A very special birthday, Crimson Tide football, Thanksgiving, and other happenings

Today is my Mema's 90th birthday! What a sweet, sweet lady that truly exemplifies a gentle, quiet spirit, and always has a smile on her face. She and my grandfather (we call him June-June and he also will be 90 on January 1st) have been married 68 years! 68 years! What a blessing. They are my mom's parents and live on the other side of the state so we don't see them as often as I would like. But we always spend Thanksgiving with them. I don't think I have missed a Thanksgiving with them in my 35 years. Mema is one of the reasons Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays so I cannot wait to see her and all of my mom's side of the family next week! I have mentioned how much I love our Thanksgiving gatherings before here.

Switching gears a little, Anna Clare attended her 1st college football game!

Now considering I graduated from Auburn and haven't been to an Auburn game since 2002 (when she was in my tummy) I am thinking there is something wrong with this picture?! This explains it all...

My Daddy is the biggest Alabama fan I know, and proudly holds his degree from there as does my younger sister. I cannot even begin to express his love for any and all things associated with The University of Alabama and especially Alabama football. So when he asked us to go, we couldn't resist. Now to spice things up a bit, they were playing the Mississippi State Bulldogs (Steve's alma mater). When my dad picked us up Steve had his cowbell in hand and asked him if he thought those folks at the stadium would mind him bringing it in? I think my dad was afraid he was serious for a split second.



That is one proud Papa telling his granddaughter about all things Crimson.



So we had an Auburn fan, Alabama fan, and a State fan. Need I say more? Although I must confess that while I cheer proudly for the Auburn Tigers and did so the six years I was there (undergraduate and grad school) I grew up an Alabama fan. Therefore, I still like Alabama. There. I said it. Gasp! My dad will tell you that he will never forget coming to Auburn with my mom my freshmen year for the Iron bowl. She scanned the student section with binoculars until she spotted me....shaking my orange and blue shaker! He will also tell you that when I came to see them at halftime I may or may not have hidden said shaker in my jacket :)



No, they did not actually ride that bull. I think AC was relieved that you had to be 10 years old for fear that her Daddy might try to talk her into it. It was all we could do to get her on it long enough to take a picture.



Steve's brother Brad and our nephew Walker drove over from Mississippi for the game so we met up with then for a bit beforehand.


Watching the team enter the stadium

Team rivalry aside, we were ALL fans of The Zone, where my dad's tickets are. He and my mom rarely miss a home game. There were couches, TVs, and every kind of food you could imagine, including a nacho bar, appetizers, main courses, desserts, and a coolers full of ice cream. AC was in heaven. You could watch the game on TV, through the glass, or go through the glass doors and watch it from your seats. It was great! Alabama came out on top, and we all had a blast.

In other news, the girls have been cranking out some serious Sunday afternoon artwork,

Ollie got a haircut, Owen is helping Steve tile the back porch,

And her preschool class had their precious little Thanksgiving program.



Happy Thanksgiving!!!