An AUsome Celebration on the Plains

Lexie and I had driven down to Opelika/Auburn for a couple of days to spend time with Su Su and Papa John while Dave was busy with a week long conference. It also happened to be a special celebration for Auburn's National Champions.

My Dad and I went to Jordan-Hare stadium to help cheer on the champions with about 78,000 happy AU fans in the freezing cold but beautiful day. The 78,000 fans didn't account for all the students on the field nor the 400+ letterman and families in the suites. More people attended this celebration than the actual National Championship game in Glendale (including Oregon fans). And to think, it was nothing but AU fans! While waiting for the official celebration to start, the BCS game was replayed on the huge jumbotran for all of us to rewatch again. It was fun to see the game with 78,000 of your closest AU friends!

There were a lot of important AU people that spoke. The following spoke and gave amazing speeches, the Auburn mayor, the newly-elected Governor (who is also a dermatologist), former AD David Housel, former QB Dr. Lloyd Nix, the President of the BCS, Jay Jacobs, Coach Chizik, Nick Fairley, Cam Newton, Kodi Burns, Lee Ziemba and the list goes on. Here is a clip of some of the speeches. They edited a lot out but you can get the general idea. Also in attendance were many former players. What a fun tribute to the team's year long hard work!

And what a special day to spend with my sweet Daddy! WAR EAGLE!!!!

2010-2011 National Champions!!!
Nick Fairley (aka the pain train) getting the Lombardi Award
Former AU QB's Stan White and Randy Campbell presented Cam the Heisman Trophy
The "Brilliant" Offensive Mind (who I'm so glad decided to stay at AU) - Coach Malzahn
Lee Ziemba - "Leave it to an Offensive Tackle to get straight to the point." Jay Jacobs, AU Atheletic Directior. His speech was one of my favorites - very simple, yet sweet.
Kodi Burns - "Kodi! Kodi! Kodi" is what the crowd chanted when it was his turn to speak. He exemplified what it truly means to be a team leader. He scored his first receiving touchdown this season in the biggest game of the year. How we AU fans were blessed to have him. Kodi, You will be missed! BTW, his speech was my favorite.

Dr. Lloyd Nix presenting the trophy. He was the QB for the 1957 National Championship team.

Look at that beautiful Waterford sparkle! :)

Coach C and the new crown jewel!

Me and my sweet Daddy! All the people standing in the field were students. I was so bummed I didn't have a student ID. . .

The new sign outside the stadium. Looks good, doesn't it?

The raising of our "new" flag

Such an Amazing picture of all the AU fans!!

Atlanta's Winter Ice storm

Who knew such a storm would linger for so long in Atlanta?? Dave and I got back from Phoenix/Glendale on Wednesday, January 12 (2 days after the storm). We had hoped that we missed all of it. Hardly. . . . .Once we got home (which was a miracle), we were basically trapped in side until that Sunday. The pictures below were taken FIVE days after the storm hit Atlanta.
I could not be more ready for spring. . . . .

Our driveway FIVE days later and our driveway still had about an inch of ice on it. . . .
Our side yard with about 5-6" of snow and about and 1/2" of ice on top.

Our patio

Sweet pea helping Daddy get rid of the snow. . . .

She made me a snow ball!

"Air-pane!"

"Cold!"

Tiny footprints in the snow. . . . .I'd much rather see tiny footprints in the sand!

Feeding the dog pecans. . . .

Playing in the snow

Auntie Bit

What to do when Auntie Bit (Britney) comes to town? Play in the snow! My fabulous friend and Lexie's Godmother came to town for the night. We rarely get to see each other due to both of our hectic schedules. It was so much fun to catch up. Lexie adores her Auntie Bit!
Brit, come back anytime! We loved having you! xoxo

Thank you Su Su & Papa John

In my previous posts, I failed to recognize my parents and their wonderful support during our 8 day whirlwind trip. My parents graciously accepted to watch over our precious sweet pea while Dave and I were in Mexico/Atlanta (for less than 12 hours)/Phoenix for 8 days. It was the longest we've ever been away from her but we all did fine. I knew that Lexie was in excellent hands which helped ease my mind tremendously. She loves her Su Su and Papa John. They kept her pretty busy to where she hardly knew Dave and I were gone. Every time I talked to my Mom, I kept telling her that Lexie isn't going to want to leave her house with all the fun things to do there.
Kudos to my Mom for driving Lexie back to Atlanta on the Wednesday after the game. Little did her or my Dad realize the extent of all the ice surrounding the city. I'm amazed she got here without getting stuck on the roads. The roads were awful! It was wonderful to walk into our house and see our sweet girl waiting for us!
There aren't many grandparents that would keep their 21 month old grandchild for EIGHT straight days. What can I say, I have some pretty amazing parents! Mama and Daddy, I appreciate your love and love for my child! Where would we be without Su Su and Papa John? You help us all in more ways than you know it! We love you so much!

Double the sweetness!

I finally got to go see some cutie pie twin girls! Mine and Dave's dear friends, Marc & Fran Colley gave birth to twin girls back in November. Due to the craziness of the holidays and a toddler that continues to give me head colds, I wasn't able to see the girls. Finally last week, while Lexie was at Mother's morning out, I was able to drop by and see Marc, Fran, Caroline, and Madelyn (Maddie). I knew that they would be oh-so stinking cute, but of course they were even more precious in person. They were so sweet and just slept peacefully while their parents and I caught up. I even got to hold each sweetness!
I can't believe they are 9 weeks old already! Fran and Marc were born to be parents. They are so laid back and seem to enjoy every minute of those two precious babies! Congrats again sweet friends! You have a very beautiful family!

