Alabama weekend

We just got home from a wonderful weekend in Alabama! All fall, we tried to find a good weekend to get away for a Bama game. We missed going to a game last year due to sports and we were determined not to do that again!

We left straight from Matthew's scrimmage on Thursday night and made it halfway. Then, Friday morning, we jumped in the car and made it to Birmingham by early afternoon. My dad grew up in Birmingham, and we have such sweet memories of going there several times a year to visit our grandmother. It is such a special place for our family, and we enjoyed driving around this beautiful city, taking in the scenery and enjoying a picture perfect day. The trees were in their height of color, and I will remember this day for a very long time!

We also made it to the statue of Vulcan. This was made for the World's Fair in 1904 to showcase Birmingham. When I was a little girl, Vulcan held a torch that lit red if there was a traffic fatality, and green if there wasn't. I remember having nightmares as a little girl with Vulcan and his red torch. Apparently, this bothered many people, so he now holds a spear rather than a torch!

On top of Red Mountain by Vulcan.

And of course, we had to stop at Legion Field where many of the Crimson Tide's victories occurred.

After a fun day in Birmingham, we headed back to Tuscaloosa to hang out with my friends, Karen and Tesney and their boys. We ate at the best barbeque/ribs joint in the world and loved watching all of our children enjoy each other. Here is a picture of them right after dinner playing tackle. We are so proud! ;)

We were so blessed to get to stay with our dear friend, Karen, and her two sweet boys. Our kids got along so well, despite different alliances. Philip and Evan are die hard Auburn fans and kept calling Thomas "Thomas Tubberville!" (Auburn's old coach) Here are some pictures from our tailgating on the Quad.
Mary Beth was very impressed with the food!

Love these girls!

Clayton is getting so big! He is the same age as cousin James, and the boys loved playing with him.

Evan and Mary Beth, two adorable 1st graders!

Sweet Karen volunteered to take Mary Beth home before the game. Somehow, buying an expensive ticket to the Bama game seemed like a waste on our dear Mary Beth. She had a ball doing what she does best...hanging out with two older boys! Here they are torturing her by putting her in full Auburn gear. Doesn't she look devastated?

They also made homemade hot chocolate that we are still enjoying this week!

Now, back to the game! There is nothing in the world quite like walking into a stadium full of 101,000 cheering fans! It is an awe inspiring experience!

Thomas felt very at home with so many Bama fans around. He kept yelling, "Roll Tide!" to nearly everyone he could!
Two very excited boys!

Bama played well. We got to see touchdowns from Julio Jones and Mark Ingram, two of our favorite players, and won the game 30-10. We had such a great weekend and look forward to doing it again next fall!