That's not your camper Either....

Ok so I'm a week behind still. What else is new?

I do wish I had a picture for this one but well, I was asleep. Last weekend while we were in Auburn camping/tailgating we apparently had a semi-intruder during Saturday night. As I was told, Chuck (our RV neighbor) was up in the middle of the night for unknown reasons (insomnia maybe) and he was outside smoking. It was pitch black and he was just sitting there minding his own business when an extremely inebriated guy comes stumbling up puts his cell phone on Chuck's table and proceeds to try to open Chuck's camper door and go in. Chuck (who is hilarious anyway) yells at him, "Hey dude, that's not your camper." So he stumbles around and says "sorry." THEN he just walks over to ours and tries to come in our door. Thank goodness the door was locked!! Chuck yells at him again, "HEY DUDE that's not your camper EITHER!!" So he staggers around and out of our camp site to who knows where. Hope he made it home at some point. Needless to say, he left his cell phone on Chuck's table. Wonder if he ever got it back???? Probably not!
Lesson for the day - if you just have to get drunk be sure you know where your own camper is!!

Welcome to another rendition of the Hicks Family Auburn Experience. Should you wish to abort your mission please move on to another blog quickly because the spirit of Auburn may actually catch you and you will be affected and become a LIFER. Don't believe me?? Just ask my Husband!!!

Aren't they just the cutest future AUburn cheerleaders you've ever seen? Even some of the crazy tailgating LSU fans/students we had to walk by during the day oohed and aahed at my precious girls.
Ok so we didn't win but we gave it a heck of a try. Are there weaknesses? Yup! Could we have done better? Yup! Was the kicking game a little less than desired? Yup! Was I still proud of the effort and improvement against a tough team in contrast from the prior week? Yup you betcha! Will I still be PROUD to be an AUburn Tiger if we lose again (God forbid)? ALWAYS!
We spent another wonderful weekend tailgating in the Hicks' RV on the loveliest village for the Auburn/LSU football game (for you non SEC-ers out there). As you can see we took the girlies with us and although it was an exhausting time, we had so much fun that we are heading out for the TN game again on Friday. I was so thrilled to see the excitement on my girls faces as they soaked up the sights and sounds of being around all the Auburn hooplah and meeting new friends. It was AUsome!

WAR EAGLE!!! They say it with pride and love the fight song. There are so many stories from the weekend I can't begin to tell them all to you. I have decided to keep a few for separate blogs to come because I think they warrant their own space, so stay turned for those.

One of the girls favorite things to do while we were there was to ride our Blue with Orange flames Golf Cart while playing the Fight song. People would wave and my girls just ate it up. Sorry I didn't get a picture of it for you.

Here's a sweet picture of Nana and her Gracie in what looks to be a pretty serious conversation. They must have been discussing the game plan for the night's game or SEC standings or something like that. I doubt it but man what a cute picture. This picture was at the Quad center but that's for another blog on another day.
Also, Ms. Linda and Mr. James (not pictured) came to tail gate with us on Saturday. They are very dear family friends that just happen to live in good ole Auburn. We were so happy that they were a part of our AU game day! I do hope they enjoyed it because we did! My girls love them so very much!! Mom an Dad kept the girls for us at the RV while we went to the game and then spent the night with James and Linda. Thanks Mom & Dad for coming and staying with our babies. I hope you had a great time and enjoyed your Game Day with us! I love being with my Family and Auburn is one of the biggest families I have so it was a bonus that my parents were there too!! Don't get it? Just ask an AU fan.

Here's a picture of the walk to the stadium. I have not seen this many people in Auburn for a game in a very, very long time. I mean we always have sell outs and all but it was people, people, people and crazy everywhere we were. After the game we needed more gas for the HUGE generator Alex brought so he went out like 2 hours after the game. He said getting out was easy but it took him forever to get back because all the roads were blocked with traffic still trying to get out of town. It was after midnight before he got back.
So it's not the best picture in the world but this was the gorgeous Auburn sunset we got to see as the sun set over our beloved Jordan Hare Stadium. I didn't get any great shots of the game but our seats are just too high for that. HOWEVER, if you just didn't get enough AU then you can head on over to the Bowling Family blog for some great game shots and intellectual commentary.

Hang in there and I promise I'll get this AUBURN stuff out of my system. Well, maybe not but the next blogs will be stories of our adventures and not so much Love Auburn or Bust from me. However, I just can't help it, it just pours out of our veins. Have you figured that out yet?

