A view of the JW Marriott hotel taken from our car as we were leaving downtown. So cool!
Ella, our future NFL star!
Ella put quite a hit on this guy
Niko trying out his football skills. I didn't get a good picture of Mae dressed up in her football gear because about as soon as we got her dressed, she tumbled to the ground from the weight of it all!
Our yummy (and very expensive) dinner
Having a blast at the NFL Experience!!
I told Nicholas to try to look tough for this picture!
Ella's tough guy face
On Monday, January 30, our family packed up and headed for downtown to attend the NFL Experience as part of the Super Bowl festivities in our city. We were apprehensive about taking all of our children to such a big crowded busy event but we also hated to miss such an opportunity. The day couldn't have gone better. We got a great parking spot (PTL). We had our double stroller and were ushered to the front of the line in many instances....nice. Everyone we encountered was truly helpful and kind.
The kids absolutely loved it. They got to try their skills kicking the football, passing, running an obstacle course, etc. Ella's favorite part was the arts and crafts area where she and Mae got to make a penalty flag, color a picture and get tattoos. Niko got to simulate running the ball while wearing pads, hiking the ball, kicking a field goal, etc. Mae just followed along and was eager to try whatever Bubby and Ella were doing. And Mae won a sucker......so she was happy.
We got to see the Vince Lombardi trophy from afar. Wow. There was also a lot of NFL memorabilia on display. The last area we visited was called Play60 where adults and kids could participate in realistic football activities. We watched people attempting field goals (2 made it!), people throwing 50 yard passes, many kids playing flag football, etc. There was an area called "You Make the Call" where they would show instant replays from NFL games and the crowd would act as the officials. There were officials from the Big 10 and the NFL moderating. Cool. There was also an area of plaster handprints from some of the big name football players and you could lay your hands on their handprints and see just how gigantic their hands are. Wow.
As we left the Convention Center, we walked under the zip lines and got to see people zooming over our heads. The kids thought that was completely awesome (Lenn and I were fired up too!).
What a great day for our family!!
What a great day for our family!!
