Our Week - The One with the National Championship Win and SNOW!!!!

That’s it, y’all.  That’s the post.

After 41 brutal years, our beloved Dawgs finally brought home the National Championship title Monday night.  We’ve been so close so many times since then that it hurts, and there have been so many heartbreaks in recent years.  But we’ve stuck it out as only true fans do, and our day has finally come.  As a lifelong Dawgs fan who comes from a long lineage of Georgia grads/fans, I think I speak for my entire extended family when I say that our 2022 has officially been made!!  At just 10 days in.

In addition to that, we had snow on Sunday… it may not have stuck, but we sure did enjoy watching it fall all day long. 

This weekend was just pure magic.

Here’s the recap!

Monday, January 10

Monday was the National Championship game and Georgia was in it this year, so our school let the kids have an out of uniform day to wear their favorite college team apparel.  Our kiddos headed off wearing aaaallll the red and black, and so did their momma!  ;o)

After I dropped them at school, I swung by Walmart to return something, and then I headed home to do laundry and work for the rest of the day.  Mid-morning, my friend, Amanda stopped by our house to drop off a print that we’d purchased from her, and I took it as a good luck charm since the print was of UGA’s mascot, Uga. 

I worked for the rest of the day (and drank my hot tea out of my Georgia mug!) and I started cleaning out Olivia’s room Monday afternoon, and then I picked up the kids from school.  We dropped Olivia at dance, and then Jacob and I made a quick stop at the library to renew our library cards and pick up a book.  I dropped him and then headed back to dance to wait for Olivia to get out.  This was her first dance class in over a month (she’d missed class due to the flu and then they had Christmas break), so she was thrilled to be back at it.

On the way home, she and I stopped by Bojangles to grab some dinner… we had that big game to watch so momma wasn’t wasting time cooking!  When we got home, B and I cracked open a couple of beers and we had dinner while we watched ESPN College GameDay and the pregame stuff.  I was super nervous, so after dinner, I jumped on the stair stepper to burn some of that nervous energy.

How we all were feeling...

The game started a little after 8, and we decided to let the kids stay up just in case we were all about to witness history. 

Right before the game, I headed upstairs to put on my late grandfather’s old Georgia t-shirt.  He graduated from UGA back in the 1940’s and he was a die-hard fan.  He passed away in 2015 and never got to see them win another championship after 1980.  My Mama Cass (his wife) has been cleaning out the house they lived in together for the past 60+ years, and she saved one of his old Georgia t-shirts for each of his grandchildren.  My parents wrapped it up and gave it to me on Christmas Eve and, of course, I cried. 

The second I opened that gift I knew we were going to make it to the championship, and I was going to wear the shirt, and we were going to win.

The game wasn’t easy – it was actually quite rough for the first three quarters – but then the fourth quarter was PURE. MAGIC. and we finally, finally got our win.  And I also must mention here that Maui was not wearing her Georgia jersey for the first half of the game.  I quickly put it on her after halftime, and within minutes, Georgia blocked Alabama’s field goal attempt for a shift in momentum.  The jersey is magic.  ;o)

The end of the game was insane and exciting and everything that a National Championship game should be, and we ended up beating Bama (FINALLY!) 33-18.  We had a pick six that sealed the deal, and our entire family was screaming and jumping up and down!  It’s a moment I’ll never ever forget, and I’m so grateful that we let the kids stay up so they could experience it, too.

My phone was blowing up with family and friends and old coworkers and everyone else all night.  My aunt, uncle, cousin, and other cousin’s girlfriend were all there at the game and my Aunt Joy and my cousin Shelby were texting me all night giving me the scoop from their vantage point since we couldn’t be there.

My cousin Wil works for the UGA football team, so my aunt, uncle, and cousin (Wil’s sister) + Wil’s girlfriend get to go to all of the games.  As a matter of fact, they actually had two tickets for us to this game, but we turned them down.  Sigh.  I just knew we were finally going to win it (I told B months ago that we were going to lose to Bama in the SEC Championship game and then beat them in the Natty), but there were too many factors complicating things for us to go – flights getting canceled right and left, a major winter storm hitting in Indy that weekend, Omicron (of course), and most importantly, nobody to watch our kiddos since we’re currently keeping our distance from the grandparents for a bit until this wave dies down. 

I hate that we weren’t able to be there in person, but it was super special to share the winning moment with the kids.