Also, Thanks Aunt Joy for the very sweet comment you left on a previous blog. It's very touching when a huge Bama fan puts down their shaker to show some love to family!! Love ya!!

Love to all and Have a great day everyone!!!

Those precious tears...

OK so I will let you take a break from my constant rantings about our crazy lives or our love for Auburn (notice I did not say Auburn football - that just goes with the territory). But it's just a quick break though. Notes from our AU vs. LSU weekend coming soon so judge your upcoming viewing pleasure accordingly.
However, I HAVE to tell you about a precious moment that Clara Paige had last week. On Wednesdays mom usually just takes the girls to her house and I will go straight there after work so we can head to church from there and meet daddy. Anyway, last Wednesday I was on my mom & dad's computer (probably on the blog) and she comes in just bawling. My first reaction is Uggh, roll my eyes and think what now? but when I turn to see her I can see this is serious business. Her eyes are all swollen and it was real, true, emotional tears. I ask her what was wrong and she goes into this all choked up version of what had taken place. I hear something like this (imagine lots of short breaths in between words:
"I was looking at some pictures in a book of me when I was a baby. It was in the closet in our room and while I was looking I just started crying."
Huh?? I was confused so I do the Mommy thing and ask all kinds of questions to see if something bad or wrong had happened. You know the "Did you tear them?" "Did you get hurt while looking at them?" "Is there something you want to tell me?" Finally I ask her why she thought she was crying and she simple looked at me while still wiping tears from her adorable face and said, "I guess I was just so happy." It brings a quick tear to my eye to even type this because it's just so sweet. My baby girl felt her first sentimental emotion and had her first "woman cry" as you men out there call it. It just felt so good she cried and it made her feel better. I get it, don't you??
I think it was precious and priceless but when I told her daddy what did he say??? He just laughed and said, "Oh lord, yep she's a woman." Proof that Men do not get it!!!
Anyway, just thought I'd share before I head off into another Auburn story!!

War Eagle From My Cheerleaders

Last Weekend

Well, I'm getting behind again so I'll go ahead and tell ya about our first real tailgating experience in Auburn last weekend. And yes, I did just get through watching the game vs. Ms. State and as UGLY as it was at least we came out on top. And Yes, I am being wordy again. Sorry!!
Alex's parents bought a 5th wheel camper this summer so we reserved it for the Auburn home games this month. Well, the first game of the season we decided to drive around and scout out our spot. As we were driving around Alex just happened to see a friend of ours that we met b/c our seats were by theirs for several years. Her name is Debbie and she insisted that we come up and see her husband David and meet their friends. Long story short these people were super friendly (of coarse b/c they were AU people) and offered to save us a spot for the next weekend since we would be "camping" for the first time on a game weekend. One of the guys we met was Bill. He is an awesome guy who is retired military and his wife is a traveling nurse. They sold their home and bought a REAL RV (you know the Big Bus kind) and now that is where they live. He camps the first half of the week in a Camp site and then comes over at 4pm on Wed. to set up camp for the home game weekends.
So Alex and I head out last Friday morning with the camper. Mom & Dad kept the girls and as always we love them for it. And for those of you, like me, who are not real campers, we had to take his Dad's huge Dodge truck in order to pull the camper. Bill was there and helped us get all set up and everything. Donna & Keith Strickland (Auburn and Church friends) came up later that night and with all the other camper/tailgaters around we grilled and hung out. It was great. There were some really funny stories and bizarre coincidences between us all. So, as I mentioned before, I am not and nor will I ever be a true camper. It's just not in me. So, needless to say I did not sleep well the first night. The camper is really nice and all don't get me wrong but I probably woke poor Alex up several times with my getting up, rolling around and whatever else I did that night.
However the next morning was game day so we all get up and chill out for a while and start getting ready for the game. Guess what, no hot water!! Something is wrong with the hot water hook up on the camper. Bummer, cold showers aren't too much fun. We do have some dear family friends that I could have bombarded so Donna and I could get a hot shower but with an 11:30 kickoff that wasn't really feasible. So cold shower it was. We headed off to the game and it was HOT. But by the 3rd or 4th quarter a small but strong rain cloud headed our way out of no where. We had even checked the radar before we left and it was clear but this one just had to come over the stadium. So Al and I ducked up under toward the concessions for shelter. It only lasted maybe 5 or 10 minutes so we decided to head back to the RV as Auburn was ahead enough that it was ok to leave (unlike tonight). We get back into the field we are camped in and Alex sees it first. Oh No! The awning on the camper is blown up on top. Yikes! Of ALL the campers in ALL of Auburn it had to be ours that was broken. I just couldn't believe it. So here we are trying to figure out how to get it down and if it can be fixed. Another nice AU fan came up and told us he saw it fly up and over with just a little wind. Seriously?! Donna and Keith had left early to head back to Alex City to get their girls, but I later found out while they were walking back to their car, the rain came and got them completely soaked. Yuck!
All in all the damage wasn't too bad so we just rolled the awning up and moved on with our lives. A cold shower after a hot muggy game really isn't all that bad. Later that night we grilled some more, ate, watched games on 3 different tv sets and talked up the night. It was great and ended on a good note. Our new buddy Bill set us up with a place to store the camper for the month for a pretty good price so we don't have to use as much gas, especially now with the ridiculous price gouging going on!!!
All in All I really enjoyed it and can't wait to go back next weekend with our girlies: cold showers and all. I think they will just love it!! I love it b/c I'm in my favorite place on earth and I want my girls to experience that too!
I believe in Auburn and Love it!!! -- Only an alum of Auburn will understand that!