Miss Caroline
Miss Maddie

Such sweetness!

Sweet sisters holding hands!

From a Mexican Paradise to a National Championship Paradise!

Dave and I flew home to Atlanta on Saturday afternoon January 8 only to wake up Sunday morning at 4 Am to catch a flight to Phoenix! It was so very well worth the loss of sleep!

Dave and I had a blast in Phoenix. We met a bunch of our friends from Atlanta there. Sunday night we went to a wonderful steak house in Scottsdale called J & G Steakhouse. The steakhouse was located on top of the Phoenician Hotel (such a Gorgeous hotel). I ended up getting a burger and I must say it was one of the best ones I've had in quite some time. Sitting right in front of us at dinner was John Gruden, Urban Myer, the SEC Commissioner Mike Slive, the Pack Ten Commissioner Larry Scott, the President of BCS games, and 2 other "unidentified" men. Needless to say, all the guys were in heaven! Our friend Stewie even went and had a conversation with them. And whether or not you are an Urban Myer fan, he is very handsome in person! :) Once we got done with dinner, we went down to the hotel lobby bar where we saw John Saunders, Nick Saban, and Chris Fowler. We all assumed that the entire ABC/ESPN staff was staying at that hotel. I so badly wanted to take pictures but didn't want to look stalker-ish. . . .

I woke up the next morning like a little kid on Christmas. It was game day - the MOST important game AU was going to play in nearly half a century! I was nervous but so excited. I kept telling myself that even if Auburn did end up losing, I would still be super proud of the fact that they made it thus far. We got the gang together and tailgated across from the stadium for a couple hours.

The game was AMAZING. It was such a good match up of two great teams. There was never a dull moment. I think the last two minutes of the game was the best part. Oregon tied the game, we got the ball, managed to hang on to the ball and Wes Byrum didn't let us down by kicking his 6th career game winning field goal to win the 2011 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME! Man, I still get chills thinking about that game and that moment. It will be a moment I will NEVER forget. I am so very proud of my Auburn Tigers. They came, they saw, they conquered! What a wonderful example of team leadership/spiritual leadership, team chemistry, perseverance, determination, and love for the game. WAR EAGLE my friends!

Tailgating across from the stadium.

(Prashant, Stacy, Neil,Dave, Me, Ashley, Marc, Audrey, & Stew)
Tailgating: Dave, Bo, and Stewie
Walking to the stadium

Game time! The AUsome AU band about to perform.

Confetti!

Right after my "cry fest." Watching Wes Byrum kick the winning field goal to win the game, I lost it!

My parent's good friends who sat with us, Shayne & Robert

Awarding Coach C the crystal ball!

Party after the game with a million other oh-so happy AU fans!
(Stew, me, Dave, Audrey, and Marc)

Still in a state of shock that we actually won!

WAR EAGLE!!!

There was no tree in our hotel room, so we decided to roll Stewie!

Starting off the new year in a Mexican paradise

Dave and I along with about 25 other couples were treated to a few very nice days/nights at the Ritz Carlton Cancun courtesy of Manhattan Associates (Dave's company). It was a fun group this year. A lot of our close friends were able to go along as well.
I was a little skeptical going to Cancun. There has been a tremendous amount of violence at the Mexican border. But I had heard that Cancun wasn't too safe either. When we arrived, the hotel was about a 15 minute drive. We passed a bunch of nice resorts on the way to the Ritz Carlton. We later learned that we weren't actually in Cancun. We were in a town called Quintana Roo. Apparently Cancun was about 30 minutes from where we were. None of us left the grounds of the resort - there was really no reason to. We had everything we needed at our hotel. But while we were there, I felt completely safe. The staff there was AMAZING! What a fun few days. But most of all, I'm so proud of my husband's hard work and determination. He definitely deserved this trip!You guys know how much I LOVE Christmas and Christmas decorations. This picture doesn't do this justice. But when we first entered the lobby, this is what we saw along with a huge gingerbread house in front of the two trees.

A nice and fresh coconut cocktail

The beautiful beach and water

Me and sweet CallieDave and Mike from our balcony
Girl fun L-R: Heather, Cassie, me, Callie, Alexis, & MargotTwo of my most favorite "northerners," Colleen and Jim Flynn (from Michigan). I wish we got to see them more often.

"Tito" from Oliver & Co.

One of my most favorite Disney Movies is Oliver and Company. We watched the movie this morning. Lexie loved the little Chihuahua, Tito.

Cousin Time

I got a little lazy with taking pictures. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of Amelia and Lexie playing with eachother. But I happened to take a video of them playing in our "junk room" of our basement.

Christmas

Christmas was a blast this year. My parents came up on Christmas Eve and stayed with us until the 26th. Then Dave's parents and his brother's family came on the 26th for a couple of days. The days were very relaxing and low key. A great way to spend time with loved ones.

Having fresh snow for breakfast

Santa came!

A new baby doll

Sit and spin

My little chef has been cooking up a storm since her new gift.

Every girl LOVES a blue box. . . . . .

What's in the blue box??

Posing in front of her new kitchen
The best we could do with a timer. . . .

G'ma and G'pops