I’ve never really been accused of being spontaneous. I mean, I’m not necessarily opposed to making spur of the moment decisions as long as I have time to compile a lengthy list of all the various pros and cons of the aforementioned impulsive action.
So when we decided to go down to William and Erin’s ranch on Thursday night, as opposed to Friday afternoon as originally planned, it was bold move. Especially considering that the weather forecast called for a 105% chance of rain and thunderstorms. But what do weathermen know?
Apparently, they knew A LOT.
Due to all the torrential rain and lightning, we didn’t end up doing much fishing. However, there was a lot of this.
That’s Caroline running back and forth between the barn and the house in the pouring rain. Before the day was over she was on her fifth change of clothes. One pair of jeans was so muddy that I was tempted to just burn them in effigy.
Anyway, we had a great time but our weekend was far from over. Caroline and I left the ranch on Friday night around 6:30 in the evening because I wanted to get home before dark, even though it meant I had to miss out on the big crawfish boil that was taking place that evening. I can’t think about it for too long or I’ll cry at the thought of all the spicy crawfish I didn’t get to eat.
On Saturday morning, Gulley and I loaded up the kids and headed to College Station to take them to an Aggie baseball game that evening. We almost let the ominous clouds steal our joy but we are optimists at heart so we forged on, fortified by occasional glimpses of sunshine and a multitude of Diet Cokes.
Even though at one point Gulley had to threaten the backseat with the fact that we know plenty of babysitters in the Bryan/College Station area who could stay home with whoever decided to keep whining and fighting.
When we arrived at Honey and Big’s house, we were greeted with a huge tray of sandwiches and some hot crab dip that may have changed my life and definitely had an impact on my hips. Best of all, Nena was there to join us for lunch and I could sit and listen to Nena for hours.
At one point during lunch, Nena made a comment about how beautiful Caroline’s teeth are and how much she values good teeth. I told her I hoped they’d stay that way because I already spent all our allotted orthodontia money on myself. Then Nena said, “Honey, listen, I hate to speak ill of the dead, but my mother-in-law had the worst teeth I’ve ever seen.”
And it made me feel that all the trauma, pain and expense of my adult orthodontia was worth it because I’d hate to think people would be talking about my teeth even after I’m dead and buried.
Later that evening, we went to Olsen Field to watch the Aggies play Nebraska. There is honestly not another place I’d rather be on a Saturday evening in the spring. It’s magic and hasn’t really changed in the last twenty years, except that I’m now old enough to be the mother of the baseball players which is really depressing.
Granted, I’d have had to be a teen mother, but still the math works without it being any kind of qualification for the Guiness Book of World Records.
Also, I don’t recognize a lot of the songs they play at the field because some of them are that new rap music the kids are so fond of these days.
Not to mention that the popcorn gets stuck in my dentures.
Caroline and Jackson were so excited for the game to start.
Will was just excited for the cotton candy and the kettle corn which is where he was when the picture was taken.
The Aggies won 10-1, but the real winner was the concession stand who made untold amounts of money through our eating efforts. I’ll just go on record and say I had the best hotdog I’ve had in years. Even Caroline ate an entire hot dog by herself which is more than she’s eaten for the last three weeks combined.
When we woke up Sunday morning, Big had gone to Shipley’s for a kolache and chocolate donut run. Breakfast of champions. Breakfast of champions with high cholesterol and arteriosclerosis.
Gulley and I began to talk about what time we should hit the road for the trip back to San Antonio. We decided it would probably be best to leave around noon so we could get home with plenty of time to unwind and get ready for the week. That was the wise and sensible thing to do.
Look where we found ourselves instead.
We experienced a complete fit of uncharacteristic spontaneity and decided it would be fun to stay in town and go to the last game in the series at 1:00.
It was so fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants and devil-may-care that I felt like we were in college again, except we traded the beer for three kids, two husbands, and a couple of thirty-year mortgages.
We packed up the car, went back to the baseball field and watched the Aggies beat Nebraska 10-1 AGAIN. It was about the most glorious weather you can imagine and I celebrated with another hot dog because apparently I am trying to kill myself with a steady diet of processed pork with a side of cotton candy.
Totally worth it.
I also may have eaten some peanuts as evidenced by the cuff of my jeans.