Do You Remember??

I was reading my cousin's blog (well by marriage but she's family no matter what) and she reminded me that today is a special day. Please take a moment to remember September 11th and all the special people who were taken from our great country that day and that have died or fought for our freedom since then!

More From the Beach

OK OK the Rest of the Story...

So we make it through Al's awful night of stomach virus and it's the day of Hurricane Gustav. Alex seriously slept through all of it. He was so weak he was in the master bed room all day. So, we hung out in the condo and watched the rain and winds come through. Bless my girls hearts. They put on their swim suits just in case the sun came out. The weather never got too bad but the winds and rain were pretty steady.
Waiting on the rain to go away and come again another day.
Finally, late that afternoon, the girls got to go out to the pool for a little while. The sun was not out but the bad weather was gone so they HAD to go out and swim. My little water-bugs!
Here's a picture of the waves while the storm was coming through.
Loving on my sissies.

So, now on to the fun part. We decided to head out for a nice dinner so we went to the Fudpuckers down the road thinking it would be fun for the girls, which it was. Who knew it was the scene of the local rash of crime and arrests for the evening. We went pretty early to avoid any waiting, oh lets say 4:30ish or so. We got seated pretty easily up in the top level. It seemed to be where they put all the kidos. With good reason it would seem later. I had to visit the ladies room so of coarse all the girlies had to go with me. Well, it was a good trek back down to the front desk and the hostess told us to follow the yellow footprints on the floor. So we did just that. And we walked right through the inside bar and out to the outside bar where the real party seemed to be going on. It was even equipped with a Stripper pole for amusement of the inebriated I suppose (two guys were using it as we walked by). Maggie says to me, "Ooh Mommy they are having a party!" To which I say, "Yes a grown up party." After our potty break, we are walking around the sloshed foursome who are trying to take a picture and I hear a loud "THUD!" When I turn my head I see two young girls on their side lying on the floor. My mouth dropped to the ground. They had fallen off of their bar stools!! Mind you it's only like 5pm at this point. So we head on back to our table. I share our story with Nana & Pappy and we enjoy our nice dinner. As we walk out we head down to see the live Alligator swamp that Fudpuckers has. That part is really neat if you are ever in Destin. There are suppose to be over 100 little alligators in there. So as we walk out I see a Police officer yell up the entrance to someone and points his finger at them. So obviously somethings going down in the Fud. As the girls and Nana check out the gators I notice that they have one guy in hand-cuffs. Seriously??!!! It's not even dark yet. One guy with his family says to us, "That's LSU fans for ya." And as we head out we see at least 5 officers who all seem to be interviewing people. So from what Mom and I can gather some kind of scuffle took place in the open air bar and a guy hit two women. Yikes!! Maybe the two girls that I thought "fell" off their stools were actually knocked off and me and my innocent girlies were mere breaths away from our first live bar room brawl!! Whew, can we ever escape drama on this trip. Doesn't look like it does it?? When we got back to the condo Mags had to tell her Daddy that when we went to the bathroom, they were having a "Grown Up Birthday Party!"

