Monday, October 27, 2008

Oh yeah, baby! 8 and 0!!
(alongside a tea party and a shotgun demonstration for the new boyfriend...trust me, keep reading!)

Our most excellent Bama football season continued on Saturday, with a very convincing win over Tennessee. If you read my last post, you know that I take the act of watching football very seriously and there are certain rules to be followed while doing it. Well, on Saturday, most of the rules were followed as we gathered for a really fun party to enjoy the Bama-Tennessee game. The party consisted of all teenagers and then Gary and I (Gary said he invited some "grown ups," but they all declined when they found out that there would be eight teenagers in our house!). We had a blast, though, and here are some pictures to prove it.

I provided appropriate game-time snacks and decorations...


There was even a cigar for the celebration (a tradition with the Bama/UT game is that Bama players, coaches, and fans celebrate with a big ole stogie after a win). I found an old cigar that we had been given at some point at the birth of a baby (notice that it says "It's a girl" on it!)...
And then we were mostly dressed appropriately in Alabama attire...


Sydney was excited about the evening not so much because of the Alabama game (although she did wear her Alabama cheerleading outfit and yelled "Roll Tide!" at actually very appropriate moments during the game, without any of us even encouraging her to do so), but because it meant she was hosting her traditional Halftime Tea Party. She made invitations for all of the kids coming over and then they attended her tea party at halftime of the game. There is nothing like seeing thirteen-, sixteen-, seventeen-, and eighteen-year-olds drink tea with a four-year-old...complete with "pinkies out" and British accents. They are so sweet with Sydney and she thinks they are awesome! It was quite the party...Pip Pip Cheerio (as Sydney instructs them in saying!)...



But this post would be incomplete without a picture of Gary cleaning his shotgun before the party begins. Now you must realize that Gary really didn't need to clean his gun and he hasn't gotten out of the closet in months (since last hunting season), but he felt that Saturday was a good day to do so since McKenna's newest boyfriend was coming over for the party. Gary has a very strict policy that any boy must first talk with him before he and McKenna can go out on a date. From the time she was a toddler, he has joked that he'd "be cleaning his gun whenever a boy comes over for McKenna," and so far he has lived up to it. McKenna is, of course, completely mortified...but, I think, also secretly impressed that her Pop cares so much for her. The boyfriend, Jordan, did fine and just segued straight into a conversation about rifles with Gary. When Gary asked him "Why in the world would you want to go out with my goofball daughter?" he answered, "She makes me smile." I guess that was a pretty good answer, huh?

Here is the picture of Gary and his shotgun as proof (can you say, Scrapbook Page and great story to journal?)...

I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend. And thanks to all of you who cheered for my Crimson Tide (some of you, apparently, are cheering for them even though your family and those around you have no clue why in the world you're doing so. Ahh, the power of blogging friends!).

15 comments:

Mz.Elle said...

I want to be your daughter;)
Although,I *think* I'm a tad old;p

Your game day sounds so fun!
The oranges were an excellent touch,lol

Laura said...

Loved this post so much, too!! I had no idea about the stogie tradition...how neat! I wonder if it still holds true for the Saban Era? How sweet that the BIG kids were up for entertaining the LITTLE kid during half time! What a tea party!! And I think you have probably just met your future son-in-law! Anybody that makes a comment like that - about "she makes me smile" - is a keeper in my book! {Sigh} How sweet!!!

Unknown said...

By the way, it was a rifle, not a shotgun. I can shoot him from further off... No need to worry about missing. I'm a great shot!

Cheryl Wray said...

Ms. L--That's okay. I'll adopt you anyway! (smile)

Laura--Actually, they can't "officially" have cigars now because it violates something in NCAA rules about "extra benefits." But I heard that there were some being smoked up in TN anyway! :-) The "big" kids are always so great with Sydney! I don't want to think about sons-in-law for a bunch of years still. :-)

G-- Ha ha!!! Sorry...you know me. I don't know much about guns. (btw, I see that you're working hard in Fl.)

Adrienne said...

Gary sounds like TOny!!! LOL Glad you guys had fun! LOL

hippo chick said...

What a fun post. What a fun day! You guys are the kind of parents all teenagers want to have. You love them and they know it. That's what counts.

I LOVE that Gary cleans his gun. How paternal.

~hippo hugs~
Pam

Anonymous said...

Oh Cheryl, this is so much fun. I love it.

Marg

Linda said...

OMG I am laughing so hard...Gary you are baddddddd!! But it's great. I love the tea party and I am sooooo excited Bama kicked some Tennesse butt....Roll Tide~!

Cheryl Wray said...

Adrienne--I think Tony could be worse!!! (from what Jaelyn says, at least! LOL)

Pam--I want to be one of those parents who teens can be comfortable with. I think it's so important. :-)

Marg--It WAS fun!

Linda--He was so bad!! I really almost felt sorry for McKenna (but not too much...LOL) Yay for Bama. Roll Tide!!!!!! (thank you for the cheers!)

Nina Diane said...

your table looks great.....what fun. We watched the game and I was thinking of you...great game!

and our "Boys" came through yesterday huh? yee haw!

Anonymous said...

Great post and tell Gary I said,"GOOD JOB!"

Note to self: Buy hubby a gun....plastic is an option!

You're a brave woman to have a household full of teenagers!! That speaks volumes and its saying you're a wonderful mom.

Loreluca said...

Oh, Cheryl, you had me in stitches with the shotgun! We don't have any guns at home (Brian's not a hunter, but his brother is), but I think we'll have to get one for Coco's dating days (hopefully not for another 20 years!)
LOVED Sidney's tradition! how cute can that be? Totally neat, love that the kids play along. And well, those adults not going... they have no clue of all the good stuff they missed!!!

renee said...

Wasn't that game awesome. I was officially banned from watching the first half, because my daughter said that everytime I watched, Tennessee did something good. I started back up during the second half and they did just great.

BTW, I must show my 16 YO that picture of Gary. She thinks we pick on her. Thanks for sharing.

Cheryl Wray said...

Nina--yes, thank goodness for the Boys pulling one out. It wasn't pretty, but it was a win!!

Yvonne--Ha ha! It really was funny (and, yes, a gun is a good investment when you have a daughter). I LOVE teenagers. As a general rule, they are pretty cool!

Loreluca--You're right. The adults seriously missed out on the fun!

Renee--That is SO funny about the game. We were VERY excited, to say the least! Yep, your daughter won't think you guys are bad at all! LOL

Gretchen said...

Awesome pictures, Cheryl. I love your team spirit and the oranges are so funny! I wish our teams were playing worth a darn.