Tailgate Tuesday

My football spirit is officially in high gear. While I would never, ever, ever wish away summer there is one major benefit to the start of fall and that is in fact college football. My love for my Gophers runs deep and every year around this time I start to get those pre-season butterflies. It's a tradition of ours to go to one of the Goph's open practices each year and we got to do that yesterday! Which is why, my buddy Erin's Tailgate Tuesday link up couldn't have been planned for a better time! 

It was a gorgeous Minnesota summer day. The boys looked good and there seemed to be an energy and excitement on the field that I haven't seen before. I'm feeling good things about this season and I can't wait to see the maroon and gold live in action in just 23 days!!!!

I'm anxious to get this season started and am so excited for our opening game - which just so happens to be a Thursday night game at home! We've had some epic season opener tailgates in the past but something tells me this year is going to be one for the books.

I'm also excited for a little road trip action that we have planned for November! I've been lucky enough to watch my boys on the road a number of times and am excited to add another Big 10 stadium to my list {I want to cheer my Gophers on at each one}. 

And then of course, there's one other little Gopher related event that needs to be celebrated {on Sept. 2nd!} How was this already 5 years ago?!

Well now that I am all kinds of riled up, I think I'm going to go put on some maroon & gold, practice the rouser and brush up on some of my cheers. 

RAH! 

YOLO {our trip to Madison}

My senior year of college I ventured in to enemy territory with a group of my friends - meaning we made the 4.5 hour road trip to Madison, WI to see our Gophers battle our biggest rivalry, the Badgers. We had the worst experience...the Badger fans were AWFUL! We were basically being sworn at the entire time we were there and it only got worse when the Gophers got absolutely pounded. So, I SWORE that I would never under any circumstances whatsoever go back to that wretched place. 

Fast forward 7 years and my beloved Gophers come to the end of their best season in a long time and are playing our rivals, the Badgers, IN Madison for a chance to go to the Big 10 Championship game. For those of you who aren't sports fans, just know that this was probably the biggest game the Gophers have played in my lifetime and as a result my family somehow talked me in to returning to Madison. I seriously had anxiety for days before we left. But, nonetheless, I packed up my best maroon and gold.

We were up and off to Madison bright and early on Saturday, November 29th. Despite my nerves and the 4am wake up call, we had a great little road trip consisting of all the essentials - Starbucks, Licorice & the Backstreet Boys. 

Once we rolled in to town, we checked in to our hotel, bundled up in our Gopher best and hit the town. We met up with the U of M boosters at Buckinghams bar and it felt amazing to be surrounded friendly faces. There were, of course, plenty of Badger fans there but the Gophers had them outnumbered and my anxiety finally subsided {the cocktails probably didn't hurt the cause either}.

After some time at the bar we made our way to a Gopher tailgate where we met some awesome people! This young man had been to 50 STRAIGHT home games and had a 3-0 record when he went to road games AND had just been accepted to the U of M that morning. Needless to say I LOVED him and was certain he was the good luck charm we needed. 

We made lots of great new friends and ran in to old friends too! Our buddy Tony who owns our favorite campus restaurant, Tony's Diner, was there too along with one of my friends who I hadn't seen since college! But of course I saw him mid-flip-cup game and wasn't able to snap a pic. 

Other than  that, we just hung out, had cocktails, prayed for a victory and I played my first game of battleshots which my brother and I lost to a couple of Badger fans. 

And then, it was game time. I was NOT excited about entering that stadium which resembles a prison {seriously, get a better stadium Badgers} but did it for my Gophers.

Our seats were awesome. It was a gorgeous day. AND, the best part, the Gophers held their own. It was one of those situations where you know you aren't supposed to win and everyone is rooting against you and then you get so close you think there's a chance and then you lose and you are devastated because you were right there and actually could have won. Did that sentence make ANY sense? It definitely stunk to lose, but I am so proud of my Gophers and know that next year, when the Badgers come to our house we will be victorious! Also, we made some friends in a Gopher/Badger combo sitting in front of us who we nicknamed Cute Boy & Slick which made the game a lot more fun.

