While Jenny and Alex were enjoying the battleship, Charlie and I hung out at home and watched THE OSU - um game. Jenny, after much thought and consideration (a LOT of thought and consideration went into this...), trusted me with Charlie on this exciting yet stressful night. I put Charlie in the baby carrier and walked/paced around the house for the entire game. We had a great time (once the game was over!) and we screamed/yelled/cheered with every play. Most importantly, Charlie (and Ben and Tommy too!) have never known defeat in their first year of life. We're hoping the streak will continue Jan 8th in Glendale, AZ.
Earlier in the day Alex and I went to the Delaware-Villanova game, both displaying our OSU colors (much to my delight, Alex had his on first thing in the morning, without any parental reminder!) We also put Brutus up in the yard (I needed to keep an eye on him throughout the night due to some misguided um fans in the nieghborhood...) We walked proudly through the Delaware campus and tailgated with neighbors. (Delaware, somewhat ironically, has football uniforms/helmets that are nearly identical to um's.)
The pictures below are of the three Westphal men right before Alex and Jenny left, and of Charlie and I Sun. morning both recovering from the evening before.
We finally made our way to Columbus and were able to spend some time (finally!) with Tommy, Dan, and Erica. The Clark family was recovering from sleep deprivation (Tommy was just starting to get over an ear infection), but the babies were able to play together (at this age, staring counts!) Tomy is about 4 1/2 months in these pictures, and he weighs around 21 lbs. Charlie is 8 months, and around 16 lbs. 
On our way to Columbus to visit Tommy (and Dan and Erica too), we made a few stops in Springfield first. After making our way through Yellow Springs, a visit to Young's dairy for ice cream and pie and was mandatory, followed by a drive-by of 1011 (no plaque mentioning the men who called it home in 1998-99 and the evens that transpired yet...), Firestine Hall, and a walk around campus on a brisk fall day. Myer's hall was freshly painted, and the campus was beautiful. Alex met Wally (Griffin barked the whole time), and I pointed out the many, many numerous places where Peter, Dan and I let loose in college (both of them). So much around campus had changed, but the memories will last a lifetime.
More Thanksgiving day pictures..Charlie and Ben hanging out, Alex with Ben, Matching Baby oufits (not the first nor the last time that will happen!), a family picture (sans Dad) before the feast began...
Griffin's new best friend, pictures from a wedding on 11/10, and Charlie, Alex and Pop
If you pay close attention to the TV when Alex and Peter are playing Xbox, you'll notice that they're boxing--and Peter is playing as a heavyweight against Alex as a welterweight. Alex, with years of experience playing against Craig, soundly defeated Peter. Several times.
