Tide Pride

So this weekend Chris and I took the kids to Alabama to visit the grandparents (Chris' mom and stepdad...AKA Mamaw & Papaw).  The kids both L-O-V-E their Mamaw & Papaw, so every trip to see them is special, but this trip was extra-special because this time we had free tickets to the Alabama football game on Saturday night!  We got in @ 5:30 central time, had a great dinner with the family, and got the kids to bed...eventually.  Saturday we left the kids in good hands (hooray for Mamaw & Papaw) and headed to Tuscaloosa at around noon.  We were told to arrive in Tuscaloosa @ 4 hrs before the game in order to avoid the most traffic and get the best parking spot.  Whoever told us that was right, because the only time we stopped was at red lights.  It was so smooth.  We had a blast.  We drove around a bit, checking out the campus and stopping for lunch on the strip.  Then we went and parked in the Boy Scout parking lot ($20...expensive, yes, but all the parking spots were $20!) and walked toward the stadium.
This was my first experience at an SEC football game (or ANY college football game bigger than my own college's football games) so it was all new to me and I was like a kid at Christmas.  The tailgaters with their satellites and plasma TV's set up, the booths with folks selling anything and everything that could possibly take an Alabama logo on it...I was completely taken in.  Its a miracle, but we got out only with a $5 t-shirt for me, a $5 cheerleader's outfit for Hannah, a $5 game day program, and a $4 drink.  WOW, those concessions were expensive!

The game was awesome...so close through the first half, but then things took off and Alabama rolled right over Mississippi State.  We stayed through the first five minutes of the 4th quarter and felt confident enough to head on out at that point.  It was a good decision, because we got out with no problem and, again, we only stopped for red lights.  We stopped at IHOP to eat (dude, we were starving--no way were we spending $6 for a hot dog at the game!) and got home @ 11:30 pm.  Seriously, the best weekend I've had in a looooong time.  I am so grateful to my hubby & in-laws for the chance to have such fun.