G-Day 2013.

To say I was stressed about G-Day would be a bit of an understatement.

Don't get me wrong:  I'm a get-up-and-go kind of girl.  I don't like sitting at home.  And I love Athens.  But the thought of carting four kids (two babies!) around Sanford Stadium by myself (Ben was coaching in the Letterman's Flag Football Game) just didn't sound like fun to me.

I'm glad Ben talked me into going.  We ended up having so much fun.

We got to the stadium a little bit early and were able to goof off on the field before the flag football game (which was played right before the actual G-Day game) started.

I even nursed Thatcher "between the hedges."  I can't imagine many babies have nursed on the field before.  Ben took a picture so that one day our youngest will have his very own claim to fame. :)

When it was time for the flag football game to start, the kids and I joined my friend Emily and her four boys in the stands.  And yes, your math is right:  two adults, eight kids.  I didn't get to watch much football, but the kids had a great time playing cars, eating snacks, running up and down the track before they opened the gates to the public and things started to get crowded.

By the time the flag football game was over, the kids had been contained long enough.  Ben joined us in the stands for a little lunch from the concession stand and the first quarter of the actual game.  We then loaded up and headed over to the UGA Bookstore, where the kids found a nice, quiet place to "relax."  I nursed Thatcher, we changed diapers, and everyone chilled for a little bit before we headed back to the van and drove to Stegeman Coliseum for the the Letterman's BBQ.

I wish I'd taken pictures.  Our kids have absolutely no idea how lucky they are:  they spent the morning on the football field and the afternoon running around a practically empty coliseum (the BBQ was set up down on the floor) like they owned the place:  up and down stairs, in and out of different sections, through numerous rows.  It was so much fun to watch their imaginations take off and see them so thoroughly enjoying themselves.  I just have to laugh at their idea of a "normal" trip to a Georgia game, though.  I'm not sure spoiled begins to cover it.

Anyway, we ended the day excited to go back next Spring.  Hadley missed "playing at the tailgate," but we explained to her that tailgating starts back up when the season begins and she seemed pretty satisfied with that answer.

Can't wait for fall.

Chapel Bell.

A couple of Harris' favorite parts of Georgia football games include the video screen.

He LOVES the video of Hairy Dawg tackling people who don't throw their trash away.  It plays during the 3rd quarter and is seriously one of the highlights of Harry's time inside Sanford Stadium.

He also loves seeing the video of all the students celebrating a UGA victory by ringing the chapel bell.  A couple of weeks ago, he and I had the opportunity to walk by the bell on our way to the stadium.  Even though we hadn't technically "won" the game yet, I stopped and let him ring it.  Coolest mom ever, folks.

We had Babe with us this past Saturday and decided to walk through campus (and pass the bell) again.  And, of course, passing the bell equates to ringing the bell. 

Hadley was a little unsure of pulling the rope (I think she thought she had to climb it?!?!?!), but with some help from Daddy did a great job.

I love football Saturdays with these guys.  Love them.

I just can't wait to enjoy a season without a baby inhabiting my belly!  It's been quite a while since I've attended a game and NOT been pregnant...

And seriously.  My due date is in January.  Bring on the bigness, I guess.

Glory!

I surprised Ben (and earned myself wife of the year status) this past April by purchasing a pair of extra special pants for his birthday.

He wore them a couple of weeks ago to the UGA/Tennessee game.

I'm quite certain that everybody we passed on our walk to the stadium commented.  And my man totally dug the attention.

I'll never be able to top those things.  :)

How 'Bout Them Dawgs!

While I haven't taken too many pictures of the last couple of Georgia games (Tennessee and Vanderbilt), I managed to take enough for the rest of the season a few weeks ago when Florida Atlantic was in town.  We headed down to Athens late in the afternoon to enjoy tailgating with quite a few of our friends.  Auntie and DB even made the trip with us!

