weeks over the next week or so.

This past weekend we took Jarred to his first Penn State football game. Going to PSU games was such a tradition in my family. I went to my first football game when I was 9 mos old! So, I have always dreamed of the day that I would be taking my kids to Penn State games! Saturday was that day. It was the first game of the season against Akron. I knew it wouldn't be that great of a game. I also knew that Jarred probably wouldn't make it through until even half time. Putting those 2 things together, made it the perfect game to take him to. We also took my sister, Hannah with us which was an extra special treat!

The day started off by meeting my grandparents and aunt, uncle and cousin for breakfast at the Corner Room. They have the best grilled sticky buns ever! Then we went up to the Lion Shrine to get Jarred's first picture on the Lion. The whole morning he kept talking about seeing the lion. I'm sure he probably thought we were going to see a real lion. Once we got him up on the Lion Shrine, he didn't want to get down!

Then we started the long walk out to the game. We got in there just in time for the pre-game band performance and Jarred was quite overwhelmed with all of the noise and sounds. Luckily, we had a very nice older man in front of us and 2 empty seats. He was so patient and nice to Jarred since just last year he took his 2-year old grandson to his first football game. Jarred only made it halfway through the first quarter before Dan and I had to start taking turns running up and down the ramps with him while the other one sat with Hannah and enjoyed the game. We weren't alone chasing him up and down the ramps though. I quickly came to realize that there is a whole other football world of moms and dads chasing their toddlers around while the other parent gets to enjoy some of the game. We ended up leaving the stadium at half time which was ok with us.

After the game, we walked out to the PSU Creamery. Penn State has a great food sciences program and they make some of the best ice cream ever! Think Ben and Jerry's but with minimal additions to the ice cream. Actually, the founders of Ben and Jerry's learned how to make ice cream at PSU! My favorite flavor of all time is the Bittersweet mint. Jarred just had "white ice cream" (otherwise known as vanilla) and he loved it! We bought some ice cream, put it on dry ice, and took it home so we can enjoy it for a few weeks :)

Overall, it was a great day and I am so glad that I got to take my baby to his first PSU football game! I look forward to many more football weekends with him and Dan!

We Are....Penn State!

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Check Out These Great Giveaways and Help a Sweet Family Bring Home their Baby Girl from S. Korea

One of the blogs I read is written by a sweet woman named Adrienne. She and her husband Jim have travelled quite a long road to having children. She has had numerous miscarriages and heart breaking failed domestic adoptions. During this journey they have adopted one sweet boy from Russia named Owen. Now they are on another journey to bring a baby girl home from South Korea. They are a great family and Owen will be a wonderful big brother! A hard part of the adoption process is all of the fees that go along with it. They will have to raise somewhere around $25,000 by the end of the adoption process! Through Adrienne's journey, she has made many "friends" in the blog world that really want to help her and her family to raise money so they can bring their baby girl home soon. Go check out her blog to hear more of her story and to get to know their family a little better and offer support during this adoption process. If you feel compelled to help in a bigger way, check out her left sidebar for various opportunities to donate to their adoption fun through buying some great items such as mosaic crosses, baby blankets, jewelry, photography, etc. She has also had a bunch of items donated to her to raffle off. So, she is doing three great giveaways with a bunch of items in each giveaway. By donating, you can be entered to win some of the items of your choice in the great giveaways. This week's great giveaway ends tomorrow, Thursday, so hurry over and check it out by following the button below.

Show Us Your Life - Wedding Party and Flowers/Ceremony

This week Kelly from Kelly's Korner is hosting the 'Show Us Your Life - Wedding Party and Flowers/Ceremony' blog carnival. This is one thing that I thought I could take part in again.

The Wedding Party:

The Bridesmaids - My girls wore a dark red strapless dress with some beading on the bodice. I think they all looked absolutely beautiful! My best friend from college, Beth, was my maid of honor. My bridesmaids were Erin (another best friend from college), Kathy (Dan's sister), and Sarah (my cousin). My sister, Taylor, was my junior bridesmaid. She was 7 and looked so pretty in her white dress!

My youngest sister, Hannah, was my flower girl. She was 4 and did a great job walking down the aisle!

My mom was way too young to wear a traditional 'mother of the bride' dress so she wore a gorgeous bridesmaid dress instead. It even had a tiny train to be bustled for the reception :) Don't my mom and Dad look great?!

The Groomsmen - Dan and his boys looked so handsome in their tuxes that day! His brother James was his best man. Both NJ and TX are well represented in the groomsmen :)

The Flowers:

I carried a bouquet with red roses and white Cala lillies in it. The bridesmaids all carried Cala lillies. They were just gorgeous even though Taylor's looked mangled by the end of the ceremony :) Sadly, I didn't get any pics of just the flowers, but you can see them in other pics.

The Ceremony:

We had two pastors officiate our wedding. My grandpa is a retired pastor. He baptized me when I was a baby, confirmed me as a teen, and he did our vows at our wedding. It was such a special moment for us! Pastor Mark was our other pastor and he was the pastor of my parent's church at the time where we got married. We were very blessed to have him as a part of our wedding.

Time felt like it froze as the doors opened for me to walk down the aisle. Then I saw Dan with a huge smile on his face and it felt like it was only the 2 of us in this place. We had both of our moms light the family candles at the beginning of the service for the unity candle lighting.

Here are a few more pics from after the ceremony. I think the best one is the candid that the photographer was able to get of my dad paying Hannah $5 so she would smile for the pictures after the ceremony. She had fallen asleep during the ceremony and wasn't too happy when she woke up :)

Sorry for the overabundance of pictures! I hope you had fun anyway looking back at my wedding day. If you want to see other beautiful brides on their wedding day, check out Kelly's Korner Blog.

Wordless Wednesday - Just Like Daddy