Are You Ready For Some Football

I'm back! Both to the state of Alaska and to updating this little space on the internet. I've missed blogging!

First things first- SIC 'EM BEARS! I'm a proud alumna tonight as my Bears just clinched the Big 12 Championship for the second year in a row.  At this point I could easily branch off into the hypocritical policies of the Big 12 and their "One True Champion" brand campaign but since we all know that Baylor is indeed the true champion I'll go ahead and skip that diatribe.

Nathanial and I enjoyed watching tonight's game with some other BU fans at a local sports hangout called The Peanut Farm, but I have to admit my favorite games of the seasons were the two we experienced in person at the beautiful new McLane stadium on the Brazos.

The kick-off to our Thanksgiving trip was the annual Wells family showdown of Baylor vs. Oklahoma State. My brother and his family graciously allowed us to hitch a ride with them to the game.  It was 4 hours well spent as we (Sarah, my sister-in-law, Kate, my niece and I as the boys opted not to participate) practiced some sweet dance moves and Nathanial and I regaled (or bored) everyone with tales of Alaska.

Once in Waco, Nathanial and I got to have dinner with my college bestie, Jessica, and her husband, Kevin, before heading to the game. It was a great visit but was even more special as she is 8 months pregnant and made the hour long trip just to see us. The Mexican food we had at Ninfa's was pretty spectacular too. Hooray for queso!

The weather was horrendous that day but we were blessed with great seats.  Our seats under normal circumstances would have been pretty awful (think end zone at the very top of the stadium) but during this game were perfect as our section was one of the few covered sections.  The game was set to be a black out theme but that proved difficult with the various rain get ups the crowd was wearing. Nathanial had a great one liner and said Baylor fans were wearing black to OSU's funeral. The weather was so bad that fairly early into the game the cameramen abandoned their posts and the network opted to use only overhead shots.

The game ended up being much more competitive than anticipated. Despite the score and the stormy weather, a fun time was had by all.

BU vs OSU: The one time a year we aren't on the same team.

Rattlesnake Sausage & Chips and Salsa

A few weeks ago Nathanial was excited to try some Alaskan delicacies at a Wild Game dinner at church.  Unfortunately because of a time mix-up all of the food was gone when he arrived.  Luckily our trip to Texas saved the day.  Our church in Houston has a Turkey Bowl for missions each November complete with flag football game and cook out.  We headed back to Houston after the Homecoming festivities and made it just in time to attend the Turkey Bowl.  The first person we saw was a deacon from Nathanial's small group who happened to be in charge of grilling. He gave us a sample of sausage and then said "Do you want to know what's in it now?" Turns out we had sausage made from rattlesnake, antelope and pork.  That's a combo I wouldn't have paired.  It was delicious though!

Turkey Bowl 2014

The rest of our time in the Lone Star state flew by.  Nathanial spent his days in training while I got to spend some time with family.  I went shopping with my parents, visited all afternoon with my grandma and enjoyed a fun meal with my entire family.  We tried to make the most of our evenings together and definitely fit in as much as possible.  Our trip was the first time I've stayed in downtown Houston. It was a fun place to be. One night on the way to dinner we even saw a Mariachi band walk by.

A room with a view

If the saying "You are what you eat" is true, then we're chips and salsa after our trip.  We certainly had our fill of Mexican food.  Hooray for queso.  And good friends who order queso for you at dinner because they've read your blog.

A Surprise Homecoming

Sorry ladies. My husband wins.  Nathanial has secured husband of the year for the foreseeable future. 

Wednesday afternoon he sent several urgent texts followed by several subsequent calls.  I was slightly worried when he opened the conversation with "Are you sitting down?" I braced for news that he was being sent back to Angola or for a few week stint to the North Slope so imagine my surprise when he told me there was an opportunity for a last minute trip to Texas.  A trip that just happened to fall over one of the best weekends of the year - Baylor Homecoming.

The time between that phone call and our flight out was insane.  By the time N found out he needed to make the trip, his organization's travel services group was closed for the day.  He called early the next morning and booked flights, made hotel reservation and secured a rental car. Meanwhile I did some Facebook networking to get football game tickets and find a hotel in a town where rooms had been booked for weeks. Between making traveling arrangements and packing for a last minute trip, we managed to make it to City Hall to vote.  There were some unique propositions on the ballot.  Even the sticker they gave, made me feel Alaskan.

Amazingly everything came together. We left Anchorage at midnight that day. 

The drawback to booking a flight on the same day it departed was limited seat availability. We got the last 2 available seats on the plane and as such had to endure a very long flight in middle seats not near each other. Nathanial had the misfortune of being seated in front of the only baby on the plane - a baby which screamed for most of the flight.  He saw a stunning display of the Northern Lights which made his suffering a little more tolerable.

We landed in Houston around lunchtime on Friday.  Nathanial was scheduled to lead a conference call at 5 p.m. local time so we didn't have much time to get to Waco and get him ready to go.  We drove through Whataburger for a quick lunch on the way. 

Truth!

We made it to Waco with little time to spare. Nathanial headed to our room before I even finished the check in process to start his call.  Once work was done for the day, we met up with Jason (my brother) and crew to start the Homecoming festivities

Baylor University boasts the oldest Homecoming in the nation along with the largest collegiate parade. It is tied with the Houston Rodeo and beat only by Christmas as my favorite holiday/time of the year.  During my freshman year of college my love of Homecoming weekend earned me the nickname "Baylor Michelle."

For Baylor students, Homecoming starts with Freshman Mass Meeting on Thursday night.  The freshman class gathers in Waco Hall to learn the story of the Immortal Ten and the heritage behind the many activities of the weekend. The Immortal Ten refers to a group of students who died in a tragic bus accident in 1927.  Their legacy has become a hallowed tradition, collectively symbolizing the "Baylor spirit" that is made visible in the torch which lights the bonfire on Friday evening.

After the bonfire, we attended Pigskin Revue, where the top 8 winning Sing acts performed.  Sing is a fun tradition where student organizations perform 7-minute, Broadway style productions in competition with one another.

Saturday morning we parked under a bridge near campus to take in the Homecoming Parade. My niece and nephew as well as the other five kids with our group ensured optimum candy selection. Seriously so much candy was thrown our way!

Saturday afternoon we ate some awesome Mexican food (hooray for real queso and delicious salsa) and headed to the stadium for the game.  I've heard great things about Baylor's new stadium and seeing it in person did not disappoint.  Being able to walk from campus with some many other proud Baylor fans was a really neat experience.

Fans were told to wear green or gold depending on the section of their seats to "Stripe McLane."  I had my doubts about its effectiveness, but it turned out great. 

My Facebook networking paid off because our seats were phenomenal.  We were fifteen rows up near the end zone.  It was such a great experience.  The sold out stadium had more of a NFL feel than the Baylor games of my college days. It was SO fun to be part of such an energetic crowd.  I thought our proximity to the field would help with my bucket list goal of making it on the Kiss Cam.  We weren't picked for that but I did embarrass my niece and anyone else who knew me with some less than stellar dancing on the big screen.  Several college friends texted me about my few minutes of fame.  We're all in agreement that my dancing is not improving with age.

I am so thankful we had a chance to attend the inaugural Homecoming in McLane Stadium.  Huge thanks to my husband for pulling it all off.

Please ignore that I look like a pre-teen girl. I was so excited to see my friend Amanda!

Baylor cookies are the best cookies.

He looks good in green.

This is the response I got from my request for Homecoming pictures from my brother and sister-in-law.  To be fair, the horse mask did make it to Waco for the event.