My Baby is 13

I believe I've mentioned before, maybe ad nauseum, that I am not as consistent as I would like to be.  But hey, it's my blog and I'll get around to it when I can.  Today I was looking at all the things I thought at the time I would share with you all but didn't get to it.  Up first is Christopher's 13th birthday.

There was a time I was all about the picture.  I would only shoot in Manual.  If that means nothing to you, don't sweat it.  I've about forgotten what it means.  I would have the kids pose and then try several times to get the really cute shots.  I don't know if I'm just old and tired or if they just aren't as compliant as they used to be.  Now, it's the iPhone camera or nothing many times.  So, with that disclaimer...

For as long as I can remember....I think since he was about 3....Christopher has always planned his own party.  He used to start six months in advance.

If he wanted a Star Wars themed party, he would start months in advance buying light sabers with his own money so everyone could have one to play with at his party.  We have had quite the collection of light sabers, Nerf guns, etc, etc.

A few years ago he settled on laser tag.  So, it's a couple of games of laser tag and pizza then back to our house for cake and a spend-the-night party.  Boys look forward to this party every year.  It is EPIC.  

There's always a chocolate cake.  Always.  And it always has green icing.  It's not so much a creature of habit thing, but a man who knows what he likes.

For a couple of years, I baked the cake and he decorated it.  You'd be surprised how think both the chocolate frosting and the green decorative icing can get on a cake.

You never know what you're getting with this one.

This is where I need to remind you that we're working with an iPhone here.  Just think action when you see the blur.  Will Henry is providing rap backgrounds for "Happy Birthday"

And....drum roll, please....it's a wish for the birthday boy since he got all the candles out with one blow.

I love these boys.  One of them was in my Green Dots group when they were in kindergarten.  That group became a boys discipleship group that I led until they were in 3rd grade and now his dad leads it.  The others are a variety of old friends and new friends, but they are all dear to my boy and that makes them special to me.

I just had to share his birthday present.  He really is my boy and his Papa's boy.  Roll Tide.

Sugar Bowl - It's Just a Game

Let me just start by saying thank you, God, for your tender mercies and that you already taught me that a football game is just a football game.  (See several posts ago.)  Over the Christmas holidays we decided to go to the Sugar Bowl. After all, we should win.  I grew up watching Sugar Bowls...it's like a piece of my childhood so it seemed like a good time to try to go.  New Orleans is fairly convenient to get to so why not?

The tickets weren't cheap, but seemed pretty good.  We were nine rows up in the middle tier.  On the website, it was very clear which side was the Alabama side and which side was the Okie side.  What wasn't so clear was which end was the Alabama endzone and which one was the Alabama end.  

Of course.  We were right in the middle of the Okie endzone.  Fortunately, the more obnoxious fans were several rows behind us and there were Alabama fans sprinkled all around.  The row directly behind us was comprised primarily (boy, I sound like I'm writing variance explanations for work) the family of their back up quarterback.  Also, fortunately for us his uncle had paid close attention to the QB's aunt who knew a little about photography.  He offered to take our picture.

It was so cold.  We were so glad to be inside.  The atmosphere was fun.  Both Alabama fans and Okies were kind for the most part.

We were fully decked out in our Bama gear.  I very seldom include pictures of myself, but I wanted to you to get the sense of how ready we were for the game.  (I was so tempted to Photoshop out those wrinkles.)  Nevertheless, Keith and I had a little nagging feeling.  Maybe it the memory of the Utah game a few years ago...

You'll see by looking around that the houndstooth was an important piece of the attire because the Okie clothing was virtually the same color as the Bama colors.  I've never seen so much crimson.  Ever.

I think this was about the last moment we had hope of winning.  It got ugly fast and I know most of you follow football so I really feel no need to go on about the game except to say Henry's touchdown was right below our feet.  Very cool.  Oh, and even though being surrounded by winning Okies wasn't the most fun thing in the world, they could have been so much worse.

So....on to what we did before the game.  We walked around the French Quarter a lot.  It was so crowded but so fun.  The food, the music.  The French Quarter.

Everyone was so welcoming of all the fans.  Alabama and Oklahoma flags were everywhere.  Even though it was very cold and overcast, we really enjoyed seeing the sights.  At least the day time sights. 

The place was thick with people.  I felt a little sorry for the few tourists who appeared to be there and not for the game.  They must have wondered what in the world they had gotten into.

We did get to see most everything we wanted to....the Mississippi, the Quarter, Po Boys...

...beignets were the one thing we missed.  The line was so incredibly long.  Next trip.

All in all, we had a great time and finally thawed out a few days after we got back to Atlanta.  Maybe one day the boys will wear the Sugar Bowl tee shirts we bought or maybe they'll just go in their "keep" boxes so they can tell their kids about being surrounded by Okies.