Coach Cooper's Retirement Party!

Aww! Yay! We had a surprise retirement party for Coach Cooper (Shane and I's head coach from track and field @ Behrend)! The cross country team just got back from a meet and had their "team meeting" in the chapel because the Junker Center was "too busy". And here is all of us surprising him!

Our food was catered by Ricardo's! Sooooooo yummy!! We got salad and ziti and rolls! Ricardo's has always been so gracious to the athletic department at Behrend, and I am so glad, because their food is amazing!

Cassie, one of my best friends from track (who also does cross country), put everything together, and made an awesome power point slide of pictures throughout the years.

Everyone got to say something about Coach Cooper, and it was very emotional. Coach has made the track & field program at Behrend such a huge thing. It has grown substantially even since we were there, and every year, the team gets closer and closer.

Here is the yummy cake from Giant Eagle!! They have such good cakes! Shane decided he would try to get his hand in the picture, and I really don't know how it happened and turned out so "not blurry" because he kept moving it really quick.
And a nice pic . . .
Coach cutting the cake for good retirement luck! He wants to spend a lot of the time in the woods, hunting and such (which I don't necessarily agree with :-P, but hey . . . I just hope he doesn't catch anything . . . he he. . sorry Coach) . . . I'm just too big of an animal lover. He also owns a putt putt place in Union City called "Runners Miniature Golf". He took us all there once and we got to putt-putt for free! It was a lot of fun!! You should definitely go there!

Coach is still planning on coaching during track season, so it wasn't AS emotional as it could have been, but it was just so great seeing all the people show up to support coach. He is an amazing coach, an amazing person, and we wish him nothing but the best in his retirement!

Not A Big Fan of the Bus . . .

So . . . the other day (last week . . oops . . a little late in updating this . . but I haven't had internet! :-( . . but now I do! :-)) . . . my parents and I went to a sold out speaker series at Penn State Behrend, where Jerome Bettis talked about "championship choices".

The tickets were free, and thanks to my good friend KC, who hooked us up, we were able to get the tickets before they were sold out . . . to I guess 2,000 peepz!

So here is my daddy, me, and my mommy! They are so cute and I'm so glad we are home so I can see them more often! (Shane still wasn't home yet . . but he is now!! Yay!)

Ok . . so on to Jerome Bettis . . . everyone was super psyched he was there . . people were sporting their Steelers jerseys and busting out the terrible towels! His speech was ok. . . talked mostly about his football career and then ended it with saying that to be a champion you need dedication, good work ethic, and something else . . or something like that.

I'm sure some people were there to hear his speech, but a lot of people just wanted to get his autograph/pic/etc. . . . and he wasn't having it!! They ran him off to a secret room and snuck him out the back. People were so upset . . . and although I do feel bad, because I'm sure you get sick of signing millions of autographs and having people harass you everywhere you go in public . . . I also feel bummed and sad that he didn't sign any autographs or pictures. I feel like it is part of his job . . . I mean . . it comes with the NFL football star title. And I feel bad for all the little kids that stood there waiting for him to come out . . . for that little black scribble on a towel, or poster, or ball . . . that they will never have.

And I am a pretty big fan of the Steelers . . . but all I have heard lately is how rude and mean the Steelers players are, and that bums me out . . . so come on guys!! Be nice and step up to the plate . . . er . . . the field!

Poor Jon . . . .

Yay!! So Shaney and I met up with some friends from track the other weekend. We decided to go to Buff Wild Wings so we could watch some of the games as well. It was packed!

Marker (Mark), Kevin, and Jon! Mark and Jon were both jumpers with us. Kevin is a long distance runner! Seriously, track is one of the best things I have ever done in my life. The Penn State Behrend track team was always like a family. We had so much fun, all got along, and were very successful for not having a track to practice on.

Shaney and I @ Buff Wild Wings

Yay! The jumpers! Love those guys!

Ha . . . and Jon alwaysssss has problems with his cars. . . . his actual car (b/c this one in the pic is his mom's) was in his hometown getting fixed . . . and then his mom's car blew a belt . . . thank goodness my daddy is a mechanic and told Jon to just get it towed to his shop.

Love my trackies though! So glad we are back in Erie so we can all hang out more often!