Game 4: Texas 64, UTEP 7 (with video BONUS!).

This football trip ALMOST didn't happen. Because we closed on our house Tuesday, we thought we might be making the big move on Saturday. And if THAT happened, I would have to miss a home game. Granted, this home game wasn't exactly a biggie, but considering I hadn't missed a football game in Austin since 1997, I was having a hard time with the idea of letting that streak come to an end.

When Brett decided he really wouldn't need to do a "big move" on Saturday, I jumped at the chance to head to Austin for the day. Then I got the text at 6:30 Saturday morning letting me know that we had an extra ticket, meaning Katie could go with me! So away we went...

Walking down the Drag we saw one guy who definitely was getting his "game on" (as the Godzillatron tells us every week). Bevo XIV was playing his role well, checking out his fans as he rolled toward DKR.
Katie and I made our way to Gameday Mecca, aka the Co-op. Ooh-whee, was it crowded! (I thought it was interesting that the cashiers were all wearing rubber gloves. I wondered if they do that every day or just for the large crowds that gameday brings.)

Our shopping complete (for now, anyway), we finally made it to the tailgate.






Since Cole and Katie were with us, Dede and I wandered over to the North Endzone area before the game. It was fun to see the field from that angle.

Then it was game time! And boy, was it HOT!




Jordan Shipley is just seconds from scoring another TD!


LHB did Script Texas, one of my favorite drills.
Then the band turned it into "Tejas" and played UTEP's fight song, which blends our fight song with Marty Robbins' "El Paso." Very cool!

When the visiting team doesn't bring a band, our band will often play that school's alma mater. Didn't happen this week, though, because the LHB was already playing their school song: "The Eyes of Texas"! Then there's this: Earlier in the game, when UTEP returned an interception for a touchdown, the Longhorn Band played our fight song. It was surreal to see our band playing enthusiastically right after the other team scored! Of course, it helps to know that UTEP had turned "Texas Fight" into "Miners Fight," and used that for their fight song until adopting the "El Paso" version.



It was SO very hot! Did I mention the heat? Here's the weather report, just in case:

Midway through the second quarter, fans were leaving in droves. By the fourth quarter, few of the 101,000 fans remained.
But Katie and I stayed! We're "Eyes-to-Eyes" kind of fans. We don't leave a game until the "Eyes of Texas" are sung at the end!

AT LAST!

Don't look now, but...

WE ARE HOME!

After three contracts and more than a year of waiting, after six weeks of nomadic living and three temporary homes, we are finally in our new house. Praise God! We thank Him for carrying us through this journey and bringing us to this place. We thank Him for putting people in our lives who have made this journey possible. And we thank Him for reminding us how very blessed we are.

The garage with the gameroom on top dominates the front elevation, but this is the right side of the exterior. It will be a L-O-N-G while before the interior is ready for its close-up, but pictures are coming. It may be Christmas, but I will post pictures... someday! We spent a year filling our storage unit, so it may take us a year to find a place for everything here. But you know what? We've got time. We're not planning on moving again. EVER!!!

Are you ready for some BUNCO?

How does a homeless woman host bunco? I originally was supposed to host the August meeting, so Jeana was kind enough to switch with me. That turned out to be a true blessing because we moved out of our old house the Friday before that month's bunco on the following Monday!

Then when September rolled around, we were still living in temporary housing AND it was the day before we closed on our new house AND right before school pictures (that I'm responsible for running at our school). Yikes!

But yet again, another sweet friend came to my rescue. Laura volunteered for us to use her house, and she was so sweet to help me get everything set up and then cleaned up afterward. And the rest of the bunco gang indulged me and my football theme! Because I didn't have the time or the kitchen to prepare the meal this time, we had a "tailgating" menu: fajitas from Rosa's!

I did manage to bake a cake!


We went all "Sporty Spice" and wore jerseys or team T-shirts for the night.

We had a great time! I had just three regrets: 1) that everyone couldn't be there; 2) that I didn't get a picture of everyone who was there; and 3) that I forgot to give all the girls their party favors! So KB, if you're reading this, tell your wife that I have a little something for her!

Au revoir, Monsieur Turkey.

For years the Turkey Shop has been a landmark along I-35.

Alas, the Turkey Shop is no more. As we drove through Abbott on our way to the first football game, we were stunned to see the giant gobbler sign replaced with one for an Up N Smoke BBQ. On the way home from this football weekend, I just had to pull over to see what was left of that turkey that was part of so many trips to and from Austin!

Seeing the old bird lying on his side, discarded behind the restaurant, made me sad! I never even ate at the place (which may explain why it went out of business), but for years I marked my driving progress (and acknowledged the town where Willie Nelson was born) as soon as that turkey came into view.
I'm not sure which is sadder: the sight of these relics, or the fact that I pulled over to pay my respects to a giant turkey!

Monster tailgate and a big game!

100+ people
40 pounds of chicken
22 cases of beer
equals one MASSIVE tailgate!


(Pirate booty in honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day--and a little nod to Tech coach Mike Leach.)



At long last... THE GRILL! The old one broke, so a new one was purchased and was two hours late arriving. That meant we had lots of hungry tailgaters by the time the 40 pounds of fajita meat was finally grilled.

T did a heroic job getting all that meat cooked! It was a marathon job!
Then Dede took over cutting all that meat for everybody. And ooh-whee, was it hot! The temp wasn't all that bad for September, but the humidity was through the roof!

There were people everywhere!

And best of all, they came from everywhere, including our good friends K&D from LA. We don't get to see them nearly enough since they live so far away. It was great to see them if only for a little bit. I hadn't seen them since the Fiesta Bowl trip.

And it was great to see these friends from not so far away! These friends live in Austin, but our visits are few and far between. Loved the chance to see them!

And then it was on to the game!





We got to see lots of Taylor Potts! His aunt is a friend of mine from UT, so in one sense I was happy to see him do well. But holy cow, did he have to do THAT well? Sheesh!

TOUCHDOWN, TEXAS!

The Horns managed to escape with a win. I surely don't think we're the second best team in the country right now, but I also think we're playing beneath our potential. I just hope we can get with it and find our game in a big hurry!