Thriller!

The next day we went to St. George, UT to go and see the Thriller Show at Tuacahn!  We love that show.  It is so neat.  It is a dance show that is based on Halloween.  Don and I drove up to Utah on our own and Aubrey took the bus with the team.  As we drove in to St. George we got a text from Aubrey.  She was behind us.  The first text said, "The bus is sounding funny."  The second text said, "We keep stalling."  The third text said, "We broke down in Mequite." That is on the border of Nevada and Utah.  All of the sudden we jumped into trying to find a way to get the girls to the show.  We were all thinking,  Some parents were stopping at the bus, because they were behind them.  We were trying to figure it out.  The bus driver was amazing.  He stayed on the phone for an hour and got the girls vans from St. George to meet them and pick them up.  We still didn't know if they would make it. The bus driver even got the girls pizza.  It was crazy.  Aubrey even texted me and said that she didn't think they would make it.  We kept telling her to pray and be positive.  Well, while the girls were stranded, they had fun taking pictures!

Don and I were in St. George already.  We ate dinner and then headed to the theater.  Don wanted to see the theater during the day.  It certainly is pretty. We took pictures....but we didn't have the girls with us.

Tuacahn is so pretty in the fall.  I love it.

We even took pictures with the zombies, but the whole time we prayed that the girls would make it.

Lucky for us, the show started late.  Sure enough the girls showed up seconds before it started!  We were so happy they made it. Now this doesn't end the drama of the night.  Sure the show was wonderful, but during intermission we found out that I-15 was closed because a tanker truck caught on fire.  Now, we didn't know how we were going to get home!  It was crazy.  Just as we left the show, the traffic cleared up and we made it home without a problem!

We even got pictures with some zombies.

What I love about these girls is that it was a crazy trip!  They could of been real negative, but they stayed positive and had a great time!!!  In the end, everything worked out!!!

 

 

Last Football Game Dance!

I know I am super late blogging. Things have been insane around here.  Just Mommy stuff, but super busy.  This long weekend will be good for us.  Anyway, a week ago Aubrey danced in her last half-time show for high school.  I hate senior year.  Yes, I am excited for the wonderful opportunities that come her way, but it is hard to have all these "lasts"!  The team did look good.  They always do a great job!

I also got a picture of Aubrey and her boyfriend.  Don't they look great in their letterman jackets and sweater! Too cute!

Sweet Home Alabama - Roll Tide Roll (by Don)

As many of you know, I have been an Alabama fan since I was just a child. I am always asked why a person like me who is from Idaho and living in Las Vegas became such a huge Alabama fan.....well my Dad is from Alabama and some of my fondest memories as a young boy are watching Alabama football games with my Dad. Just like my father did to me, over the past few years, my son Ian has also become a huge Alabama fan...together we have enjoyed watching and cheering for this team. It truly has been a treasured experience that Ian and I have shared and I hope that his love of Bama football will carry into his adulthood like it did for me.

Over the years, I have had a chance to attend a live game and watch Alabama play twice; however, I have always dreamed of seeing a live home game in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. On the other hand, Ian had never attended an Alabama football game nor did he have any memories of visiting Alabama when he was a very young child. My cousin, Barbara, who is a professor at the University of Alabama, has been encouraging me over the past few years to bring Ian to Alabama and watch a home football game. This past summer for my birthday and anniversary, Kelley bought me a airplane ticket to Alabama and I in turn bought one for Ian....with that we were off to Tide Country and Homecoming Week to see Alabama play Arkansas.  Ian and I were spoiled beyond belief by Barbara and her husband Joel....Barbara even got a signed autograph picture addressed to Ian from the Alabama head coach, Nick Saban.  We ate lots of amazing southern food, enjoyed the beauty of Tuscaloosa, went to a number of Homecoming events, watched a rather stressful football game, and spent a lot of precious time with my cousin Barbara and her husband.  All I can say about the weekend is what any true Alabama fan would say....ROLL TIDE!

We stayed the entire time at Barbara's gorgeous home on the banks of the Warrior river.

Ian posing next to the Heisman Trophy that running back Mark Ingram won a few years ago.

The Alabama football program has the most wins and SEC/National titles than any other college football program. Ian and I in the Alabama Walk of Fame posing next to display cases that highlight each of Alabama's National Championships. In cases are the actual trophies and rings earned. 

I actually attended this game in the Rose Bowl (California) when Alabama won the National Championship against Texas.

Inside the Paul "Bear" Bryant museum. He holds the record for the most wins of an college football coach and is an icon in Alabama Football.

Funny, but true story...as Ian and I left the museum, this man(pictured below) walked up to me and asked if he could take a picture. Well l I assumed he was offering to take a picture of Ian and I together  but when I went to hand him the camera, he said, "No, take a picture of me with your son". I asked him who he was and he said that he would tell me after the picture....so here is the picture. After the picture, he told me his name and said that he had played on the Alabama football team a while ago. He said that he had broken some records and that we should "look it up" and then he just walked away. Well later that night, Ian and I got on the Internet and found out that he played during the mid-seventies and held multiple records as one of the best defensive ends that ever played at Alabama.

Being in the South would not be complete without finding a huge bug of some sort.

Ian and I take a walk along the bank of the Warrior river with Barbara's house in the background. Of course, since we were in Alabama, we had to buy some souvenirs...the sweet football that Ian is holding and the shirt he is wearing.

As part of homecoming, a Pep rally is held at the center of the campus and then afterwards, a huge bonfire is lit.......Joel photobombs the picture!

 Ian and Barbara who is a crazy, but wonderful Bama fan.

 Posing with Barbara and Joel at the Homecoming parade the next day....Ian was so nervous because we kept walking into the street for these pictures

 Like I said, Barbara spoiled Ian and I so much.....I could not believe it when I looked down the street and saw this girl walking in the parade with this sign.

 

Posing outside the Bryant-Denny Football Stadium.....it was unreal how large that stadium is.

 One of the traditions at Alabama is to great the football team as they enter the football stadium from the busses. Since Ian  and I were in Alabama to experience everything, we waited for over a hour to get a good view of the team.

 Of course, no football game would be complete without a tail gate party before the game....do not worry, Ian is only drinking crème soda!

 Game time and a perfect view of the field.

 After a rather stressful game against Arkansas and wondering if Ian and I had traveled all the way to Alabama to watch them lose, Alabama finally started to play in the 4th quarter and pulled off a victory.

 After returning to Vegas, this is the note that Kelley wrote to Ian's Middle School excusing him for being absent....too funny!