Happy 13 years to Leo! He is definitely living his best life today! Football, fried chicken and his own room for the night.

We started the morning at the Holiday Inn in Canton, Ohio. Of course, we had our free Holiday Inn breakfast and enjoyed talking with our waitress, Renee. She told us for the Hall of Fame induction ceremony week, the hotel is closed to the public and the only guests are the inductees, players and their families. She said most were really nice, and while she couldn’t give us any specifics because of confidentiality agreements, she did say they were a really fun bunch because they got to relax without reporters or fans around.

These two loved that they ate breakfast talking football with TV screens playing ESPN and NFL Network.

When we left Renee told Leo to go to the market for a treat on her for his birthday (he snagged some M&Ms) 🥳🎉

And then we were off to celebrate Leo’s 13th at the Pro Football Hall of Fame! The Hall of Fame started in 1960’s and has been added onto since then. Initially, it was about 9,000 square feet and is now over 100,000 square feet… but some of the signage seemed a little dated…

And of course, a plaque!

I don’t think we could have found a better place to celebrate this football loving boy’s day!

So the first question we had was “why Canton?” Apparently, we aren’t the first folks to ask this question. The easiest answer is that at the time of the creation of the NFL, Canton was central location to the biggest teams around and the owner of the Canton Bulldogs had a car dealership large enough to hold everyone while they met to create the American Professional Football Association, which later became the NFL. And the people of Canton made a very big play for the Hall of Fame as the start of what became the NFL.

The boys couldn’t believe the shape of the original footballs – they looked more like the balls they use is squash, like a slightly flattened basketball.

We were amazed to see that during World War II when so many players were drafted to fight, the team were forced to consolidate to continue playing… imagine going to see a combo team made up of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles… the Steagles. Yep, it happened in 1943.

We loved the models you step into…

And the real NFL equipment you could try on… old and current.

Michael was happy to see his favorite team!

Leo was thrilled to find his favorite QB!

And we were all excited to see the jersey of the inventor of the “gritty” dance? (Apparently, it’s a thing?)

The Lombardi trophy – 7 lbs of sterling silver created by Tiffany’s – is just cool to see up close.

But wait! We found a whole area dedicated to Madden Football – we almost made 7 days without an Xbox fix.

He’s just living his best birthday life!

We all thought of Daddy as we read through the “Officiating in Pro Football” display. When I lived in Ada back in late 90’s, Daddy drove over to Canton for the day and toured the Hall of Fame. I can just see him standing here knowing every call and every signal.♥️🏈

We were on a search to find Brian Dawkins’ bust for the boys’ math teacher, Mrs. Kolb. She is a huge Eagles fan and loved Brian Dawkins…. so we’re hoping we can pick up some “math grace” for the last quarter.

Who else can say they threw a pass in the Pro Football Hall of Fan for their birthday?

Fun pictures from the day:

This is some great football trivia for your next Super Bowl party…

We all took a turn at Instant replay calls. It was fun but with the 60 second time window, it got stressful to make the call!

Michael is standing in Gilbert Davis’ “leg” and Leo is in Leonard Davis’ “leg” Jerome Bettis is at the end. The top of the cast is at or right below where the players’ waist would be. These guys are just gigantic!

Jim Thorpe Statue – he was a great player and first Commissioner of the American Professional Football Association.

After some time in the gift shop (what better time to visit than on your birthday), we headed outside to the “mini-field” to do some 40 yard dash drills/races, and of course, play a little football.

Last one…

We left Canton and headed to Millersburg, Ohio. We drove through Amish Country and loved seeing the buggies.

We stopped at the Ashery Country Store for ham and turkey to restock Mom’s Cafe, and picked up some Amish goodies – homemade butter, candy and soup starters – and Canning lids (which you cannot find anywhere in NC)

The farms were just lovely. They were set up almost like small homestead villages with several different houses for individual families and shared barns and animals. We are seriously thinking of which families we want to move out here with and forget the rest of the world. 🤪

We got to our VRBO and had to make sure to re-hang our birthday sign (it was on the TV in the hotel when Leo woke up this morning)

And LOOK! A washer and dryer – I’ve gotten everything washed up to today’s clothes! Halleluiah!

We got the bags in and everyone immediately separated… I’m thinking they were all ready for some alone time!

We headed back out for dinner at a place called Mrs. Yoders. According to our VRBO host, they have the BEST fried chicken – one of Leo’s favorite’s – so off we went to Mt. Hope, Ohio. One the way, we passed a couple of churches having their Maudy Thursday Services. It was too cool seeing the buggies and their horses, tractors and cars all lined up in the parking lots.

Mrs Yoder’s did not disappoint – oh my goodness! Leo had a big ol’ hot fudge Sunday but he begged up not to sing for his birthday so we didn’t sing out loud – but I leaned over to sing for just him.♥️🎶

I think he had a pretty great birthday and based on the laughing I hear upstairs, the teenage years are just getting started. Tomorrow is our last full day and it should be a muddy mess of a good time!