I didn’t use the cuff as a peanut shell receptacle on purpose. I also didn’t intend for my sunglasses to sit totally crooked on my face. Gulley pointed it out to me because she couldn’t take anything I said seriously. Instead of looking like Tammy Taylor from “Friday Night Lights” in my Ray-Ban knock-offs, I looked like Harry Caray.
Actually, I looked more like Will Ferrell playing Harry Caray.
We were all so happy to be there. Even Caroline and Will were totally in love yesterday.
And when it was all said and done, the kids got to run the bases.
I just wish we could do it again tomorrow.
Our plan to brainwash them into becoming future Aggies is working beautifully.
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I’ve been to a Aggie game or 4. Fun times! I think there may be a rule, if your parents are Aggies your gonna be one too.
Awwwww, it looks like you had a fabulous time!
Laughing at the peanut shells in the cuff…..mine usually ends up in my dready gnarly hair where then I get mistaken for a homeless woman or at least a slob. neat.
Not sure if anyone’s told you recently, so I will. I really think that not only are you hilarious…..you are a fabulous mother. that’s all…just wanted you to hear that this morning.
(I hope this makes you smile and have an even better day!)
Peace~
*~Michelle~*
Yes! Yes! I go games and our local university and find myself doing the I’m-old-enough-to-have-given-birth-although-at-an-entirely-inappropriate-age… math, too. So pleased I’m not alone in that.
Oh that looks like so much fun. I just visited College Station for the first time in January–my niece is in school there. What a great place.
And those Texas kolaches! Oh my. We can’t get those here, so I eat them up whenever I’m in Texas. Yum!
Gig’Em!
Yea for College Station! I grew up there, went to TAMU, and my dad is a prof. at TAMU. How I miss Aggieland. I cannot wait for football season to start (maybe the team will be good???)
All I have to say is, I LOVE the bows!
Hey, I saw you!! Well, I saw the thousands of folks at Olsen Field as we drove by there….so I am sure I saw you! We do love Aggieland, too!! Number 2 son is there, so we go as often as we can.
Suzanne
How fun! You had me rolling with the Harry Carry comments!
That is so awesome!!! We had the exact same saturday!!!! Shipley’s and Olsen Field… nothing better. I see Caroline was rocking her pigtails- LOVE IT!
That view of Kyle Field from the bleachers of Olsen Field brings tears to my eyes! I need to go visit College Station!
When it comes time for me to have kids, I plan to do the same thing. Only they’ll be brainwashed to be Univ. of North Dakota hockey fans. : )
You have friends named Honey & Big? For real? Very Sex in the City.
Gim ‘em!!
I love to see a non-spontaneous person come over to the “dark side!” Mwah hahahaha
Og course, I meant Gig ‘em. Apparently my fingers are not yet awake due to lack of coffee.
Of…
My college needs a baseball team! And you obviously experienced what I experience at every baseball game I attend. Ballpark bottomless stomach. I feel compelled to eat something every inning, and never feel full. Very bizarre.
I guess now isn’t the time to say that I am at UNL for my graduate degree. Wow sounds like they had a pretty poor performance lol!
Looks like loads of fun though!
What a fun weekend! I totally want to take my kids to a Baylor game, but J. isn’t really into baseball. Boo!
But our brainwashing plan for our future Baylor Bears is also going swimmingly!
LOVE it! I spent at least 4 days a week at Olsen during the spring and was pathetic enough to travel and watch the team when they played the likes of Baylor and Texas. Not much tops a gorgeous day at Olsen.
Happy Monday!
Love this!!!!!!
Oh how I love the beautiful spring weather and Razorback Baseball!! Go Hogs! Looks like a great weekend! I swear the peanuts and hot dogs are the best when we go out the ball park! Aggies.. I knew you guys had to be brain washed!
I knew you from TX I didn’t realize you were in San Antonio! Shows how much I pay attention. I’m just flying back from there today – I was there for my husband’s graduation from Basic.
I actually thought of you this weekend when I saw the HEB. “Oh, that’s the place Big Mama always mentions”
You got all the rain up there. Down here in CC we patiently waited and waited but only got a few sprinkles.
We also have the Astro’s minor league baseball team down here (Hooks)and my family loves to go to the games. We actually have season tickets. My girls (7&5) love to watch the games and flirt with all the pitchers that sit behind us keeping stats!!!!
You should really come down and check them out. The tickets are realitively cheap and it’s always a good time.
