Our Weekend - The One with All of the Homecoming Festivities

We had a great weekend but before I get started with the recap I just wanted to give a shout-out to my Momma because today is her birthday!!!!  And not only is it just a birthday, it’s her SIXTIETH birthday!!!!  Momma, I hope you have the best day… sixty looks freaking fabulous on you and I only I hope I look that good when I’m sixty!  If y’all don’t believe me, just look at my pictures of her from the gala below.  ;o)

This past week was Homecoming at my alma mater and the kids’ current school.  They had themed days each day at school (you can see the recap here) as well as a gala, the alumni social, and the football game Friday night. 

The gala was to honor the sixtieth anniversary and diamond jubilee of the school (yes, it was “born” the same year as my Momma!) and everyone was encouraged to wear red because it is the school’s primary color.  I just so happened to have a dress in my closet that I had purchased two or three years ago for another ball, but I never ended up wearing it because it arrived too late.  Y’all, this dress might be one of my favorites that I’ve ever worn – it fits like it was made for me – and I’m going to let y’all in on a little secret… it was only $12-ish from Shein.com.  Not even kidding.  The sleeves are AH-MAZE!!!!

My mother-in-law came over to our house to watch the kids since it was on a Thursday night and they needed to be put to bed at their usual time since it was a school night.  Before we left, she was kind enough to snap a few pictures of me and my handsome date.  We sure do clean up nice! 

We arrived at 6:30 and headed straight to cocktail hour in the hallways of the high school.  B and I grabbed a beer and a glass of cabernet respectively and then we roamed the halls and chatted with old friends before the main event.  I’ve been walking those halls since 1992, books in hand, and I’m still walking them today in 2018… wine in hand.  Lol.

The gala was held in the high school gym, and the steering committee made the most incredible transformation I had ever seen using plush black velvet curtains and string lights galore.  You would have never even known that we were in a gym!  One of the best chefs in our city catered and we sat down to a dinner of Caesar salad, chicken, rice, a zucchini and squash combo, and red velvet cake for dessert.  That fancy thing on top of the salad tasted like a homemade Cheez-It, but better.  It was soooo yummy! 

After dinner the president and high school principal spoke for a bit and then introduced the guest speaker for the evening, who was the old bishop from our diocese.  He also happened to be the pastor at our church (and my mom’s old boss since she works in our church office) so he was also the priest who baptized me.  I don’t get to see him too often anymore so it’s always nice to get to spend some time with him when he’s in town. 

After he finished speaking, one of the current teachers at the school (who also graduated from there just ahead of me) spoke as well and she brought up so many sweet memories of teachers past.  Her speech was so heartfelt and it made me that much more proud to be a graduate and to have our babies there, too.  Once the speeches concluded we hung around a bit longer to chat with the other guests and then it was time to head home since we had to be up early to get the kids to school the next morning.

Friday evening was the alumni social and the homecoming game, so we headed back to the school at 6.  Olivia was going to make her little cheerleaders debut that evening so I let her wear a touch of lipstick because, “Mommy, cheerleaders always wear lipstick.”  She was pretty much thrilled so I had to capture her happiness on the drive there.  And on the way, we jammed out to one of our favorites because – it just so happened to be the twenty-first night of Septembah.  ;o)

The alumni social was Mexican themed so there was a spread of quesadillas, chips, and salsa as well as lots of other treats.  B and I grabbed a couple of beers and tried to make the kids eat something with little success.  Their friends were running around everywhere so we just caved and let them run around, too, while we visited with my family and some old friends. 

Since Olivia is a little cheerleader this year that means that she gets to go practice the cheers with the big cheerleaders and then do three cheers on the football field before the games.  Unfortunately on the way down to the field she was trying to keep up with Jacob and one of his friends and she skinned both knees and her little wrist, which pretty much killed her spirit.  One of my friends had Band-aids on hand, but she still looked so sad when she was practicing and she wouldn’t really get into it.  Fortunately once they got out to the field her little smile returned and she started having fun again. 

After she was done cheering, the game started and both kids took off to run around with their friends while we watched the game.  My Mom, Dad, both brothers, sister-in-law, and nephew had all come as well, so they sat with us.  I was able to chat with several of my friends whose kids also go to the school (one of whom is Jacob’s current teacher) and I also got to chat with a couple of old classmates who I rarely get to see these days.  It was such a fun evening, but we cut it short a little after nine because we had an early morning ahead on Saturday.  

We were up bright and early Saturday morning because Jacob had a 9 AM soccer game, but he was also scheduled for team pictures at 8:15 AM so we had to be there reeeeally early.  His game followed just after and they ended up losing 8-3 which was a bummer because we played so well for the first 45 minutes of the game.  It was close until those last 15 minutes when the other team completely started running over us.  Jacob played defense again and I was so proud of him because he had so many good saves.  I think this was the most aggressive he’s been in a game so far and also probably the longest he’s stayed in.  At this age they have to rotate in and out frequently but he probably stayed in for 80% of the game. 

We headed straight home after soccer and spent the afternoon watching the Georgia game (another win!) and then we headed to Saturday evening mass where we all wore our Gameday best!  I had to snap a few pictures of the kiddos because they were just so darn cute.

After church we went to Longhorn with my whole family and then we made a stop by DQ to get some Blizzards to go.  The kids were both so exhausted that Olivia couldn’t even stay awake on the ten-minute drive home.  She was out cold by the time we pulled in the garage but that didn’t stop her from eating that Blizzard.  Haha.  After the kids went to bed, B and I enjoyed our Blizzards on the couch and watched football and then it was time to call it a night!

Sunday morning was for homemade waffles with orange and black sprinkles, and later, we headed out to have lunch and run some errands.  Olivia has been begging to wear some of her new fall clothes and even though it was still blazing outside I finally obliged because you know what?  I'm ready to wear mine, too.  So we both did.  And we brought the garage pictures back to document the moment!  :o)  My MIL didn’t cook so we had lunch at Chipotle and then we grabbed some new cleats for Jacob before heading to the Halloween Store to peruse costumes.  Olivia found what she wants to be so we went ahead and bought it, and Jacob has decided what he wants to be as well, but we have to see if we can find the costume elsewhere as they didn’t have his size.

When we got back home the kids helped me bake a birthday chocolate cake with chocolate chips and chocolate frosting with Oreos on top for my Momma (can you tell she really loves chocolate?) and then we spent the afternoon getting ready for company. 

I made vodka sausage pasta, steamed green beans, and garlic breadsticks for dinner and then we finished the evening with the cake.  My Momma opened her gifts and we had the best evening celebrating her!! 

Another wonderful weekend in the books and we get to do it all over again in just a few days!  Have a great day, y’all!

Don't forget to link up with Heather, Johannah, and myself... just grab our new fall graphic (seriously how cute is it?!) and link up below!

*Linking up with B Loved Boston for Weekending and HoHo Runs for Weekly Wrap.

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