Now, I just need my cousin to come home with his Natty ring so I can try it on and have a piece of the game since we couldn’t be there.  ;o)

The game didn’t end until just before midnight, and by the time we got the kids in the bed, it was nearly 12:30.  On a school night.  Eeks.  B and I were both so pumped up that neither of us felt tired, so we ended up staying up until after 1, and then I lay there for another hour trying to fall asleep.  Why they always do the National Championship game on a weeknight is beyond me… I mean, college football is played on Saturday so why not just play the championship game on a Saturday, too?!  #duh

I had taken a poll earlier in the day on Instagram stories and this is the final tally:

Tuesday, January 11

Tuesday, we had to get up at 6 AM after only 4 hours of sleep, but we were all on such a high that it didn’t even matter.  TOTALLY worth it.

I spent the rest of the day working and cleaning out Olivia’s room, and I also video chatted with one of my old coworkers who called me to congratulate us on our win.  He’s an Auburn fan, and if you don’t follow college football, we’re big rivals, so I thought it was really kind of him to do that.

My goal for Tuesday was to finish cleaning out Olivia’s room, but I was so exhausted from getting no sleep the night before that I opted to scroll through social media waaaay more than I normally do in a day.  I mean, I just couldn’t stay away from the National Championship coverage!  It was too good and it made me happy, so I let myself indulge.

Tuesday afternoon, Olivia was in a mood from being up too late, but I tried my best to give her grace as she’s almost always a ray of sunshine.  It’s very unlike her to be grumpy, so it was definitely a change, that’s for sure.  She had dance at 4:30, and then when we got home, I cooked dinner and got the kids into bed just before 8.  After getting no sleep the night before, I knew they needed to get as much as they could Tuesday night.

B had a tennis match Tuesday evening, and when he got home, he and I watched a little bit of TV before turning the lights out at 9:45… super early for us!

Wednesday, January 12

Wednesday, I felt refreshed after eight hours of sleep, and I dropped the kids and started checking things off of my list.  First up, Publix by the kids’ school to see if they had anything that my usual Publix was out of… spoiler alert, they didn’t.  We haven’t been able to get cinnamon rolls or the kids’ favorite freezer pancakes in forever because of all of the supply chain issues.  It is bonkers.  As a matter of fact, half of the store I went to on Wednesday looked like the apocalypse because the shelves were so bare.  It is strange times we’re living in right now, y’all.  Strange times.

The rest of the day was spent working and finishing up cleaning out Olivia’s room, and then I picked up the kids from school at 3.  When they got in the car, I surprised them with a trip to Target to spend some of their Christmas money.  Jacob had gotten a Lego set that he already had, so I had returned that for him, and he was ready to pick out something else. 

Our Target trip took foreverrrr because they wanted to browse every aisle, but Jacob eventually settled on a Minecraft Lego set and Olivia settled on a little hair salon chair set for her babies.  So cute!  While we were there, I picked up an underbed storage box to put all of Olivia’s dress-up clothes in as well as a new lamp for Jacob’s room, and then we headed home.

The kids had snacks and did homework when we got home, and then Jacob got to work on his Lego set while Olivia played with her new toy.  I headed upstairs to get Olivia’s dress-up clothes put away in the new underbed box only to find that the box was too tall to fit under the bed.  Womp womp. 

By the time I was done with that, it was time to start dinner, and then afterward, I got in a cardio workout and put away aaaallll the laundry while the kids played some more and then got ready for bed.

On Wednesday, UGA announced that they were doing a National Championship parade and program on Saturday in Athens and we qualified for tickets since we’re season ticket holders.  With Omicron everywhere right now, we were apprehensive about going, but we ultimately decided that we’d go, and that we’d be extra cautious.  The tickets were free, so we figured if we got there and we felt uncomfortable that we could just leave.  So, we requested our tickets and booked a hotel!!  YOLOOOO!  Haha.

Once the kids were in bed, B and I watched This is Us and the rest of The Bachelor and then we went to bed, too.

Thursday, January 13

Thursday morning, I swung by Walmart to find another underbed box to hold Olivia’s dress-up clothes, this time with measurements in hand.  Haha.  They didn’t have any large boxes that were short enough, so I had to settle for two smaller boxes.  Bummer.

The rest of the day was spent working, and then we all hung out at home all evening after school.  January is always so laid-back because we don’t have baseball, so it’s always nice to have the downtime in the evening. 

I cooked dinner, the kids played basketball, we all sat down and drew together after dinner per Olivia’s request, and then I got in a workout while the kids got ready for bed.

B and I watched Ordinary Joe and Supermarket Sweep by the fire, and then we went to bed, too.

