This past weekend we made a family trip to Auburn. When I found out one of my college roommates, who now lives in Texas, would be here for the first game I started making plans for my family to take a little road trip. I had also not seen my BFF, Andrea, and her family in over a year...which is crazy that so much time has gone by since our last visit...so it was high time we head to the loveliest village on the plains.
As we were driving down interstate I started thinking about what a different trip this was compared to the trip I made almost exactly 15 years ago to the same college campus. I can barely wrap my mind around the fact that 15 years ago I started my freshman year at Auburn...and now I'm riding with my husband and children to see my college friends with their husbands and children...C-R-A-Z-Y!! And if the next 15 years go by as quickly as the last then before I know it I'll be driving Ruth Ann to Auburn to start her freshman year...hurry, someone grab a tissue for me!
We got to Auburn at bedtime Thursday night, so we basically dropped our bags and went to bed. Friday morning we got up and headed into Auburn to take a few pictures and do some eating at one of my favorites...The BBQ House...yummy! Then it was picture time!
To go with the picture I took of his sister when she was about the same age...
Along with a traditional sign picture...there are some of me floating around from graduation day prior to the digital camera age...
Then we headed to Toomer's. I think most everyone who follows college football heard about what happened at Auburn last Fall. A nutty Alabama fan with some false information about an event from 20+ years ago decided after our Iron Bowl victory to head up to Toomer's Corner to poison the live oaks on our campus. If Auburn is anything, it's is rich in tradition...and I know most alumni feel the same way about their alma maters...but Auburn is RICH in tradition. One of our best traditions is rolling Toomer's Corner after an Auburn victory. Whether the victory is big or small...those trees get rolled. When I heard what this moron had done a big part of me wanted to pack my children up that very minute and drive to Auburn to take a picture with the trees since they will most likely not be there when they're students at Auburn. 3 generations have rolled these trees and shared that experience with their children and grandchildren and it breaks my heart that I won't be able to do the same. For this reason, getting a picture at Toomer's Corner was a top priority!
I put Arch in charge of the picture taking so I would be in the picture with the children...which is a rare for me to be on the other side of the camera...so it's even more rare to have a full family picture...but God, who I believe to be an Auburn fan...was watching out for us. When we walked up to the corner there were some men walking around with a very professional looking camera. They left on a golf cart shortly after we got there but as Arch was taking my picture they happened to drive back by. Profession camera man jumped out of the cart and walked over to Arch. He took my camera from Arch, told us where to stand, and took these two pictures...
How lucky am I?? These are great pictures...but I just wish Spencer had been with us because these could have been our Christmas card this year! I'm so thankful for these pictures and they will be ones I treasure forever!
That night we ordered pizza and Erin drove over from Montgomery with her family to spend some time with us. The next day the game was at 11am...which means pre-game activities would be starting at 9am...too early for my bones...but the great thing about being in Auburn during game time...when you don't have tickets to the game...is you can eat ANYWHERE without a wait. We had a yummy lunch at Niffer's, another favorite, and then spent the afternoon relaxing. After the game was over...and I recovered from game induced high blood pressure...we grabbed some grilling meat and head to the campers to hang out with Candi and her family. Amanda also drove over so we could visit for awhile...and to begin Asher and Ruth Ann's courtship!
These two quickly began playing and laughing together and I couldn't be happier that he couldn't take his eyes off of Ruth Ann all night...
Amanda was my first friend at Auburn...we were in the same college orientation group the summer before we began our freshman year, and Candi was my roommate for 2 years. I honestly still feel like I was just living those days and now we're standing at tailgate with our children! I often have a hard time excepting that I'm a grown up...this was a moment where the fact that I am a grown-up was right smack dab in front of my face! This trip was fantastic...I got to visit and spend time with 4 out of 6 of my brides maids...I consider that an overly successful trip! Oh and Auburn won...but only just barely. I've warned Tripp that his first season as an Auburn Tiger may be a tough one...but that just builds good character!
No comments:
Post a Comment