Our Weekend - The One with the Georgia vs. UMass Game

Friday I decided to take the morning to be festive, and after I dropped the kiddos off at school I headed straight for Target, grabbed a Peppermint Mocha in our new Starbucks (inside Target – EEK!  Finally!) and I spent the morning browsing their Christmas selection.  I have been slowly phasing out the dark red and gold from our Christmas décor and I have been adding true red and pops of white, so I was on the hunt for some new stockings, and Target did not disappoint.  I was on the fence about the ones you see in the buggy below, but when I got them home I couldn’t get enough, so I think I’m going to keep them!  I cannot wait to reveal our new mantle when it’s done!! 

Friday evening B picked up pizza for us and we cracked open some of our favorite craft beers and we spent a cozy evening indoors.  It was really cold so we put a fire in the fireplace, popped some popcorn, and snuggled up on the couch to watch our first Christmas movie of the season… The Santa Claus!  The kids picked and I wasn’t going to say no to that! 

Saturday morning we were up bright and early to head to Athens for the second weekend in a row, this time for the Georgia vs. UMass game.  We brought the babies along for the ride this time and they were thrilled. 

The day was insanely gorgeous with skies of the bluest blue and all of the fall colors were still at their peak.  We stopped by Chick-Fil-A on the way into Athens for a bathroom break, and I snapped a few pictures of their lights.  They put up an insane Christmas display and they literally cover the entire building in lights and string giant canopies over the parking lot, so it’s quite a sight to see! 

We parked downtown on our usual street and then headed straight to The Office which is a sports bar that we’d never been to.  Thankfully we were able to beat the football crowd and we were seated and enjoying our burgers and mac n cheese right away.  Their mac n cheese is insane, too, by the way. 

After lunch, we stopped by my favorite store downtown to browse for a bit, and then we walked around campus and turned the kids loose on the quad to burn some energy for a bit.  Around 1:15 we headed toward the stadium for The Dawg Walk.  The kids had never been and B and I hadn’t been in years and years, so we thought it would be fun for them to experience all of the craziness. 

The Dawg Walk is a Georgia tradition where all of the fans line up outside the stadium and the band plays as the coach and football players walk through as they enter the stadium.  As per usual it was insane and people were already lining the bridge, the stairs, the balconies, and the path on the ground by the time we arrived, so we weren’t able to see much.  B picked up both kids so they could have a better view and they seemed to enjoy it.  The best part is being so close to the band… the music sounds so great when you’re up close and personal!

After The Dawg Walk was over we still had a little bit of time to burn before it was time to head to the stadium, so we found a quaint little grassy, leafy area in between buildings to let the kids run around some more.  If you’ve never been to Athens, let me paint a little picture for you.  The school is the oldest state-chartered university in the entire country so a lot of the buildings are hundreds of years old and it’s just about the prettiest little college town you could ever want to see.  The buildings are gorgeous and there are huge old oaks and other leafy trees lining every sidewalk and street.  In the fall it really shines with it’s trees of magnificent reds and oranges and yellows.  It’s stunning.  Just stunning.

There was a beautiful tree just near the area where the kids were playing, so we asked some nice people to take a family picture for us and I can’t even believe how gorgeous it is!  Christmas card photo, anyone?  Too bad mine are already printed.  Ha!

After the kids had made lots of “leaf angels” – kind of like snow angels, but with leaves ;o) – we headed to the school book store to grab a charging cable for me because I had forgotten to bring one for my external charger and my phone battery was almost dead.  Womp womp.

The book store was chaotic as always, and they had Nick Chubb (old running back) and Vince Dooley (old coach) signing autographs that day, so that made it even crazier.  The charging cables just so happened to be upstairs right near the signing event, so we walked right by Nick Chubb and Vince Dooley!  I was so excited!  I couldn’t get my phone out in time to snap a picture of Chubb, but I got Vince!  :o) 

After that, it was time to head into the stadium.  The kids had been dying to get in there, and they were just so excited they couldn’t stand it.  On the way to our seats, we stopped for a quick potty break because – kids – and then we grabbed some snacks because – kids.  Haha.  Jacob opted for sour gummy worms (definitely my child!) and Olivia opted for cotton candy. 

They got all sugared up as we watched the pre-game festivities and by the time the game started they were pretty wild.  Nick Chubb and Sony Michel (two of our awesome old running backs who now play in the NFL) were both at the game, so the crowd was excited to see them again.

By the end of the second quarter we were all getting hungry for dinner, so we spent halftime eating hot dogs, letting the kids stretch their legs for a bit, and grabbing popcorn before heading back in for the second half.  Olivia loves some Georgia football, but let’s be real… girlfriend’s mostly just there for the snacks!  Haha.

During night games, we always do something extra special at the start of the fourth quarter and it’s my favorite thing about the games!  The band plays the Superman theme song and everyone in the whole stadium turns on the flashlights on their phones and moves them to the music.  It is SO COOL.  I posted an Insta Story of it this time around, but it definitely doesn’t do it justice.  It is seriously the neatest thing to be there in person.  I get chills every time!

After we lit up Sanford Stadium, we decided to call it a night and head back to the car.  We were whooping UMass 60-something to 17ish or so by that point and we had a long walk back to the car and a long drive home with the littles. 

On the way out of Athens we passed by that Chick-Fil-A I mentioned earlier in my post so I snapped a quick picture.  It’s super blurry because we were driving, but you get the gist.  Just look at all those lights!

The kids both passed out in the back seat about an hour or so before we made it home, and B and I were able to get them to go potty, change into PJ’s, and make a successful transfer to bed without totally waking them up for a second wind.  He and I then enjoyed some frozen yogurt on the couch before hitting the hay for the night.

Sunday morning we all slept late and then we made some homemade waffles with Christmas sprinkles for breakfast.  My MIL didn’t cook lunch so I spent the rest of the day doing mounds of laundry, unpacking from our trip, doing dishes, and getting caught up from being gone the day prior.  B played tennis Sunday afternoon and the kids and I had to make a quick Target and Michaels run to pick up a couple of things I had forgotten on Friday.  Then we headed back home as quickly as we had left.  It’s always good to stay around the house after being gone for a whole day!

My Momma made homemade beef stew and beer bread (OMG so good.  I need to blog the recipe!) for Sunday dinner, so we cozied up over there, and then it was back home for the evening. 

Now today we’re not doing the usual Monday things because the kids are out of school all week for Thanksgiving, so you can find us doing lots of fun stuff with our friends! 

I’ll be back each day all week with new posts even though it’s a holiday week, so be sure to come back each day for more goodness!  Have a wonderful day, y’all! 

Don't forget to link up with Heather, Johannah, and myself... just grab our new Christmas graphic and link up below!

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

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