The kids always have such fun playing before games.  Football is, of course, a favorite game, but they've also been known to play Star Wars, go on "nature walks," and eat donuts by the handful.  And you can rest assured that at some point during the day, Hadley's going to steal a little hug from Walker.  In fact, she told us during lunch a couple of weeks ago that she was, "falling in love with Walker."  Lord, help us.

We made it into the stadium fairly early, even after stopping in The Letterman's Club for a bathroom break. 

The game was such a blast, especially since we beat The Owls by quite a few touchdowns. :)  The kids love cheering, yelling, and listening to the band.  They also like the cotton candy.  Harris' favorite parts of the game are when the big screen says, "make some noise!" and "gooooooo dawgs!"  Hadley loves the dancers.

In fact, because it was Letterman's Day, we got to make the trip down to the field at halftime.  My sweet girl was in heaven after getting her picture made with a G-Dawg "twon twirler."  We even printed that bad boy out so she could take it to school.  That girl is IN LOVE with the dancers and twirlers in the band.

As usual, the kids had a blast on the field.

 

And, once we made it back to our seats, Babe spent the second half pretending that she herself was a "twon twirler" and that we were all dying to have our picture taken with her.  That girl is awesome.

We couldn't have asked for better behaved, more engaged kids.  Especially for their first night game.  In fact, when we finally made it home and I put Harris in the bed, he woke up just long enough to say, "Man, we rocked them tonight."

I love sharing football season as a family. 

Seriously.

Gooooo Dawgs!

Even after Saturday's unbelievably hot game, I am beyond excited for football season.  Babe and Harry have both reached an age where they enjoy the whole experience of a game:  tailgating, cheering, understanding the basic rules of football, and anticipating upcoming Saturdays.  While it's a whole lot different than cheering for the Dawgs in college, I don't think I'd trade games with the kids for anything.  My attitude on that has certainly changed over the last couple of years...

We left for Athens bright and early on Saturday morning.  Poor Emmy Doe wasn't too happy at being left behind.  She and Auntie had fun together, though!

Because there was an early kickoff, we spent our tailgating time enjoying a breakfast of steak and eggs, bacon bites, blueberry bagels, and buffalo chicken dip.  The kids had a great time playing with the new tackling dummy, throwing the football, using sticks as light sabers (at one point Babe told me that Walker was her "master"), and going on a "nature walk."  Our tailgating spot is perfect for kids:  we've got a huge, enclosed, shady grassy area...a good time is had by all!  And yes, until Emmy Doe is potty trained, Babe does a great job holding her own as the only girl. :)

The walk to the game was HOT.  And it was only the beginning.  We stopped in the Lettermans' Club to hit up the bathroom and grab some water before heading into the stadium.  Our seats were actually moved further down this year, so we ended up a lot closer to the field.

It was great!  The kids were so much more involved in the game then they've ever been!  We could hear the cheerleaders, keep our eye on Hairy Dawg, and watch UGA score touchdown after touchdown from a great vantage point.  We even had a great view of the band at halftime and Hadley has decided that her new ambition in life is to be an endzone dancer for the Redcoats.  She's got some great moves.

Of course, we stuck it out for the entire game (thanks to lots of water and a Coke or two) and made it back to the van drenched in sweat.  I honestly thought I might hear a few complaints from the kiddos, and while they were exhausted, they both climbed in their seats already excited about the next home game.

I'm falling even more in love with football season.  Go Dawgs!

Father/Son Football Night.

Ben and Harris headed to Chick-fil-a's first annual Father/Son Football Night last night.  To say Harry was excited would be an understatement.  The kid was beside himself, literally bouncing off the walls.  He could not wait to get dressed up in his UGA gear and even had an opinion about what Ben was going to wear.

And by opinion, I mean Ben put on a shirt and Harris walked in and said, "Really?  You're going to wear that?" 

Ha.

So Ben changed, only to be told again, "Really, Dad?  A red shirt with Uga smoking a cigarette?  Really?"  Harry was cool with it, though, once he realized that Uga did not, in fact, have a cigarette in his mouth but rather a pennant.  All was right with the world.

