Labor Day Weekend + the First Georgia Game

Well, now that it’s almost the weekend again, I thought I’d finally get around to recapping last weekend.  It was definitely a great one.  Prepare for picture overload!

B had to work late Friday night, so the kids and I kicked off the long weekend with Chick-fil-A and a whole lot of puzzle building.  After they went to bed, I put on my coziest PJs, lit a candle, poured a glass of wine, turned on one of my all-time favorite movies – Father of the Bride II – and I basked in the glory of aaaallll of our fall decorations and scents just like I said I would.  Haha.  Needless to say, I went to bed feeling super warm and fuzzy... that movie always makes me so happy!

Saturday morning we got up and turned on our fall Saturday morning staple – ESPN College Gameday!!!!  Words can’t even begin to describe how excited I am that college football is back, BABY!!  The kiddos played while B and I watched Gameday and got everything prepared to head to Atlanta for the Georgia Game later in the evening.  

We dropped the kids off with my parents before lunchtime, and then we headed out…  But not before taking 4,243,111 pictures of all of us in our red and black!  GO DAWGS!

And B also took this one because he loves to make fun of all of my OOTD picture-taking.  <If I could use emojis, you’d be looking at the eye-rolling emoji and the laughing/crying emoji here.>

B and I stopped at Subway to grab sandwiches on the way to ATL, and then we turned on our crunk jams because NO KIDS!

 

B had reserved a parking spot right by the dome, so getting there and parking was a breeze.  The parking lot was massive and it was a sea of cornhole, grilling, football watching, and red and black!  Such a beautiful sight!  

And the best part?  A break in the horribly hot temps we’ve been having.  We pulled up a little after 2 and it was only 79 degrees.  And no humidity.  Completely unheard of for this time of year!

Our game was the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game this year, so it was at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta instead of our usual location of Athens.  Since it was a special event, our game ticket also got us into the FanZone event in the Georgia World Congress Center, so that was our first stop!

On the way in, we met up with my aunt, uncle, and cousin, Shelby, who is currently a sophomore at UGA.  Her brother, my cousin, works with the Georgia football team, so they go to all of the home games, too!

There was a lot to see and do in there… they had lots of interactive games and contests, and I got to meet the Chick-Fil-A cow, who obviously cheers for Georgia… I mean, look at her outfit!  

Most importantly, we were there for the Dawg Walk and pep rally which is a tradition before all of our games.  All of the fans line up (or crowd around in this case) the walkway and cheer on the coaches and football players as they walk through.  We were nowhere close to the line, so I couldn’t see much, but B was able to snap a few shots of the players walking through since he’s so tall.  He got a pretty good one of our new QB, Jacob Eason.

After the pep rally was over, we wandered out to the grassy area outside of the dome where they were playing music, people were playing cornhole, and there were more games and places to take pics.  It was so nice, because at every good place for a photo opportunity, they had employees standing there and their only job was to take pictures of the fans.  That way, we didn’t have to look around to find someone to take pictures for us, and B and I were able to take several pictures together throughout the day.

A little after 4 we decided to make our way inside the dome, and what do you know, the first thing I noticed when we stepped inside was, THEY HAD BEER!!!!  Beer is not normally sold at college games, but since this was a special event and it was at the Georgia Dome, they had it!  B said that when I saw the beer stand, my face lit up and it was the happiest he’s seen me in a long time.  Haha.  We both got our $10 Shocktops and settled in our seats.  Worth every single penny!

The game wasn’t going to start for about an hour, but they were broadcasting some of the other college games on the big screens, so we sipped our beer and watched those while we waited.  We were on the lower level eighteen rows up from the field so the seats were awesome.  However, they were in the North Carolina section.  Womp womp.  Fortunately, there were just as many Georgia fans as there were UNC fans in our section, so we weren’t alone.

Since the game was sponsored by Chick-Fil-A, we all had gift cards for free sandwiches in our seats, and then when the teams came out just before kickoff, thousands of little Chick-Fil-A cows came parachuting down from the ceiling.  It was CRAZY.   See all of those little dots in the pictures below?  Cows with parachutes!  So cute!

Meanwhile, back at home, the nuggets (my kids, not to be confused with Chick-fil-A nuggets) were eating dinner at Chick-Fil-A (we do love our CFA down here in the south!) and playing on the playground with my parents.

The game was a nail-biter to say the least, but it was one of the most exciting, and by far the loudest game that I’ve ever been to, and I’ve been to a lot of games!  We were able to pull out the win, and that sweet, sweet victory was just what we needed to cap off the perfect day!

About halfway through the game, I saw a commotion a few seats down from me, and everyone started taking pictures, so I told B that somebody famous must be sitting down there.  Sure enough, B leaned over and said, “Yep, it’s Evander Holyfield.”  For those of you who don’t know, his son just started playing for Georgia this year, so he was there to watch him play.  When the game was over, he was still sitting down there just eight seats away from me, so I walked down and asked him for a picture.  He stood right up, put his arm around me, and smiled and everything.  He seemed really quiet and really shy, but very kind considering that so many people had been bothering him during the middle of the game for pictures and autographs.  I, at least, respectfully waited until the game was over before bothering him.  Haha.

After the game, we walked back to the car and got lost in the process due to all of the construction going on for the new dome.  Just as I was about to have a nervous breakdown, we found the car, and started heading home.  Traffic wasn’t too bad considering, and we made it back home just before midnight, where we proceeded to plunk down on the couch and watch more football.  Because NO KIDS!  And because FOOTBALL SEASON!!!! 

Sunday morning we met my parents and the kids at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast where I indulged in a pumpkin donut and a Salted Caramel Pumpkin Latte (no shame), and then we went back home to relax for a bit.  Brian and Jacob worked on some of his Legos and Olivia and I curled up on the couch to read some fall books… her favorite right now?  Little Blue Truck’s Halloween.

After a bit of relaxing, we headed to my mother-in-law’s for lunch, and since the weather was gorgeous again, we all hung out in the back yard after lunch.  The kids both dug in the garden for a while, jumped on the trampoline, and played ball.

Sunday evening we had dinner at my parents’ house, and then my Momma and I had a hula-hooping contest.  She has been hula-hooping in the evenings as part of her work out… apparently you can lose lots of inches in just a few weeks if you do it 30 minutes a day for five nights each week.  I hadn’t hula-hooped in years so I wasn’t even sure that I would be able to do it, but I’ve still got it!

And the best part of the evening?  Skyping with my brother, sis-in-law, and nephew in Texas.  We got to watch him get his evening bath and he is just the happiest baby.  It kills me that he’s three months old and I’ve never gotten to hold him.  Just a few more months!

Oh, and my mom is basically the best, because she knows me so well.  Look what she picked up for me!

Monday was spent lounging, going to Five Guys for lunch, doing a little bit of clothes shopping for the kiddos, and then hanging at the park with my friend and her two boys.

 We spent the evening at home, eating Ranch Chicken Pasta (a slow-cooker meal from Shay’s new cookbook), and then playing with Jacob’s stomp rocket outside.

It was the very best weekend full of fun, laughter, love, date nights, pumpkins, fall stuff, football, and a big W for our favorite team!  What more could a girl ask for?

*Linking up with Home of Malones for Thoughts for Thursday.