The Parrillo Family

We continue to be lucky to be able to immerse the kids in all things Fighting Illini football.  Like every Fall, we packed the minivan and pointed towards Champaign for a Saturday football game in Memorial Stadium.  We started the day with a Parrillo family tailgate in Grange Grove with all of the cousins - including a few new undergrads. Here's a look-back to 2019 when we attended Homecoming at Memorial Stadium .   And i n 2016 .  I have very fond memories of my time in Champaign and my time on the Illini football team, so I LOVE the chance to share that with all three kids.  And, I'm grateful that Nat puts up with all the nonsense.  Here's a few photos of the kids in their orange and blue. 

We went down to Champaign for the Illini vs. Wisconsin football game and to celebrate the day with the Parrillo family - including the two cousins who are in school there.  What happened in that game?  Oh, you know...nothing big.  Just our Fighting Illini upsetting a top-five Wisconsin football team on a last-second field goal.  Oh...but we left the game going into the fourth quarter to go back to the tailgate.  (Shame.) We enjoyed a beautiful day, indoctrinated the kids into the ways of gameday at Grange Grove and built a ton of memories.  Oh yeah...and we stopped briefly in to Sigma Chi.  The place was a dump!

Over the weekend, we packed up the van and went with the kids cousins and Aunt Sharon, Aunt Linda and Uncle Shaun down to Champaign to take in the Fighting Illini football game against the Michigan State Spartans.   We've been down there for football before.   Here's a post from 2013 when we all went down to enjoy the game .   Here's the time in 2012 when we drove down for the Spring game .  And even took Eloise to Homecoming back in 2010 before she turned one. But, this was the first time for Frankie.  And that made this trip special and a lot of fun.   Above at the top, you'll see Frank dressed in his best orange and blue jumper meeting Red Grange.  The University has a student dressed up in an old-timey football outfit standing in the "Grange Grove" to pose for photos.   Kinda neat!  Frankie liked him, but was shy.  After getting into the stadium, we went to a little pre-game party in what they call the "Legacy Loung...