Iron Bowl 2013

What a day! 

The boys started talking about going to Auburn for the Iron Bowl weeks ago but we did not have tickets and the way Auburn was winning, tickets would be outrageous IF you could get them at all.  The boys were convinced that ESPN College Gameday would be live there that day.  So when they announced that in fact Game Day would be there, we ALL decided to go.  Thursday was Thanksgiving and soon after I leave for Black Friday shopping (this year from 600 pm to 900 am).  I slept and then started getting ready for the trip to Auburn.  We had to get up at 350 AM and take 3 cars + food and drinks.  It was all 5 of us plus Jordin, Daniel and John Nathan and Kenny, Nicki and their 4 kids so 14 in all!  We got there early enough to park on campus and the boys took off for the stadium.  They spent Friday night making signs.

John Nathan was one of the Alabama fans with us and drew his sign by hand!

Grant’s sign said HEY TEXAS, SABAN’S COMING (those of you who do not follow college or SEC football might not get this one or I guess any of them…of well!)

Preston found this picture on line and had it made into a poster…see GUS is our coach and Saban is their coach and short in stature

They were all proud of their signs and meant that they would be on TV.  Since we were so early they got pretty close and you COULD see their signs if you knew what to look for.  They stood up for hours, yelling and holding their signs up.  Game Day is from 8 –11 am and we were there before 7 am!

Dennis and I stood in front of staging and could see the signs behind them..here are 2

two of the hosts: Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit

When they showed Corso, you could usually see one of the boys signs.

Me and Nicki (poor bama fan) and Dennis and Kenny

The boys had a blast in that crowd of thousands

Next Stop TIGER WALK.  We all waited in the baseball stadium stands while the boys put their signs away and found a spot closer to the crowd…and what a crowd!

Aubie leads the way!  Followed by cheerleaders..

Head Coach Gus Malzahn and the players

I could not tell who was who but I took pictures of all of them!

Since we did not have tickets we decided to watch the game in the Auburn basketball arena! It was great.  Football atmosphere, radio announcers and stadium game feed!  The game was so close and exciting and came down to ONE SECOND! and if you have not heard this ending, you must have been hibernating…Saban asked for a review and had them add one second to the clock so he could try for a 57 yard field goal to win the game.  We were tied so we all thought if he missed, we would go into overtime.  His first string kicker had already missed THREE so they brought in a young guy.  Poor guy kicked it short but our great coach called a time out when he saw the young kicker go in and put a fast runner in the end zone and better blockers on the field.  IT WORKED.  The kick was short, our guy caught in it in the end zone and ran 109 yards back for the game winning TD to beat number one ALABAMA!!  The arena erupted and the fans rushed the stadium field.  I have a video of the crowd cheering the win but Preston found a great one on line of you want to search for it.  It was crazy!

Picture of the final score and the video of what was happening in the stadium!

found this on pinterest!  it is what the radio announcer was saying as we were all screaming and jumping up and down…still get goose bumps!

Next Stop TOOMER’S CORNER!!  and if you don’t know THAT story, Google it!

Poor John Nathan did not even come to the corner with us.  Nicki, Lauren and Caleb came but did not get into the big crowd.  The other boys ran off and were never seen again (except at our meeting spot much much later)

Look at all those people and the dust from all the TP!

Autumn had great fun throwing toilet paper and waiting for some to land near her.

Great shot of Samford through the paper!

On the way home we got calls and texts saying that they saw the boys on TV.  We drove 2 hrs+ (traffic) and then stayed up past one AM looking for them on TV…FINALLY they saw themselves and we could go to sleep. 

L-R Corbin (on top of “Corner”, Grant with arms out over Corbin, Jordin orange, Preston in blue with hat backward, Ryan next to Preston and Daniel’s head right over Ryan’s.

 

ONE OF THE BEST DAYS EVER!!

It’s GREAT to be an AUBURN TIGER!!!

Next stop: PASADENA!!

Ryan’s Big Buck

Ryan went hunting a few weeks ago at the beginning of gun season and missed a doe.  He was so bummed it was driving us crazy. We ALL told him how you will miss many more than you kill.  Well the next time he went hunting, I got a phone call from Preston saying that Ryan shot a deer – a big buck.  I thought they were kidding until I got the picture message on my phone!  Dennis and Grant went to help drag him out.  It was a 10 POINT!  Weighed 210 lbs! 

proud daddy

like the shadows on this shot

Poor Bucky is now all sausage links and his head is in the freezer to be mounted.  Way to Go Ryan!

Halloween 13

Halloween is just not the same anymore.  I miss the days of costumes, trick or treating and LOTS of candy!  I miss the times we were rushing to get ready, times when they refused to get dressed, wanted to get dressed that MORNING, cried when they saw older scarier kids, got one lollipop and were DONE, trick or treating in the cold, heat, rain and in a hurry because Auburn was playing and those last frenzied moments where we were inventing a costume and passing out candy to trick or treaters at the same time!

October 2007: Alien, zombie football player and gangster

Now they are too old to trick or treat and we live in the woods so we do not even get trick or treaters.  We usually have a ball game on Halloween.  I do make them carve pumpkins.  This year Preston said he guessed he could carve again this year because he might not be here next year!  I told him, he would have to come home from college sometime and we would carve one then! 

This year we had to squeeze carving in on a Sunday afternoon before the Fall Festival at church.

Preston was more interested in football on TV

Reagan tried to make a crown

Then we had to decorate the van for the truck or treat at church and Reagan said, Let’s do PINK!  I said, we do not have PINK in this house  and she said, I will be right back. Boy did she have PINK!  My van will never look like this again!

Niece Autumn in her Auburn Cheerleader outfit I bought her a few years ago!

I think we won!  There was not a contest for decorating but there was a chili cook off that I WON!!  Take that Frankie!

Forgot to add my gummy bear pictures.  A few of us at school dressed like gummy bears and did the Just Dance Gummy Bear dance for the school right before the parade.  Then we handed out little packs of gummy bears to kids watching the parade.  It was fun.

Final Football Memories

Preston’s high school football career has ended.  Here are a few pictures of the final season.

Football Senior night was in October.  I make it through the first of three senior nights just fine.  After planning clothes all week and suffering with a bad backache, I had about 10 minutes to get ready due to a jr high basketball parent meeting!  All the senior players, cheerleaders, band members and volleyball players were recognized before the game.  In this month of Thankfulness, I am thankful that Preston (and the other 2) have extended family that love and support them.  That night Preston had 3 grandparents, a great uncle ,  great aunt, an aunt, uncle and many cousins in the stands!

Preston was one of the captains that night and they had small Gamecocks on the field for each senior with their number.

These were the visitors stands for one of our away games!  Parked right next to them   but look how far away the field is!  and no lights except on field.  Very strange.  Preston had a nice TD catch but did not get it on film.

Some senior captains: Preston, Cody, Daniel and Jordin

#8 leading the way!

always open! 

Last time as a player on a HS football field!

The last set of stats in the paper showed 24 catches for 238 yards and 3 TDs. with an average of 9.9 yds. He was also the first part of several great hook and ladder plays for TDs! He played well on defense too!  He had a great season even though the team ended up 5-5. 

Gamecock Pride!