Despite the loss, it was a super fun road trip. The Badger fans were WAY less rude this time around. Yes we got shouted at, but it's a rivalry, a little razzing is to be expected and is actually welcomed. Thankfully, this time around it was all in good fun. AND, dare I say it, we actually met some really cool Badger fans.

I don't have any intentions of returning to that hell hole any time soon, but am glad I faced my fears and had a great day with my family and fellow Gopher fans. :) 

A Perfectly Long Labor Day Weekend

If the purpose of Labor Day is to have a break from work...have a break we did! Our "Labor Day Weekend" kicked off on Tuesday when we headed up to the ranch to visit Jason's mom and step-dad.We went out to dinner, Kenley played in her very own mini-water park and we all had a great time.

Wednesday, Jason and I spent the day at the Minnesota State Fair stuffing our faces with our favorite greasy fair food, drinking beer and walking around wearing a fit bit band with no fit bit in it...yup, awesome.

And then spent our evening with our friends Seth & Alisha and none other than Mr. Tim McGraw.

This was our third time seeing him and I think was my favorite of the three shows. Seriously in love with that man.


We had approximately no time to recover from the concert and the fair because Thursday was the Gopher home opener! We were off for campus promptly at 12:00pm. Our festivities began at our favorite campus restaurant, Tony's Diner, and then moved to Lot 37 just as soon as the lots opened.

My Gophs started off the season with a 42-20 win over Eastern Illinois!!!


Friday, the only plans we had were Jason's fantasy football draft which thankfully didn't involve me, so I got a night at home with my best girl.

Saturday morning, Kenley and I met up with my family for a wonderful day on the boat. It was a beautiful day on the water and Kenley was right at home on the boat - just like her mama.

Sunday we spent the morning at the pool and then had a family lunch with Jason's family to spend time with his sister who was in town from Florida and also to celebrate Jason's younger brother's birthday {sadly, I failed to take a single photo}.

Then Sunday night, because we hadn't packed enough in, we had a fantasy football draft and party in our party room for Jason and his friends. It was just me and the boys and while it was kind of fun to finally see what a fantasy draft is all about, I kind of wanted to poke my eyes out - but overall it was a really fun night hanging out with my favorite boys.

Yesterday was spent doing absolutely nothing. We literally just took turns napping and trying to recover from a wonderful week off!

Obligatory Season Opener Post

IT'S GAME DAY! 

That's right, tonight at 6:00pm Central Standard Time my Gophers will be kicking off for the first time in this 2014 season! RAH! It shouldn't be new information that I bleed Maroon & Gold and Gopher Football is one of my most favorite things in life. In honor of opening day and our 11th season with season tickets, here are my 11 favorite Gopher Football memories. 

11. Our Wedding. The day we were married the Gophers played at Michigan State and lost, we were all listening to the game at the church before the ceremony. So while it wasn't the best day for my Gophs, it is still one of my favorite memories because immediately following the "I Dos" we grabbed our wedding party, hopped in a party bus and headed for the stadium. This also happens to be my favorite part of our wedding day. 

10. Kenley's 1st Game. Bringing Kenley to her very first Gopher game last season was so fun and so special! This little girl really has no choice to be a super fan and I am so excited for the family memories to come!

9. Pregnant Rickshaw. Being preggo for nearly an entire season isn't the most fun, but getting VIP treatment is! One of the games while I was pregnant, my dad flagged down a rickshaw to give us a ride to the stadium so my big ol preggo self didn't have to walk. Gotta love him! It was so random and so fun and an ode to our favorite NYC mode of transportation.

8. Homecoming 2008. This particular game is one of those epic yet hazy memories, one that started at 7am and ended at probably 4am the next day. There were several bars, a game suite, a brutal Gopher loss and me waking up to Jason and Jeff in my bed while I slept on the couch. Enough said. 

7. First ever game at TCF Bank Stadium. In 2009 we got ourselves a new stadium and after 28 years of playing off campus we were all pretty damn excited to break in a brand spankin' new stadium! I still goosebumps walking in to that gorgeous building.

