Arkansas... And The FLOOD

Saturday started EARLY in the week with a threat of RaIn! We were determined, though, that tailgating was going to happen this weekend :) After a night of dancing with a Motown band, we all woke up early, got in gear for football and headed to The Quad for what we hoped to be a wonderful day! Here is a picture of Dave very early in the day trying to figure out how to get the TV/satelite hooked up. Sam and his girlfriend, Beth, came down Friday night to spend the weekend playing with us!Beth - an Auburn fan at heart - donned OUR school colors and willingly sat out in the rain all day :) And I even think she ENJOYED it... maybe even a little more than that "other" school.

At this point in the day, Dave had yet to manage to get the TV working and the weather had decided to slightly "rain on our parade". We huddled in the center of the tents trying to keep dry, but quickly figured out it would ultimately end up being a lost cause!

Stuart - Dave's roommate - and his girlfriend, Lizzy, also came to hang out with us!

By lunch time Dave was STILL trying to figure out the TV situation. At this point, frustration was at an all time HIGH. Can anyone other than me imagine him at this moment in time :) ? Bless his heart, he had been working on this the WHOLE morning and couldn't figure out what he was/wasn't doing. He ended up just bringing it back into the tent. Next time, kid! We'll figure it out next time!

About an hour before the game started the bottom falls out of the sky. We all were taking bets on how bad Big Al was going to smell by the end of the day!

All in all, we had a GREAT weekend!

*Confidential to Mike and Sandye: Thanks for coming down and spending the day with us. We had a wonderful time - even if we were bogged down by rain and mud! We're looking forward to the October games when you get to come back and hang out with us, Sandye!

*Confidential to Sam and Beth: We had an insanely FABULOUS time with you guys! Thanks for the dances to the Motown band, the laughs on the way home, and romping through mud just spend some time with ME (and Dave, I guess -ha!) and have an exciting weekend of Alabama football! Please come back soon!

North Texas: The MEAN GREEN?

This weekend, we had all these plans for our tailgating adventure.

I got up early Friday morning and made two batches of brownies to take Saturday. Dave and I had talked about making our own chicken mini's and taking those for breakfast since the game was so early. So, Dave put in his order Friday to pick up his party platter Saturday morning at eight. With our plans in order, all we had to do was SHOW UP. Little did we know the RAIN would show up Friday night and settle in - essentially raining out our tailgate.

Dave's boss had saved us some seats in the student section so that we didn't have to get there two hours early! We ended up sitting eight rows up and in a really great location to see some good touchdown plays!

With four trays of chicken mini's, two batches of brownies, a new wagon to pull all of our crap, a satellite, chairs and a folding table, we were ready. Ther others were NOT. We ate a hand full of chicken mini's before the game and left out in our rain gear ready to get wet. Let me tell you how HOTTT it is when it decides not to rain and you're standing in a stadium with direct sun beating down on you! I was happy the rain decided to hold off for a while, though I was not as happy with the outfit of choice I had decided on wearing. Dave, too, was NOT dressed for warm-dry weather. Unlike me though, he had options! He had worn a pair of shorts under his waterproof pants and quickly resorted to that option once we got inside!

We were proud to walk away singing RAMMER JAMMER yet again this week but still bummed about our tailgate. The rest of the crowd came up with Plan B and we moved our little shin-dig to Matt's house. Taking our brownies, chicken mini's and wonderful partners in crime (Luke and JV) we headed out to watch the Auburn game.

All in all we had another successful weekend :) We are still anxious, though, about getting to hang out on the quad with all of our gadgets and gizmo's just living the life of Alabama Football! So... We WILL try again next weekend.

Bring a chair and come see us. I hear there will be some christmas lights (and I know I am SUPER PUMPED)!

Florida International

Well Hello All!

We have officially kicked off what is MY favorite sports season :)

FOOTBALL!

Growing up, I always wanted to know what was going on in football. Yes, I asked way TOO many questions but feel it's all payed off in the end! I think Dave was slightly amazed to find that my knowledge of football was beyond what most girls down here at school. And thanks to my daddy and all of our father-daughter football dates, traveling, talking, racing back to the car to beat the traffic AND listen to Eli Gold, I have become a good football buddy.

Every game since Dave and I started dating, we have taken a picture together. Some pictures have shown more excitement than others, but they have definitely been funny to look back at over the years. This year however, our friends have decided that - since they are OLD and are no longer a part of the student section - tailgating is the most appropriate path to take! And I AGREE :)

(My family and I tried the whole set-up two years ago on the Georgia game weekend and boy did we get a wake up call! The people were so RUDE. I had managed to pick the most highly populated spot I could find. Translation = people walked through our tent to get to where they needed to go and grabbed themselves a "snack" on the way out! Yes, they ATE our food.)

We are going to try to post pictures from each weekend to keep you guys in the good ole U of A spirit! Come visit if you get the chance! We'll drag you to the tailgate with us where you're sure to have a blast.

Here are some pictures from last weekend (Florida International):

ROLL TIDE!

Labor Day Weekend

This past weekend was different. It was different because it was the first weekend that Loren and I didnt get to hang out since school started and because the whole ashley family was together. Jana flew home late thursday night and she and dad flew to tuscaloosa friday afternoon to pick me up. Jana didnt quite think this was fair. Her comment on facebook last friday

"Flying with Dad down to Tuscaloosa to pick up my brother. Does anybody else think it is favoritism that he gets to fly home on Dad's plane and I had to fly Delta?"

I always knew I was the favorite. Thanks mom and dad for finally letting Jana know the truth.

Saturday was game day, but it was a bitter sweet game day. Ryans grandmother passed away late wednesday night so we went to gadsden to the funeral saturday morning. It was good to see everyone but didnt want to see everyone that way. Also pray for Beau because he is somewhere in the desert and was not able to be with his family.

Once we got back home it was time for another home cooked meal. It sure is good to have mom cook when I am at home because I dont cook that well for myself. As soon as we got done eating it was game time. And the phone kept ringing. Loren had told me that I was the updater. Kind of like the bottom line on espn. She would call and say "Updates please." Mom took it upon herself to docoument this.



Dad assumed the position in the chair during the game. He obviously wasnt as excited about the game as Loren was. Susie had to wake him up several times.

I guess Jana decided to get some popcorn during the game and didnt ask susie if she wanted any so she decided that she would just take a bite without asking.

Sunday we made another trip to gadsden to have lunch with Ninnie. Jana and I stoped by the lake after lunch and she attempted to ski. Notice the word attempted. This is usually where I would put a picture but it is hard to take a picture of somebody skiing when they never get out of the water.

The last picture is after dinner on sunday night. We really do love each other and we really do talk when we are all together but we usually always end up like this. Everyone with a computer in there lap.

Overall it was a great weekend. Cant wait for Loren to come back to tuscaloosa and for the First home game this weekend. If you get the urge please come visit this weekend. But call ahead to reserve some floor space because it usually fills up fast.

New Blog Options

In the past few days, Dave and I decided to change things up a little with the background, picture and commenting options. Now, anyone can leave us a comment - not just fellow bloggers! So feel free to stalk us - that's why we made this whole thing - and leave us your thoughts, prayers, and encouragements!

We miss our family more than we say sometimes and getting little notes always makes our day :)