Poinsettia Bowl

TCU played in the San Diego Poinsettia Bowl again this year.  We flew out on Sunday the 18th and came home the day after the game, on the 22nd.

We were up and at um early on Sunday and had to wake up the boys (Andy fell back asleep at 2:45, and the alarm went off at 3:15-- but I was too awake thinking about not missing the alarm, so I just laid there staring at the clock like a loser).  They were none too happy about us waking them up, but they were over soon.  We flew through Atlanta and on the first leg, we were in the very last row of the plane, which had a TON of leg room and the seats reclined back quite a bit.  It was a quick and fairly easy flight.   Cal did not sleep, but Andy slept for about 20 minutes.

in the Atlanta airport waiting on our second flight.  Cal was attached to my leg and Andy was all smiles. 

On our second flight, the pilot came on and said the flight time was going to be about 4 hrs and 30 mins.  I wanted to cry I was so happy-- we thought it was going to be more like 5 or 5 and a half hours-- and that little bit shaved off makes allll the difference!!!

Both boys conked out on take off-- Eddie and I were suuuper excited about it- haha.

For whatever reason, Cal is very clingy to me on an airplane.  I love that he wants me to hold him, but it makes it VERY hard when I am trying to nurse Andy!  At one point, I was nursing Andy and holding Cal with my other arm while he nestled in.  My boob was fully exposed-- whatever.  I tried to cover myself, but Cal kept knocking it off trying to get closer!  In the above picture, Cal snuggled in after I nursed and passed off Andy and he was out immediately. 

Their naps only lasted about 45 minutes, but they were both good the rest of the flight, thankfully.   Cal had his moments where he was just over it, but for the most part, they did really well.  We landed at 10:30 am since we had the time change so we headed to the hotel and we were going to go to the zoo, but we were all kind of worn out.  We played in the hotel for a while and then let everyone nap before exploring later.

Eddie's family had a huge suite with a living room/kitchen area.  They had Eddie's sisters have the adjoining room to the suite and then across the hall, Eddie and I had a room.  Andy slept in our room and Cal slept in the kitchen part of the suite in a pack n play.

Monday morning, we headed to Sea World!  I was really excited about Cal going here since he loves fish (especially Nemo!).  We had a great time seeing everything there...

a whale coming to say HI!

We came home that afternoon for a late nap.  Andy did not nap very well in the hotel; rarely sleeping over an hour so he was worn out come night time. That night at dinner, Patty was feeding him and he passed out in between bites!  That is pretty tired...

these....carrots...are...sooo...gooooodzzzzzzz....

Having a baby in a hotel room can be challenging.  Andy did really well, don't get me wrong, but it is certainly not easy!  I made a little spot for Andy with a ton of toys to keep his attention and I turned around for one second and mister rolly-polly was over here...

On game day, we had the morning free so we all walked down by the water front.  Cal was CRAZY about the boats.  The weather was just perfect and we all had a nice time walking around.  Eddie played golf this morning so he missed some pictures...

gimme a kiss

tommy, me, patty and cal, tricia, carrie and andy, and big ed

big ed and his girls with the kids!

I love these kids so so much. I can't believe I am lucky enough to be their mom.

After walking around for a while, we returned to the hotel for lunch and brief naps.  We had to wake both boys to get on the bus in time to get to the game.  As we were walking out of the hotel, Lou Holtz was standing there.  Obviously, I had to get a picture with him.  And obviously, I rambled on and on about being a huge fan of his.  His reply: "okay." haha... whatever... any college football lover knows Lou and his crazy voice.  I love him.  Also- I towered over him.  Eddie's sister and I were both really bending our knees in the picture below...

We got to the game several hours before kick and our bus was parked next to the band, cheerleaders and showgirls.  The TCU showgirls are similar to the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.  They are all suuuuper sweet and complete knockouts.  I wanted to get a picture of them with Cal so we walked over there and they all started going crazy over Cal...Cal lost it.  He burst into tears! I grabbed one quick picture of him with a few of the girls-- he wouldn't let go of his cars.  Bless his heart... his lip was sticking all the way out.  It's hard to have your nap truncated only to be thrust in the middle of some screaming ladies!

the blonde next to him was beyond sweet and felt terrible when he got upset... side note: I love it when attractive people are nice too.  It just makes me happy.  Too sappy for you??

Here we are before the game... Eddie went down on the sidelines for the game so we had to grab the family shot before.  Cal had a GREAT time cheering his heart out. 

During the pregame, Andy was in the Bjorn and spit up all down my right side.  As I was wiping myself down, he projectile spit up all down my left shoulder and down my back.  Great way to start the next 5+ hours, right?  Well..... I went to feed him right before the game started and he was about to fall asleep while I was feeding him so I strapped him back into the Bjorn so he could crash.  He slept for the entire first quarter and then started stirring in the second.  It was getting cold out and I had to pee, so I went to the bathroom with him still strapped to me (I can pee with him attached-- it's a skill).  I shifted him while I "assumed the position" and realized that my shirt front was soaked and my jeans were wet all around the waist line and half way down one thigh. 

Andy wet through his jeans, the Bjorn, and my clothes.

My backpack that I brought to the game was jam packed with diapers, snacks, sippy cups, blankets, etc, but I failed to pack a change of clothes.  So I went to change Andy and was going to hold his clothes up the the dryers in the bathroom, but they only had paper towels...!  I ran to the nearest Chargers clothing store in the stadium, fully willing to spend $30 on a pair of baby sweat pants, but they did not have any children's pants. 

SO, we stripped Andy down to his diaper and his long sleeve undershirt and jersey and wrapped him up in a blanket and he hung out through the rest of the game!  haha!

After halftime, it really started to get chilly in the stadium.  I had a real light weight cardigan and I was worried about Andy.  He started to get fussy and I knew he was tired and probably cold, so I loaded him back in the Bjorn (his fave spot) and went into the stadium where I found a little bar that wasn't heated, but the walls were blocking the wind so it wasn't as cold as sitting in the stands.  Andy was out in 30 seconds and there were about 20 TVs in there so I could still watch the game:

On the bus ride home, Cal was wanting me to hold-- sometimes I wonder if he only wants me when Andy has me, or if he actually wants me to hold him regardless....-- so I had both boys in my lap on the bus.  It was a tight fit, but the guys were happy so I was happy too!

We got back to the hotel and grabbed a quick dinner with the team and took this picture of the family:

After dinner, we were all just exhausted.  We went upstairs and I packed while the boys (all 3 of them!) slept away.  We had an early flight the next morning...

We flew through Atlanta coming home and again, the boys did really well.  Cal had a few moments on the plane where he just wanted to be a two year old, but for the most part he was great!

oh-- just because it's funny.... Cal drank a ton on the first flight... we were giving him juice, but we weren't diluting it like we do at home since it was too hard to have the juice and the water and mix it, etc.  Well, he was chugging it down since I guess it tasted so good.  Well, in the Atlanta airport, I noticed he was walking kind of funny.  Eddie picked him up and he was SOAKED.  He totally filled his diaper and soaked through his jeans.  (seriously?  I am soooo over pee).  Well, learning my lesson from the night before with Andy, I packed a change of clothes for ANDY, but not Cal.  Ugh.  So, I squeezed my two year old in to my 7 month old's pants.  Oh, yes I did.  Cal was rocking some 12 month jeans.  They barely covered his knees, but he was rocking them.  He should be thankful his brother is as big as he is! HA!

Glad we were there to see the Frogs bring home another bowl win!