Family. Fun. Football

This weekend we celebrated my mom's birthday and opening weekend of college football. Since I've returned to our little college town, my family decided to get season tickets they did when Joey and I were in college. And since the opening weekend happened to fall during my mom's birthday, the whole clan (including my dog-niece) came up for the event. (Mabel may look like a cocker spaniel, but she's really a Bulldog!)

Another milestone besides opening day and the birthday took place this weekend. We took Will to his first MSU event. I've been developing a scheme to brainwash him since birth, and it helps that Nana, two aunts and an uncle are all Bulldog alum. (His mom and dad went to MC.)

Everyone made it in time for lunch on Saturday, and about an hour prior to kickoff we headed out. Will was running around like a wild man, but since we were leaving during his normal naptime, we weren't sure how long he would last at the game. About 30 minutes into our 7 mile drive (lots of traffic), the sky started to turn black. Not a good sign.

We finally made it to our parking spot about 10 minutes before the scheduled kick-off. Not 5 minutes later the bottom dropped out of the sky. There was no hiding from it till we made it to the stadium, and we all ended up soaked to the bone. Kick-off was delayed about 30 minutes, and the storm ended up passing. We were able to make it the rest of the day with just a few light sprinkles, so it wasn't a complete disaster.

Like we assumed, Will fell asleep shortly after kick-off. Poor kid. I have no idea how he slept with all the shouting, cowbells, band music and general football noise. But he did, but was up in time to watch the end of the 2nd and the half-time shows.

When he finally woke up, he didn't know what to think. He was watching the biggest tv he had ever seen in his live, and with over 54,000 people in attendance, he had never seen anything like this before. It was a bit much for a 2-year-old to take in. However, by the time the Sonic Boom of the South took the field for their half-time performance, he was really getting into the football groove!

We went on to win the game 45-7 against fellow Mississippi school, Jackson State. It was the great start to our season, and to our new head coaches tenure as a Bulldog. I have to say that I, like Will, was almost too distracted to watch the game. There was so much excitement and energy in the air that I couldn't quite focus on the field. Its much easier for me to pay attention to a game on tv than live and in person. But, to me, going to a game is less about watching it, and more about the experience and social atmosphere.

After the game we returned home wet, tired, and ready for some dinner. My sister stayed at home with the baby and helped prepare some of the dishes while we were gone. You can read a full account of the menu on my cooking blog, and try out some of our yummy family recipes.

Needless to say, with my parents, both of my siblings, their spouses, and the niece and nephew, we had a pretty full house. The kids had to take the floor, and I slept on the pull-out sofa, but we made it work for my little 3-bed, 2 bath house. I wouldn't recommend them all visiting for a week, but a short weekend was a lot of fun. This weekend has been a great start to what I hope will be a great fall full of visits with my family, and new Bulldog memories made.