First Auburn Game!!

I have found a little extra time to blog this morning. Unfortunately, this time comes with a price. My little Frannie is home with me today because she has a "sick tummy". Rush is hanging with us, too, although I think he is ok and possibly had this little bug earlier in the week. I just didn't know it because I started giving him Fiber Gummies as a part of his morning regimen. Just thought they were REALLY working... Oh well.

I have been wanting to post about our trip to the Auburn game last weekend, so this morning as I sit here with my coffee and Max and Ruby in the background, I have the time to put it all down in words.

Miss Fran was so excited when I told her that we would be heading to the game together. One of the most exciting parts? We would be riding a bus. She nearly exploded when I told her we would get to ride a bus to the game. My kids have always loved buses. I used to love it when they were first learning to talk, and they would call out "BUS!!!!" on the way to work/daycare in the mornings every time we passed a yellow school bus. So you can imagine the excitement of realizing she would actually ride on a bus. It wasn't a school bus, and I am afraid this air-conditioned, cushion-seated, uncrowded bus may have set her standards for her first school bus ride way too high. {The transit system that drops you off on campus on game days is AWESOME if you just want to go for the game and are not planning to tailgate.}

So, we enjoyed our little bus ride to campus. I let her have the window seat. :-) After we got to campus, we stopped to watch a few AU Cheerleaders that were cheering near out bus drop off spot. We saw my one of my former lab students that worked in my classroom with me a few semesters ago. She is a cheerleader, so Fran got her picture made with Abby. Unfortunately, SF had also seen the Chick-fil-a cow nearby. That dang cow. She H-A-T-E-S that cow. She calls all costumed creatures "pretend animals". And she doesn't like them... not one bit. So, she frowned through her picture taking session with Abby. :-) Then, she said, "I am ready to get out of here, Mama. What is that cow doing here?" It turns out, she was also slightly bothered by the AU decal on Abby's cheek. Later she kept asking me why in the world she had that on her cheek. :-)

After we walked across the street, we got to see the band doing a short exhibition. The majorettes and flags were there, so we got to watch them playing War Eagle and Glory. Brought back some fun memories for me! Yep, I was in the band for three of my four years at Auburn. Go piccolos!! :-)

Next, we walked down to Haley Center. This is where I spent most of my time in classes at AU. We went to the book store and picked up shakers, spirit buttons, and fans.

It was time to head into the stadium to watch the band march around the field. We got to see two of my former fourth graders that are a part of the AU flagline now. So proud of Allie and Rachel!

A frozen lemonade then helped to pass the time until pregame started. I must say, there is so much fanfare before the games now that it is hard not to get fired up for the game. Even if the football team is just doing ok. They sure do make you feel like you are about to be a part of something big and really special. They even have clips of the band that make it look so cool. I mean the band is cool and I know that, but let's face it, more often than not, we band-folks were called "nerds". According to that clip on the jumbo-tron, though, the band is SUPER cool. I LOVED it! Fran loved it, too! She shook her shaker and sang "War Eagle". I showed her how to put her hand over her heart during the Star Spangled Banner. She watched Nova fly over the stadium and land in the middle of the field. I watched her. She was precious and so excited.

We had hot dogs (she didn't eat hers)and drinks. She got her own bottle of water which feels like a treat to her. We watched the first half of the game and the band at halftime. Then, she was ready to go. We hopped on the air-conditioned, not a school bus and headed back to our car. I couldn't have asked for a better day. On the bus on the way back, I asked her about her favorite part of the day. She looked down and smiled her shy-smile. "Seeing Abby", she said. Hahaha! Can't you tell from the picture above? Now, she wants to be an Auburn cheerleader. Go for it, girl! :-)


And in case you thought I forgot about my cute little Alabama fan, his Dad has agreed to let him attend a game with me another time. He will get to experience the big-game feel and excitement of it all... even if he won't have on orange and blue. :-)