12.23

Yesterday on the limo ride over to the Eagles facility, our driver stopped by the Rocky statue.  She was excited to show us because we were telling her of our "Rocky Tour" from a few nights ago.  

Today before the game, we decided to stop by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and run the Rocky stairs!  Humming along as we ran!!  So glad we saw the movie before our trip!  The kids loved it!!  

Riley's photo of Philly from the top of the stairs.

Philadelphia Museum of Art.  Beautiful.

Now we are off to the game!  Something told us we should follow this guy.  I didn't get a great picture, but this RV and trailer was so cool!  Such fans in Philly!  We were given an awesome parking tag for valet parking right next to the stadium.

We met Brad Warren, our "make a wish" volunteer to help us find our way around.  We walked through the tailgating area and saw a lot of decked out cars, vans and fans!  There were kids throwing the football, lots of food and music.  It was fun to see.  We then made our way through the "Press" entrance and received our -Pre-Game On Field Passes- and our -Suite Tickets-.  We then were led through the underground of the stadium and just as we were about to go into the tunnel where the players run out, the team ran by and did several chants and shouts.  It was cool!

It was great being on the field during warm ups.  The music playing and all the people made the environment so fun!  Riley loved it!  We all loved it!  

We then made our way up the stadium to the "Suite" entrance.  It was awesome to be in a suite for the game!!  It felt like we were outside and definitely enjoyed the game atmosphere, but we had a heater keeping the cold at bay and a fridge full of soda.  The best of both worlds!  We enjoyed some chicken strips, fries and pretzels with cheese and kept up to date with other games going on with the TV in our suite.

Well, it was a good game even though we lost.  It came down to the very last play where we almost tied the game and sent it into overtime, but it wasn't meant to be. It was awesome to be there for what was Andy Reid's last home game with the Eagles after 14 years.  I'm sure this was a very emotional weekend for him, but he could not have been more kind to Riley and our whole family.  I will always remember that.

We waited in the suite for a bit to let the crowds disperse and enjoyed other games of the day.  We were able to see the stadium empty, which was cool.  We truly enjoyed our day at the Eagles Stadium!

Riley has imagined this trip for a whole year now.  After the initial shock of a cancer diagnosis and as the every day routine of it all sets in... it is a blessing beyond words that a child can dream of a wish to some day come true.  Because some days it didn't feel like we would ever be "normal" again.  Some days those hospital walls felt permanent.  He needed to look forward to something... and a dream... a WISH, is a gift for those who need a little hope.  To have that "Wish Day"  actually happen means we have turned a corner.  Survived.  Saying "Thank You" doesn't feel like enough.  But from the bottom of our hearts... THANK YOU "MAKE A WISH"!  This time together as a family has been cherished!

Brad Warren, our "make a wish" volunteer in Philadelphia.