So, does that mean I should not go to Target in search of Tami Taylor-esque sunglasses, like I was planning to do?
How fun!!!!! You seriously crack me up, you have such a way with words, haha!!! :O)
Gig ‘em Ags! Ok, so this is how we do it. My husband and I have been trying to figure out how to guarantee our children want to go to A&M. I wonder if I go to an Aggie game while our baby is still in the womb if that will do any good…
Those pictures of Caroline are just adorable. Is that a refrigerator in the barn?
I’m cracking up about the peanuts in your jeans. So funny!
I’m so jealous of your weekend! Aggieland really is the best place on earth, just like the sign says in the College Station airport (or at least it said that 10 years ago when I was in school there!).
The peanut shells. Now, that was funny! Who am I kidding? Everything you write about is funny! I’m just trying to figure out how to turn our run of the mill volunteer morning, soccer game afternoon and hospital visit evening into funny. The humor eludes me!
And look at those pigtails with matching bows!
TSU here they come! HA!!!
WHOOP! So fun. I miss Aggieland so much! It looks like y’all had a wonderful time.
Your kind of spontaneity sounds an awful lot like ours. Happy Monday!
laughing out loud! good times and memories!
LOL….what a great weekend! Thanks for sharing the memories and great pictures.
The coach is an old friend of ours. Wish I’d known you were going so you could have said hello for us!
Blessings today and always,
Kaye
Matthew 21:22
OMGosh! I had NO idea you were a fellow Aggie! This kicks up my love for you a whole heck-of-a-lot! WHOOOOOOP!
Will wonders never cease….two big bow pigtails–two weekends in a row? Amazing.
Also, loved this post because it reminds me so much of our fond memories of taking the kids to God’s country….also known as the plains of Auburn University. Nothing like taking your children to mine and their Daddy’s alma mater, enjoying a family weekend at a football game or enjoying a day at the diamond. 
I love this…..you nailed it. We had such a good time. The timing of your visit was definitely a Godsend…..no doubt about it. I know that God is alive and well in his heaven and the dark days turn into bright ones and all is well. Come back soon!!!!
I was born and raised in Texas (NW Houston), and now, for various reasons, find myself living in Los Angeles.
One thing I’ve learned, is that ‘kolaches’ seem to be an exclusively Texas breakfast item. I went to college on the East coast with people from all over the country and no one knew what I meant when I tried to describe them. My husband thought I was making the word up.
Something to explore in a future post maybe? Enlightening the rest of the country to the goodness of hot, fresh Shipley’s glazed donuts that melt in your mouth, and the bonus of a kolache?
Great post, I love baseball too… And I’m thankful to read about TX through your blog, and laugh at how similar all of us Texans really are… even if we’re not able to be living there now…
I know EXACTLY what you mean, except my baseball-of-choice is my alma mater, Mississippi State. You just can’t beat a good college baseball game on a sunny afternoon. And I must say if you are ever within driving distance of Starkville in baseball season you HAVE to take in a game. The atmosphere is unlike anywhere else, (boomama will confirm this) and I have visited LOTS and LOTS of stadiums as my son played high school, American Legion and College Baseball. There is a Left Field Lounge (you can look it up in Wikipedia) and chicken-on-a-stick, and Also the Best Hotdogs In The World. Why are those baseball dogs so good? I will even take you there if you ever find yourself stranded in northwest Alabama or northeast Mississippi.
as a matter of fact, just go to Yahoo and type in left field lounge – the first option that pops up has photos of miss state baseball’s left field lounge. It’s awesome!
Ok Melanie(you can tell I’m serious because I used your first name)how come we never see a picture of you and Gulley?? I don’t know, I might boycott your site til I see one.
For goodness sake, you could have asked Caroline to take one so we would have had proof that you mom’s really were at the game, not just letting your kids run wild! I’m glad you had a fun weekend!! 
Aw man you ate at Shipley’s. Awesome. Best donuts hands down. We had one in MS where I grew up. Now I live in KY and there are no Shipley’s here. I even use to work at one for a short time in college. Free donuts for everyone in the dorm suite!!! You are too funny and I enjoy reading your blog.
I noticed that others noticed Caroline’s bows. I help a lady who makes bows so I could probably hook you up with a couple of new airhbows and maybe a giveaway if you were interested. Email me at aburkman@hotmail.com if you are interested. Who knows, you may already have a billion bows and do not need anymore.