6. Gophers vs Iowa 2013. Our honeymoon friends are from Iowa and therefore cheer for the Hawkeyes, one of the Gophers biggest rivals. So to have Bill & Jackie come to Minnesota to for a game was SUPER FUN! Although, the stupid Hawks killed the Gophers we had a blast. Not pictured: horizontal rain and massive gusts of wind nearly blowing over our tent.

5. Music City Bowl. I am pretty embarrassed that these are the only 4 pictures I have from this epic trip to Nashville. It's a pretty long and hilarious story of how this trip came to be but that really should a blog post all on it's own. Let's just say it was an awesome trip!

4. Beating Iowa. The Gophers are fairly notorious for choking during big games and when we play our rivals, Iowa, it's always a big game. So to beat Iowa and exactly one week before our wedding was SO.FRICKIN.AWESOME. We rushed the field, celebrated all night and even met our quarterback at the time who just-so-happens to be my favorite player.

3. at Northwestern. This is not only one of my favorite Gopher memories, but one of my all time favorite trips. Me, Jason, my brother and sister-in-law drove to Chicago for the Gopher/Wildcat game...we were the first people in the lot, made some crazy new friends and about halfway through our tailgate, out of nowhere MY DAD SHOWED UP! He surprised us all by flying in to Chicago that morning. To say we were excited and surprised would be a huge understatement. 

2. at Michigan. When I was a junior in college my dad surprised my brother and I with a whirlwind trip to Michigan to watch the Gophers take on the Wolverines. We left super early Saturday morning on a flight made up entirely of Gopher fans {no joke, we sang the rouser at take off}. We made it to Ann Arbor with enough time for a Gopher fan breakfast, a super fun walk around campus, and a little tailgating before the game. The Big House was an incredible stadium and THE GOPHERS WON on a last second 30 yard field goal kicked by our terrible kicker - my dad was so nervous he covered his eyes and when the stadium erupted he was sure our kicker missed it, until he opened his eyes and realized that it wasn't the stadium going nuts, it was the rowdy Gopher fans! We celebrated at a cute little bar downtown Ann Arbor then flew back to Minneapolis that same night. It is a 24 hours I will never forget!

1. Getting Engaged! This is a Gopher memory that will be REALLY hard to beat. Getting engaged on the 50 yard line was seriously a dream come true and the most perfect way to get engaged, not to mention I had NO CLUE it was coming! You can read the whole story HERE if you'd like. 

I'm off to press my Maroon & Gold and head to campus!

RAH! 

Whirlwind.

Happy Monday everyone. Please excuse the extreme blog absence...life in our house has been a complete and total whirlwind these past few weeks. We have been so busy with so many fun plans but the constant go-go-go is really starting to take a toll. Needless to say I am really looking forward to a low-key fall. Since I have been the world's worst blogger, I figured it's due time to catch you up on all that's been coming and going in our world. 

Kenley and I just got home from 4 days in Colorado with my family {full recap coming Wednesday} but before we left we had to say goodbye to Jason's grandpa who passed away last Monday. I didn't have the chance to get to know Grandpa Al very well, but when I did meet him he was a kind and funny man. This is a difficult time for Jason's family but I hope everyone can find peace in knowing that Grandpa Al is reunited with Grandma Carol and they are both watching over all of us...together.

As far as the fun stuff goes, there's been a lot of it...

We had the Gopher Football season opener {can I get a "hell yeah" for a 3-0 start to the season?!}

Kenley went on her first boat ride, and LOVED it! 

I volunteered at my sorority's recruitment which resulted in 44 new members for our chapter!!! 

photo credit

We went to the Tim McGraw concert at the Minnesota State Fair, which was AMAZING! He came out wearing a Gopher track jacket and my head literally exploded! 

photo credit

We went to Duluth to watch our friends Steph & Steve tie the knot! 

Then, there was just one more MINOR little thing that happened among everything else: 

MY BEEB HAD HER BABY! 

After 40 weeks and 2 days of excitement, anxiousness and planning little Weston was welcomed into the world and he is just PERFECT! He made last week a bit nuts with his delayed arrival but thankfully he got here safe and sound and is a healthy boy AND he obeyed his Auntie Beeb and was born before Kenley and I had to catch our flight to Colorado - barely!


I am once again linking up with the gorgeous little Sami!