FNL game 4.

The fourth game of our second season as band parents turned into quite the adventure! Rain thinned out the crowd quite a bit before kickoff and caused the cancellation of Middle School Band Night. The high school band and drill team didn't even stick around. But with my iPhone encased in a zipper baggie and myself wrapped in an old poncho, I was in for the long haul. Katie was, too, since she wanted more time with her peeps.

Then lightning sent us all scurrying for cover. No amount of plastic could protect us from THAT.

Finally the game resumed, but it did not go the Rebs' way. Luckily for me, I had volunteered to help clean the stands, so I got to stay until the bitter end. Yay.

Here's the thing about cleaning the stadium: Just when you think you've seen the nastiest, most vile trash ever, something else tops it. Of course, picking up leftover food is always gross, but when it's wet? ICK. That half-eaten chopped beef sandwich? Even MORE fun to pick up when it's soggy. That still didn't win the nasty prize, though. That award went to the pantyliner pad that was in the outer concourse, followed closely by the half dozen press-on fingernails.

I remember.

 On this, the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, we remember those lost

at the Pentagon:

 (from our visit to the Pentagon Memorial, July 10, 2010)

at the World Trade Center:

 (antenna tower from WTC north tower, from our visit to the Newseum in Washington, DC, July 13, 2010)

and aboard United 93:

 (part of United 93 fuselage, from our visit to the Newseum, July 13, 2010)

And as I've done every year since 2006, I'm taking a moment to remember Deepa K. Pakkala:

Five years ago, I signed up with Project 2,996, an effort to memorialize each of the 9/11 victims. The name assigned to me was Deepa's. She was working on the 99th floor of the north tower when the plane hit.

My thoughts from that original post still apply today:

When I think about the 2,996 people who died in the attacks, I'm overwhelmed. It's hard to grasp such a big number. When I scroll through the unbearably long list of victims at the 2996 site, the names begin to blur. The pain represented by those names is enormous. It's too much for me to process--even five years later. 

But today I can pause to feel the enormity of this loss. I can picture a man holding his baby girl, desperately missing his sweet wife. By reading online tributes, I can listen in as Deepa's friends recall her giving spirit. I can imagine the tears of those who loved her. And I can cry right along with them.

I pray that her loved ones have found comfort and peace, and I especially pray that Trish will feel her mother's love every day.

I will never forget September 11, 2001, and I pledge to always remember Deepa K. Pakkala.

Texas game 2: BYU.

In honor of our visitors from the former State of Deseret, we spelled Texas with Honeycombs cereal this week.

The weather was hot and our team was cold, but we managed to enjoy our day with the Longhorn faithful anyway.

Some of the MANY BYU fans who passed our tailgate

Snacks!

"Mormons 4 Horns"

Pathetic first half stats. 

We narrowed down the QB competition to two, too.

It was too, too close for comfort, but at least we won, 17-16!

FNL game 3.

This game featured RHS vs. the three-time state champs from THS.

It was a gorgeous night for football, but our guys in white didn't stand a chance against the giants in black.

This was just the halftime score.

Speaking of halftime, though, we won that by a mile.

It wasn't a pretty game, but it was a gorgeous night for high school football.

Go big. Go crowded.

For Labor Day, Katie and I felt the need for speed. We headed to Six Flags for a little roller coaster action.

And a little coaster action is what we got! The place was packed! It wasn't all that surprising, considering it was a holiday and the weather was beautiful, and it wasn't even all that disappointing, since we don't feel obligated to spend a whole day in the park when it's that crazy.

We ended our outing by riding the only thing without a super-long line: the tram to the parking lot! Still, it was a great excuse to get some exercise and enjoy the unusually cool day.

Back to football, back to tailgating.

YES! We're back to spelling Texas with odd objects, back to tailgating, back to FOOTBALL!

We knew that football season would eventually return. The Sept. 3 opener had been on the calendar for quite a while. What we didn't know was that our tailgate, the one we've had for three or so years now, would continue. At the end of the disappointing 2010 season, we packed up our toys and went home, not expecting anyone to take up the tailgate's cause. Our long-suffering sponsors knew they'd have other places to be on their fall weekends, so it looked like the end of the road for our "little" gathering.

HA! As if!

A few hardy souls volunteered to take over, making sure someone could grab our spot early on gamedays, finding a storage unit for all our tents and tables. Nobody cooked or grilled anything and everybody ate before they came. For this first game, we didn't even have a TV or generator to worry about. Easy peasy! Honestly, it was the most enjoyable gathering we'd had in a long time. Without the TV and all that food to prepare, we were free to just sit, enjoy cold beverages and TALK. Especially after the long off-season, it was great to just visit with our football friends.

Some other scenes from our opening game:

I won't buy items that have "Hook 'em" with a single quote mark instead of an
apostrophe before the "e." But this guy? What the heck is up with THIS?

From our seats we could see the new Longhorn Network set.
Too bad hardly anyone could see LHN on their TVs at home.

Hello there, Bertha! Good to see you again.

Doesn't matter that it's 97 degrees. This still gives me goosebumps.

"I'm a Longhorn fan."

Texas offense

Fozzy takes the snap from the "WildHorn" formation.

The Rice MOB spoofed the Aggies' move to the SEC. Love it.

A tradition is born: The Longhorn Band played "All I Do Is Win"
for the victorious team. TONS of student involvement for that!

The other "goosebump moment": The Eyes.

Our mascot gets his own CoolZone. Now that's SWAGGER.

FNL game 2.

 Another Friday, another game against a BHS school.

The best thing about sitting on the visitors' side?

 Getting to see Ryan's face at the start of the show!

 There he goes!