Friday Night Lights & the Weekend

We kicked off the weekend by checking off an item from our fall bucket list.  We attended my alma mater’s (and Jacob’s and Olivia’s future alma maters) alumni social and homecoming game.  

The alumni social is a party that they hold in the school auditorium every year, and it gives all past students from all graduating classes a chance to come back and mingle and catch up with one another.  They served hors d’oeuvres and beer and wine, and had a yummy dessert table filled with treats.  The cheerleaders came in and did a couple of cheers to get everyone fired up for the game, and the school also gave us a preview of their new video to promote the school.  It may or may not have made me tear up a little.

And while I’m thinking about it, I was a positively terrible blogger Friday evening as I barely took any pictures because I was so caught up in the moment.  Those are always the best kinds of nights, though, aren’t they?

Anyway, we spent the first few minutes getting the kiddos set up with some food desserts and once we were done eating, we turned Jacob loose to play with his friends while we chatted with some of my family (my mom, and several aunts and uncles are also alumni) and then I met up with a few old friends to chat and catch up.  There were at least 8 or 9 people from my graduating class and we talked about getting a group picture, but that never came to fruition.

The game started at 7:30 so we made our way down to the football field, and we got the kids a couple of hot dogs since they had only had sugar up until that point.  Then once again, we turned them loose.  Our school has a huge open area on the home side of the field that also connects to a softball field, and all of it is fenced in, so there were hundreds of kids running around and having a blast.  Lots of kids from Jacob’s class were there, so he had a great time playing with them all evening.  Barely any football was watched.  Haha.  We did win, though, 7-6.  Close one!

By the time we got home, the kids were filthy and exhausted, but oh-so-happy, so we wiped their little hands, faces, and legs down with some wipes and sent them off to bed and B and I settled in for a new episode of Shark Tank, an episode of FNL, and a big ol’ piece of cheesecake.  Because when you go the entire work week without dessert, you need something spectacular on Friday night!

We went to bed with full hearts and full tummies.  And as I said on Instagram, it is absolutely wild seeing our kids running around with their friends who are also the kids of my friends and former classmates.  We are so fortunate to be a part of such a wonderful church and school that is really more like family than anything.  There’s no other place that I can imagine sending our babies… I have such peace of mind knowing that they are being cared for by people who I’ve known for most of my life.  <3

Saturday was spent cleaning the entire house from top to bottom – I finally cleaned the toilets, y’all! – but not before Olivia did this:

That’s a brand new, 75 count, box of Kleenex dumped in the toilet.  I literally left her and Jacob for a couple of minutes to vacuum the stairs, and this is what commenced in that tiny little window of time.  I mean, seriously, they were playing happily with the Hot Wheels Garage on the other side of the house one minute, I turn my back for two, and this is what happens.  I spent the better part of ten minutes fishing it all out, and unfortunately that toilet had not yet been cleaned, so it wasn’t exactly sparkling. 

Anyhoo, when B got back from his tennis match (that’s why he wasn’t around when it all happened), we watched our hideous wood shed beating of a game, and then it was time to get ready for church.

The kids were perfect angels during church, and we took them for Mexican to celebrate (and so Mommy and Daddy could drown our football sorrows in margaritas) and then we stopped by DQ on the way home, because, Pumpkin Pie Blizzards!

The kids enjoyed theirs right when we got home while B and I watched some more football, and then we let them hang out downstairs for a little bit since we had gotten home a bit earlier than usual for a Saturday evening.  Around 8:30 it was Halloween PJs and off to bed for them, and B and I stayed up for more football and to eat our Blizzards that we had been saving in the freezer. 

Sunday morning, the kids and I baked a cake for my mom for her birthday (it was Saturday) and then I prepped dinner because I made Sunday dinner this week for a change so my mom didn’t have to cook on her birthday weekend.

We slipped away for a couple of hours to grab pizza for lunch and take the kids to the Halloween store that just opened.  Jacob has decided that he wants to be a Storm Trooper instead of The Flash, and Olivia is still saying that she wants to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast, so we were on the hunt for those items.  They didn’t have any Storm Trooper costumes in J’s size, but we were able to find a Belle crown for Olivia.  I already ordered her costume on Amazon and it should be here today, so hopefully it will fit! 

We had a little more time when we left, so we stopped by Lowe’s to grab a couple of pumpkins and some mums for our front porch… our fall décor is now complete and I can’t wait to share it with you next week!

As I mentioned before, Sunday evening, instead of going to my parents’ house like we usually do, we had everyone over to our house for dinner so my mom didn’t have to cook since it was her birthday weekend.  I made Shay’s slow cooker Ranch Chicken Pasta, broccoli, and garlic bread with a chocolate cake for dessert. 

Y’all know I love hosting, so I spent all afternoon Sunday setting up – I lit my favorite Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin candle, turned on all of our twinkle lights, turned on my dinner party playlist (which consists of Michael Buble, Rod Stewart, Frank Sinatra, Steve Tyrell, and a whole lot of cocktail jazz + some other faves).  We opened a bottle of wine, and everyone settled in for a great evening. 

We had our usual crowd – our family of four, my mom and dad, my brother, my grandmother, and my uncle and his girlfriend.  The dinner was a success... except for the fact that I burned the broccoli something serious... don't ask.  Ha!  But at least there was cake!  We ate way too much of it.  It was a great night with the ones we love, and it was the perfect way to end the weekend and to celebrate the most important lady in my life! 

Happy birthday to the very best momma in the whole world!  We love you to the moon, Cokie!

*Linking up with B Loved Boston for Weekending.