6 years, 6 months .... and 6 weeks? Steve attended his first UT game at the ripe old age of 6. Tennessee lost to Duke. Samantha attended her first UT game at 6 months. Tennessee lost to Wyoming. As homecoming dawned upon us this year, young Andrew was all of 6 weeks old. Do we take him and risk a loss? Or do we see if he can change our luck?
We knew we wanted to continue the homecoming tradition with Samantha, but we debated all week whether Andrew was ready to make his first appearance in Neyland. (By debate, I mean Steve said "please" and I said "you're crazy".) Guess who won? The weather was perfect, and Papaw was game to go with us so we'd have an extra set of hands. Since the game was a noon kickoff, we decided to give it a whirl, first game records notwithstanding. Worst case scenario, we head home if he melts down. The game wasn't the highlight of the day anyway!
We started our adventure by tailgating with Ryder and the McMichael family. Andrew was quite a hit and got lots of good snuggle time with various ladies. Samantha enjoyed playing with old friends, meeting new friends and eating chex mix and donuts for lunch. We made it into the stadium to see all of the pregame festivities. Andrew, once again, mostly saw the back of his eyelids. We stayed in the stadium for about a quarter before we decided to throw in the towel. On our way out, we visited the new statue of General Neyland and the Torchbearer. (The Torchbearer, incidentally, was blessed tonight during Samantha's prayer time. He must have made quite an impression.) After a few photo ops outside the newly-renovated stadium, we headed home to watch the rest of the game from the comfort of our sofa.
We all survived and had a wonderful day! I'm glad Steve won the debate, just don't tell him I said so.
"I'm dressed and ready! Why is everyone else still in pajamas?"
"Come on, Samantha, get up! It's my first gameday!"
Ready to hit the road. Yes, Andrew is already asleep. I guess he got tired of waiting on us to get ready.
Papaw and Samantha heading to the tailgate.
Chatting with new friends at Ryder's tailgate. Thanks a million for the tickets, Donna! (By the way, you got blessed during prayer time, too. Samantha knows where her bread is buttered!)
Hanging with her buddy Katelyn and the McMichael family.
So very proud of my girl! She was great today!
Andrew hits the bottle before heading into the stadium.
Looking for Smokey and getting ready for some football.
Yes, he was really there!
A very happy and proud Papaw.
Daddy's girl.
The new statue of General Neyland that was unveiled yesterday. It's incredible!
Andrew's first "celebrity" sighting. We ran into basketball Vol Tobias Harris outside of the stadium. Look how big he is ... Steve is 6'4"!
By the time we made it over to the Torchbearer, Samantha was a little tired of having her picture made. Can you tell?
Probably one of my favorite pictures of the day. We found a grassy spot where Samantha ran around and burned some energy. She wanted to hold Andrew, so we found a nice little spot for her to sit with him for a few minutes. So sweet!
Our Big Orange babies.
One last family photo before we head for the comforts of home.
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