Friday, January 14

Friday morning, I dropped the kids and got gas, and then I hit the ground running at home.  I had to finish up a few things for the blog, and then I had to pack for our Athens trip. 

B got off of work at 2, and then he and I packed the car and headed out to pick up the kids from school.  We headed straight from school onward to Athens so we could get there by dinnertime. 

The drive was a little longer than usual due to the Atlanta traffic, but it wasn’t too bad, and we did end up making it to Athens for dinner.  We had snagged a room in a hotel downtown, so once we got checked in there, we were able to be at a restaurant in less than five minutes.  We decided to do pickup from The Office and take it back to our hotel room because we weren’t sure what to expect with crowding from everyone coming to the city for the celebration.

Our hotel room had a full kitchen, a small table, and a tiny living area, so we were able to eat in the room comfortably.  After dinner was done, the kids got showered and then we watched a Fresh Prince before getting them in their sleeping bags for bed.  They have always preferred to sleep in those on the floor instead of sharing a bed.  That’s always nice for us, because B and I always end up getting a king bed instead of a queen.  Win-win!  ;o)  

After they were all tucked in, B and I headed to our room to go to bed, too.  Unfortunately, we had some very obnoxious people in the room above us, and they kept me up for hours with all of their stomping and yelling and laughing.  I finally fell asleep sometime after 2 AM, so it wasn’t the best night of sleep to say the least.  I was straight-up peeved.  Lol.

Saturday, January 15

Saturday morning, we were up early, and we rolled out of bed and walked to Zombie Donuts in downtown Athens for breakfast… appropriate, since I felt like a zombie after getting no sleep.  ;o)  You get to design your own donuts there, so you pick your base, your glaze flavor, and your toppings.  The kids, naturally, picked the most crazy, sugary options, and theirs ended up looking more like desserts than breakfast.  I opted for a simple vanilla donut with the cinnamon sugar topping and it was yummy. 

At the donut place, we saw some of our friends from church and school.  We knew they were going to be in Athens, too, but it was just funny that we all showed up at the same place at the same time for breakfast.  We chatted with them for a bit, and then headed out to go get ready.

On our walk back to the hotel, we took some pictures with one of the Ugas on the sidewalk, and then when we got back to our room, we got showered and ready and then packed up all of our stuff.  We weren’t able to leave our car in the hotel parking lot for the day, so we knew we needed to get out early so we could get a parking spot downtown somewhere before they were all taken.

We found a parking spot with ease, and then we had some time to kill before we had to eat lunch, so we walked around campus and let the kids run around.  We considered taking a picture at the arch (a major landmark in the city of Athens) and we also considered ringing the chapel (victory) bell (another big landmark), but the lines to do both were suuuuper long as you can probably imagine.  Instead, the kids found a humongous magnolia tree to play in, and B and I hung out and watched them play.

It was freeeezing all day in Athens Saturday, so we had to bundle up all day, but it didn’t seem to bother the kids at all.  Thankfully, we’d packed lots of warm gear… something we’re just not used to doing down here in the south.

Around 11 AM, we walked to the Chick-Fil-A downtown to pick up a super early lunch, and B stood in line while the kids and I grabbed a table outside.  The city of Athens has permanently closed that street to traffic since Covid started, and they have tons of outdoor tables in the street, so it was nice to be able to stay outside even though it was so cold.

After lunch, we made the long walk to the stadium, and then we kept on going just past it to find a good spot for the parade.  We ended up finding a perfect spot that wasn’t too crowded, and we settled in for a 30-minute wait until the parade started.  Jacob got pretty antsy and didn’t love the waiting part, but he told us after the parade that it was worth the wait.

The parade started at 12:30, and we were at the very end of the parade route, so it made it down our way around 12:45.  We were able to see Kirby Smart (our head coach) as well as all of the other coaches and their families, and all of the players up close and personal.  We were also able to see my cousin, Wil (the one who works for the team), drive through the parade in a charter bus.  He managed to find us in the crowd, too, and he waved.  The kids were so excited.

The atmosphere was just electric before and during the parade.  There were three or four helicopters and a couple of drones flying overhead, there were news crews coming through, people were chanting our Georgia fight songs, and it was just awesome.

Just as the last couple of groups in the parade were going by, my other cousin, Shelby (Wil’s sister), and Wil’s girlfriend, Cat, just happened to walk right by us, so we were able to meet up with them and chat for a bit, too.