Is it just me or does Caroline seem to be growing up SUPER fast? These pictures make her look so mature!
Loved your post….even though we are trying to raise our kids as Husker fans.
That baseball team of ours is NOT helping our cause.
I honestly love sports, but just never really got into baseball. Hearing of the hot dogs, however, is quickly changing my mind.
A girl has her priorities.
When my husband and I are Grandparents, we are soooo going to name ourselves “Honey and Big.” That’s just tooo cute!
I laughed out loud and thought to myself, “HEY!! If the moon were made of cheese, would you eat it?” when I saw the picture Will Ferrell/Harry Caray. You crack me up, girl.
I would hate for people to talk about my teeth after I’d died too.
Guess I should have worn those rubberbands in my braces after all…
I know this is going to sound “random” but oh how I wish I had a nickname….always wanted one….never had one….that is part of the charm of reading your blog for someone who doesn’t really “know” any of your folk.
God Bless, just Pam from South Bend
Gig ‘em Ags, and yay for junk food!
Oh that arms around each other picture of Will and Caroline is to die for.
Great post.
You totally crack me up! I wish I was half as funny as you!! You definitely keep me entertained!
I must say- I can’t get enough of your little blog.
In addition, there was really nothing good on TV tonight, so this new post was exceptionally exciting to find!!! (I squealed a little when I saw a new posting and my husband rolled over to see what had me so giddy…when I explained, you can imagine he was equally as thrilled…and not at all annoyed by my easily excitable self.)
Thanks for the humors stories…and go Aggies! Love Caroline’s coordinating bows. (My brother’s an A&M-er, while I’m stuck up here in Michigan).
Saturday was Razorfest @ Razorback stadium leading up to the Red vs White scrimmage….
I took the boys all dressed in their best HOG finery…even got the blue paint off K’s face(another store
oh good grief….i fell asleep when I was trying to post…note to self…do not use laptop while feeding baby….
anyway I had them dressed in Razorback gear, get to the pep rally and while middle son calls hogs to hearts content,#1 son waits till I am right behind him and there is a lull in the other yelling and yells…go tigers cause my daddy said so….
SACRILIDGE i tell you…I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole….
I do have one well indoctrinated he sees red and white and he calls hogs…the other is obviously a mistake…I need to go check his DNA(except that I was there when he was born and he is the spitting image of his daddy…LOL)
steff
Oh, my heart is aching! I’m a displaced Aggie living in KY. I only get truly homesick when I see pictures or hear about my beloved Aggieland! It’s so much harder to brainwash the little ones when you’re 1000+ miles away!
Happy Muster Day. btw! Gig’em!
Oh I love your brainwashing plan! I will have to implement with full force when my kids are a little older.
Love your blog… Love seeing another Aggie!!!
Jennifer ’01
YAY for Shipleys and Aggie Baseball! You truly are B/CS girls! Great pictures!
Such sweet memories you will have for years to come from this weekend! And the maroon & white bows in Caroline’s air were absolutely dripping with little-girl charm!
Sort of……notice I said SORT OF…..makes me wish my kids were small again instead of grown and married.
Marilyn…..in Misissippi
What a beautiful day to watch a baseball game. Can’t think of anything better. Next time, have a dog for me.
Sounds like such a fun weekend. I’m not an Aggie, however ALL of my friends were Aggies. Each and every one of them. And so is my brother! Anywho, I had the biggest crush on one of my friends who was an Aggie Baseball player and is now graduated, like me. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t still holding out…;)
You just made me so homesick! I’m green with envy. It has been YEARS since I was at an Aggie baseball game (’93??). I think I’m going to have to rectify that soon! I think the kids would enjoy it too.
Love this! Amy told me about the stylish glasses! I cracked up at the comment about Honey & Big being very Sex & the City. Wait ’til Merrill hears that one?! Miss ya, girl!
Susan made my day by saying that Honey and Big are very Sex and the City! I’m smiling as I write this!!! I do love Sex and the City….huge fan….but we are just plain ole Honey and Big…..are you laughing Steph??? Love you….Big Mama!
The peanut shells in the cuff of is hilarious.
That picture of Will and Caroline with their arms around each other is adorable. Looks like you may have a little crush on your hands.
What………no Double Daves pizza rolls???
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