Game day at Kyle Field

Yesterday we took Ben to his first game at Kyle Field. (We took him to the 2011 Cotton Bowl in Dallas, but that’s not exactly the same thing).

 

Grace and Noah spent the night at the Heistands on Friday, because we had to get on the road at FIVE A.M.!!! That is too early for this Mama! It was still pitch black when we left SA Town, so Ben caught some extra zzzz’s. He woke up to see the sun rise, which gave us all a little burst of energy. :)

 

 

Ben has been interested in taking some pics of his own lately. This is him capturing his sleep-deprived and crazy excited Mommy!

 

 

We took turns selecting tunes. In honor of his sister, who had to stay behind, Ben chose her favorite Taylor Swift ditty.

 

 

 

We took the shuttle from the mall to get to campus. It was the best set up. Totally free and they dropped us off right on the Quad (just in time for Step Off). We watched the band go by and we tried to find Uncle Brad’s old unit – F2 – but we didn’t have any luck.

 

 

 

From there we set off to walk through the MSC, since I haven’t seen it since the renovations. Things sure look a lot different. I love how they kept the Flag Room the same, but I don’t know how I feel about turning the campus bookstore into a Barnes & Noble. I told Brian that it felt like I was in an airport.

 

 

After the MSC, Ben wanted to play around on some of the inflatables.

 

 

 

From there we headed over to the Association. We needed new stickers for the cars and I wanted to ask about getting my ring resized so that I can wear it again. (Thank you, pregnancy, for permanently enlarging my fingers.)

 

 

 

I am hoping that one day we have a picture of a grown-up Ben wearing his own Aggie ring here! WHOOP!

 

 

We walked past this pretty little fountain on our way back to the stadium. Ben wanted to toss some change in, so he and Brian made wishes. (Any guesses what they wished for?)

 

 

 

We finally made it to the stadium. We were there early enough to sing the “Spirit of Aggieland” with the team!

 

 

 

After that, the stadium filled up pretty quickly. Look at all that maroon! LOVE IT!

 

 

An early action shot.

 

 

Sadly, our day took a little turn for the worse at half-time. It was a heartbreaking game. The Tigers didn’t win this one, we LOST it. It hurts so much to lose by five points when we missed 2 field goals and an extra point. Still, I think the Aggies are holding their own in their first year of the SEC. Two losses against top 10 teams for a combined total of 8 points. This while playing with an immature freshman quarterback under a new coach against fresh and tougher competition. I am SOOO excited about where the Ags are headed. We have definitely NOT been the push-overs that all of the smack talkers in the SEC thought we would be, that’s for sure. Both Florida and LSU had to FIGHT for their wins. So, even though our loss was a hard one, I am so encouraged by our young team and their spunk! Gig ‘em Aggies!

 

The most important part of the day was that Ben loved it! He cheered his heart out and, at this point, he appears to bleed maroon! How can he not after spending a day on the best campus on the planet?! :) As usual, I was proud of the Aggie fans that we were surrounded by ~ they are always classy. For the most part, the Tigers were pleasant and gracious, too. (We had a very nice Tiger sitting right next to us – poor thing was all alone in the middle of an Aggie section.) There were a couple groups of obnoxious sore winners on the way out of the stadium, but we ignored them and held our heads up high! Win or lose, we are proud Aggies!

Gator Fest

Ben’s school has a big fundraiser each fall called “Gator Fest”. This was our first time attending and we had a great time. Brian took the kids up there to check out the rides and games while I was still at work.

 

There was a lot of silly string spraying going on. Noah was not amused.





Hey Noah, you have a little something riiiight…. THERE. Got it.

 

 

Grace was getting in there with the big kids!

 

 

She was helped along by a little coaching from her brother.

 

 

Wheeee!

 

 

I met up with them after work and said “hi” before I headed to my volunteer assignment at the photo booth. After that crazy hour, I rejoined Bri and the kids for a yummy pasta dinner. (Dinner plates from Maggiano’s were on sale.)