The next part of the celebration continued with the Dawg Walk (a tradition that our team does before every home game), but people had been gathering and waiting in the Dawg Walk area (just outside the stadium) for hours and hours to get a good spot, so there was no way that we could make it over there.  Instead, we made our way to the stadium so we could go ahead and get in our seats before the program started.

The walk there was crazy – there were thousands upon thousands of people everywhere – but we were able to find big gaps, so we weren’t packed in with a bunch of people.  Hardly anyone wore masks since everything was outside, but our family of four wore ours all day with the exception of taking them off for pictures, so I’m praying that we did enough to protect ourselves from getting The Rona.

Inside the stadium, B grabbed some Skittles from the snack bar for the kids while the kids and I made our way to our seats.  We’re season ticket holders, so we were able to sit in our regular seats, and we were able to see the older couple who sits next to us at all of the games.  They’ve had the season tickets right next to ours for years, and we always look forward to seeing them, and we hadn’t been able to see them in two whole years… since before Covid started.  It was so nice catching up with them – they are seriously the sweetest – and I’m hoping this coming football season we’ll be able to spend more time with them.

The program started at 2, and they started the whole thing with all of our usual game day traditions – the UGA Battle Hymn that ends with Larry Munson’s famous quote, a hype video on the jumbotron, the song “Saturday Night’s Alright” by Elton John, the song “Teenage Wasteland” by The Who, and a few other special things that we do.  Those first few minutes leading up to the start of the game are always so special, and they always bring tears to my eyes, but this time things hit a little different.

From the first note of the Battle Hymn on, I cried like a baby.  Through the whole thing.  It was such a special moment, and one that I’ll never ever forget. 

The rest of the program continued after that and it lasted about an hour.  DJ Shockley (one of our well-known quarterbacks) hosted, and we heard speeches from Kirby Smart (our head coach), Jordan Davis (our current defensive tackle), a couple of the other players, and the SEC commissioner, etc.  At the end of the program, they did the trophy presentation and then they raised the new National Championship flag, and it happens to be right behind our seats so we had a great close-up view.

Once things wrapped up, we made the long walk back to the car, I snapped a picture of the Georgia Theatre, and then we headed straight home.  There was a massive winter storm heading our way, and we wanted to make it home before it started to hit.  We did end up running into some cold rain on the way home, but that was about it, and the whole drive was smooth and fast.

On the way home, I ordered pizza and told them to deliver it right as we were arriving home, and sure enough, it arrived about five minutes after we walked in the door.  Perfect timing.

B and I made some Moscow Mules and we ate our pizza, and then afterward, we watched an episode of The Fresh Prince before sending the kids to bed.  B and I spent the rest of the evening watching a couple of episodes of Emily in Paris and the newest episode of Bobafett.   

Sunday, January 16

Sunday morning, I made waffles with red and black sprinkles in honor of our Dawgs, and then we had a lazy morning.  B and the kids played games and I snuggled on the couch with Maui, drinking my cinnamon tea.  B kept a fire in the fireplace all day long Sunday because it was so cold.

Mid-morning, the kids turned on some cartoons and I got in a half-hearted cardio workout.  I was too tired to go full-throttle.  I also got everything unpacked from our trip and got all of the laundry done as well. 

There was a winter storm hitting the southeast Sunday, but we weren’t expected to get any snow at home – it was supposed to stop just north of us – but around 10 AM, we started seeing snowflakes outside, and it ended up snowing on and off all day long!!!!  The snow didn’t stick, probably because it was too wet from the rain, but the kids were able to get out and run around in the snowfall for a long time.  We were soooo excited, y'all!  Even for the flurries.  Somebody posted these two memes on Facebook on Sunday and I was cracking up.  But seriously, all of the Bama fans have been so nice.  I had several reach out to me after our win and they were so kind and genuinely happy for us.

I made grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for lunch because it’s the perfect cold weather food, and we stayed cozy in the house all day with the exception of getting out to enjoy the snowflakes.

Sunday afternoon, the kids got in some video game time and I started sorting through the hundreds of pictures I’d taken in Athens, and then Sunday evening, B went out and picked up Mexican takeout for dinner.

Since the kids were out of school Monday, we treated Sunday as a Saturday.  After dinner, we rented the movie Sing 2, and then the kiddos went to bed while B and I stayed up and watched a Saturday Night Live and a Shark Tank we had recorded.

This weekend was absolutely magnificent, and it’ll go down as one of the most special ones ever.  (And I don’t think I’ve ever used the term magnificent before so that goes to show y’all just how special it actually was.  Haha.)

Monday, our bonus day off, will be in next week’s recap!

Happy Tuesday, y’all!