Is that a banana in your pocket...

Anja had her first trick-or-treating experience this evening. We practiced the routine before going out and it was unclear if she really got the whole concept of knocking on people's door for candy and what to say and when. But, she did awesome! There was a little parade of kids (and some fun parents who dressed up too), pizza, weird Halloween-y "tricks", a Chilean flute player, and of course, trick or treating, which she loved.

The pic is of our neighbors Mei-Jin and her kids Emily (3) and Ethan (9 mos). Anja was a monkey if you can't quite make it out. She even did the "ooooh eeeee aaahhh" to the parents when we went door to door.

Her costume came complete with a banana in her pocket. But she was mostly happy just to see the candy.

Fright Night

A trip to Beaver Stadium didn’t scare No. 1 Ohio State. A crowd of 110,134, the second-largest in Beaver Stadium history, started out loud but was quieted quickly, and the Buckeyes went on to their seventh double-digit victory Saturday. Penn State struck early by going 78 yards on its first drive to take a 7-3 lead, but the Buckeyes countered with a touchdown drive and cruised to a 37-17 victory.
--centredaily.com

OSU at PSU

In case you didn't know, Ohio State is ranked right now at #1 and Penn State is #24. On top of them being top teams, they are also bitter rivals. Word on the street is a #1 ranked school hasn't been here since 1988. Tailgaters all dressed in blue have flooded the town all weekend. Only the extremely brave/reckless have worn red. It should be a good game, hopefully for people like me who just like to check in for a while. Go Lions.

If you'd like to read more about how crazy-collegiate it gets around here...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/football/ncaa/2007/10/scary-saturday-in-state-college.html?bcnn=yes

P.S. It has turned out to be a dry, cool night for the game.

Awesome Autumn

Since she refuses to pose, I just do my best to grab her when she's spinning around or something she enjoys. I think all those years of Nintendo have helped my reflexes for the shutter button.

Anja-dillo

Downtown there was a fun Fall Festival last weekend. Everything was free! Inflatable jumpy thing, carousel, pumpkin decorating, rock wall...everything! Well, everything except the chili cook-off.

Anja and I are very similar in personality, with a huge difference in how comfortable we are with people disguised as huge, strange, animals. I still get nervous, but she loves em! Runs right up and smiles a big smile.

Environs

In back is the community center where we pick up our mail and grab the Times. Often, tons of kids will swarm the playground, but less now that school is back in session. This is our courtyard where the kids do most of the running around. The shot of our specific unit did not turn out, but you get the gist.








This is beyond the parking lot of our place. Pretty much just turning around from the previous pic. The trimmed grass is the golf course. The tall grass invites lots of butterflies and a few woodchucks.

A View from the Top

We finally made it to the top. Bigger than anything I've hiked in WI or MN, Mount Nittany is no slouch of a mountain. Though I'm sure anyone from the Rockies would scoff...

In the distance is the bustling metropolis of State College. You may even see Beaver Stadium where the fans are as loyal as anything I've seen in Packer country.

Pumpkin Patch

Checking out the pumpkins and apples with the History Grad students. Hay rides, bunnies, apple dumplings, cider, milkweed... the works! Ah, good times in rural PA.

Sun Shiny Day

We made our first attempt to climb Mount
Nittany today. We made it about half-way, sadly. Apparently, there's a beautiful vista to reward your efforts though. We're far from peak-colors, so maybe I'll try solo another time.

Rainbow umbrella is shot in our new backyard where kids play in the evening after school. It's pretty quiet in the mornings though.

But they did have other fun at Franklin Park

They've got the

My-mom-forgot-
to-get-cash-and-now-
we-can't-ride-
the-carousel

Blues

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

We woke him up. Turns out his name is George.

Mystery solved.

Anja, Sarah and Nate
This is the super-lovely street where we stayed.

Love Fountain

I thought it was gruesome that the fountain at JFK Plaza was tinted red, but it turns out, it's pink for breast cancer awareness. They make it green for St. Patty's Day, and other colors when it suits their fancy.


Anja, me and Nate

Magic Garden

If you haven't heard of the Magic Garden, you should check it out. http://www.philadelphiasmagicgardens.org/

It's maze-like, an enormous mosaic made of glass, mirrors, bottles, bicycle wheels... all sorts of things. In my opinion, the highlight of
our visit.

Quick trip to Philadelphia

The railings were a little more interesting than the animals.




Philadelphia Zoo, the country's oldest, on a beautiful day.