 

Another fun thing going on was the silent auction. Each class prepared a basket or two. Ben’s class did a family fun night basket and a baking basket. I made a set of Mommy & Me Aprons to include. I think they came out cute! :)

 

 

We browsed the silent auction and then the kids used the last of their tickets for an ice cream treat before we headed home – exhausted!

 

I thought it was a really well organized event put on by the PTA. (I am so grateful that we get to do this as a Fundraiser instead of having to go door to door doing catalog sales all year long!)

 

Great job, Gators!

Love Creek Orchard 2012

Mom & Niki came to town for a visit this past weekend, so we had to hit the pumpkin patch for some Fall fun!

 

As usual, the kids ran straight for the hay bale maze first.

 

 

 

How is this for a fun little comparison to October 2007?

 

 

For some reason (ok – for three wiggly, squirmy reasons) I had a TERRIBLE time getting a group picture of the kids this year. I must have had 30 shots of the trio and they were all filled with Noah scowls and weird Grace smiles and closed Ben eyes. These were the best that I got!

 

 

At least Mom was having a good time!

 

 

It’s so much easier to get cute pictures of them by themselves. Maybe I need to learn how to use Photoshop so I can create a group shot of these sweet faces. ;)

 

 

Oh, well. What are you going to do? You can't throw your kids in a pond for not cooperating during photo shoots.

 

 

After photos, we headed to the apple barrell train. It is always a fan favorite. Noah was pretty excited.

 

 

Then the crazy train driver picked up the speed. That’s all it took for Noah to be back to his normal self… concerned.

 

 

When our train ride was done, we headed over to say hi to some farm animals.

 

 

Then we hopped on a hay ride through the orchard. Ben decided it was high time he learned to use the camera, and he caught this shot for us… not too bad for a first timer!

 

 

He also took these of his Daddy & brother and a couple nice ones of the orange trees.

 

 

Then he handed the camera back over so I could catch a shot of him snuggling with his Sweetie.

 

 

Niki had promised Gracie a pony ride, so that’s where we headed next. While we were waiting, B & G explored the inside of this old hollow tree.

 

Funny side note: Ben pushed Grace in ahead of him… just in case there was anything unpleasant waiting inside.

 

 

Gracie was too excited about pony ride time!

Thank you, Niki, for the pony treat!

 

 

She is Annie Oakley in the making.

 

 

After a quick lunch we made a final stop at the pumpkin painting tables. The big kids got right to work.

 

 

Pumpkin painting is serious business.

 

 

Sometimes you need a little help.

 

 

We were excited to have two cute creations to take home with us at the end of our long, fun day! See you next year, Pumpkin Patch!

 

Bike Rodeo

Ben had his bike rodeo at school today. Brian was off and he volunteered to help with parents who were dropping kids off with bikes before school. They left bright and early… or technically, dark and early.



By the time I showed up with Grace & Noah, the sun was out!

 

I got there just as Ben’s class was coming out to line up. I believe this is Ben pretending to rev his bike. Vroom, vroom.

 

 

I think Noah was trying to figure out how to bust through the boundary and get himself entered into the contest.

 

 

Grace was busy making friends. First she got a quick hug from the Aue Gator.

 

 

Then she met and bonded with the little sister of one of Ben’s classmates. They were inseparable for the rest of the morning.

 

 

Ben found his bike, put on his helmet, and got ready to go. Too bad the wait was about 40 minutes from this point!

 

 

The kids were good sports and waited patiently. It was finally Ben’s turn!

 

 

The first task was to ride as slowly as possible while keeping the bike balanced between these two lines.





Then they had to go as fast as possible while staying between these lines.



 

I didn’t get any pics of the 3rd event, but it was a steering test through some cones.

 

The final exercise was staying in between these lines while riding in a circle. This was Ben’s best part – he rocked it!



 

Look at him go – zooming around that circle! (It’s hard to believe that 1 month ago he was still riding with training wheels.)

 

 

Here is a proud Ben showing off his ribbon for completing the Rodeo! He didn’t take home any prizes this year, but one of his classmates received the award for top girl! Go, Elizabeth! :)