The girls and I met up with our boys at Menchie's after the dinner date.  Harris leapt out of the truck, yelling, "It was AWESOME!" and doing some kind of pelvic thrust at the same time.  Not too sure about that one.

Evidently, the boys were greeted by "teenagers" (shout out to the local high school football team), treated to a tour of the kitchen area, and saw a few people wearing "disgusting Georgia Tech clothes" on their night out.

Babe immediately asked Ben when she could have a "Daddy/Daughter football date night."

I don't think I've ever been more excited for a football season.

And The SEC East Goes To...

Ben, Harris, and I had a fantastic time celebrating the Bulldogs' victory today in Athens!  Babe spent a "Girls' Day" with Auntie, so Harry got to run the show this afternoon..which bascially means he didn't have to share his cotton candy.

After a slow first half (and a soft pretzel and coke!), we spent the third and fourth quarters screaming, dancing, and cheering the Dawgs onto victory.

We even celebrated with a little "champagne" after returning to our tailgating spot.

It's been a pretty sweet season for both Harris and the G-Dawgs.

The next two weeks should be exciting!

Game Day!

We met the crew for breakfast burritos as we geared up for a win over New Mexico State today.  The kids were able to get in a little cornhole action and enjoy some time with our "younger" adult friends before we headed to the stadium.

I still can't believe that both kiddos get to tag along with Ben and me whenever they're able.  I never, ever thought we'd bring them so often, but they get so excited about Game Day that it's impossible to say no.

My two favorite parts of the day, in fact, include both Harry and Babe.  On our way to the stadium this morning, Hadley, while riding on Ben's shoulders, led the crowd in a cheer (Hadley:  "Georgia!", Ben, Biggie Chase, and other bystanders:  "Bulldogs!") and Harris shook his little bootie and danced like a fool every time he heard musc inside the stadium today.

Of course, we indulged in cotton candy and pizza, and the Bulldogs "almost got all the way to 100 points," so a fun time was had by all.

We even ended the day with a stop by Mema's house, which is always a treat.

Harris, I'm sure, has already begun counting down the days to the Kentucky game, while Miss Priss will have to settle for coming back next season.


Goooooooo Dawgs!!!

Glory, Glory.

Holy smokes!  Time is flying.  I guess it's easy to see that blogging is taking a backseat to sleeping these days...but hang on tight because I'm going to try to get caught up this week!

We've had a lot of exciting things going on these last few weeks, but one of the highlights by far has been introducing Hadley to Game Day in Athens.

We headed up to the UGA vs. Coastal Carolina game back in the middle of September.  Harris, as always, was super stoked and Babe was pretty excited, too.  She couldn't wait to put on her "black G-Dawgs dress!" 

Biggie Chase and Laura spent the night with us on Friday night, so we all got up bright and early Saturday morning to put the finishing touches on our tailgate provisions before making the trek up 316.  We spent the morning hanging out with these crazy fools,

and even though Hadley was the only girl around, she had a fantastic time "teaching" all of us her Spanish skills.  The girl can hold her own.

Babe lucked out and was able to hitch a ride on Ben's shoulders all the way to the stadium, and once inside, she ate up every inch of the atmosphere.  My sweet girl yelled along with all the cheers, LOVED watching Hairy Dawg run the flag across the endzone, and ate up some cotton candy (as did her brother).

Because it was Lettermen's Day, we got to head onto the field at halftime. 

The kids high-fived Hairy Dawg and thorougly enjoyed running like crazy through the endzone.  Tackling Daddy was a halftime highlight, too.

When the players re-entered the field, Babe made sure to tell me that she was going to "touch everyone's hand."  She came pretty close. :)

Not too shabby for a first game.  (Harry's first game was Lettermen's Day last season.  I might see the beginning of yet another family tradition.)

We ended the day with a quick snack in The Lettermen's Club before heading back to the truck.  Harris scored a picture with his jersey namesake, and both kids indulged in cookies and popcorn as an after-game treat.

As I type this, I realize that they might be slightly spoiled.  But, in our defense, at least we're raising them right. 

Go Dawgs!!