However, the sky is pretty the next morning and Alex actually feels a little bit better. We had decided to not drive back until Tuesday b/c Al was so weak. But we did get in a little sunshine and beach time before we left that afternoon. Since we were in Destin and our neighbors were also I called Wendi and we discovered that we were staying very close to them. So once we got down to the beach Wendi, Todd and the boys were walking up too. The kids were so excited to see each other and they played and played. We all had a great visit and it was just a great ending to a wild and wacky Beach trip. Al, CP and I drove back that afternoon and were absolutely exhausted when we got home but we did get home all safe and sound. So Far no one else has come down with "THE VIRUS." What did I get from this trip?? Tons of laughs, some great time with family, appreciation for my sick husband and a wonderful sun BURN!!!

Oh, wonder what kind of adventure we can come up with next, you may ask. Just wait and see!!!!!

War Eagle Baby

I promise to finish the beach trip story but we're here in good ole Auburn for some weekend tailgating & I just have to say WAR EAGLE!!!!

The 1st & 2nd day

Let me start by saying that I normally do not like to be too wordy on my blogs but this story just has to be told the right way!! Ok, so I already told you about some of the beginning of our trip. Auburn, Game, Won, Great!! War Eagle! Mom and Dad took the girls on down to the Beach Club in Gulf Shores on Saturday morning while we were in Auburn. Below are some of their pictures from their lovely and calm day of beach and sun (well, as lovely and calm as a day with my girls can be)! Mom said the girls loved it.

My sweeties on the swing. It's really pretty there. Too bad we only got one night.
Diggin' in the sand with our Pappy!
My Divas and the beautiful sunset!

So, as Alex and I are approaching Gulf Shores around 1 am or so we check out the weather on his work computer. We notice that there could possibly be a Mandatory Evacuation of Gulf Shores issued by Gov. Bob Riley the next morning. Hmm... seriously?? Gustav was heading toward Louisiana. I mean I understood that there might be some bad weather but an evacuation?? Well, sure enough we get up, hang out, eat some breakfast and find out there sure is a MANDATORY evacuation. Dad calls the front desk at 8:45 am and they ask him that we be out by 10am. Not much time to grab our stuff and throw it together and head out. So, do we get in the major traffic heading north or march onward with our mini-vacation. Yep, we made fast reservations at the Edgewater in Destin, Florida and head East. We are still on Fort Morgan road in a major traffic back-up when Al tells me he doesn't feel good at all. Uh Oh! Well he pulls off and barfs in some beach house yard while I was on the phone with our neighbor Wendi who just happened to be in Destin for the week also. Yucko, but my poor husband had the classic signs of the stomach bug that CP had the week before(right before the trip began). So it took us 4 hours to get to Destin which normally would have been about a 2 hr trip. However, with the traffic and the yak-ing stops I think we did pretty well. Also, I think I would have rather taken the 4 hours to Destin than the 10 it would have taken us to get home with the evac traffic. But, by the time we got there Alex was desperately sick. He couldn't keep anything down the whole day. What a great way to enjoy the beach but by kissing the toilet all day. He got so bad I contemplated dragging him to the ER but opted for called our Doctor, Dr. Todd (whom we just happened to go to Auburn with-Thank God) and he called Alex in some meds. Sounds good enough but it was after 10pm by the time this occurred so Guess What? There are NO 24 hr pharmacies anywhere near Destin. The closest one was Pensacola. I bet I wasted a whole hour trying to figure this out. Luckily we had gotten some Emetrol down him and it seemed to work. So, note that if you are out of town and get a bug, I now know that you can use Emetrol, Dramamine, or Benedryl to help stop the nausea. Pepto was NOT doing the trick. We were sure to get the meds the next day in case anyone else decided to grace the trip with unwanted puke. With my prayers answered, Alex finally calmed down and went to sleep. Whew, we could all rest a little bit easier now. I was worried about my man and didn't want him to get dehydrated or anything.
View from the trip to our DESTINation; Destin, Florida! It really is just beautiful there. The water is always so blue and crystal clear. Even after the tropical storm went through.

Here's where we ended up. the Edgewater. Pretty Place and Pretty View.

Sorry but for your sake and mine there are no pics of the barfing action.

On to the next few days.........

It was suppose to be just a long weekend beach trip!

Where do I start???!! The holiday weekend started off great. My Mom and Dad took the girls down to Gulf Shores on Saturday morning. Alex and I went to the Auburn Game then headed down to the beach after that. The game was great!! We actually ran into the couple we use to sit by and tailgated with them for a while. We won the game as you all know! WOO HOO! Go Tigers!! We knew we would not get to the condo at the Beach Club until late but heck we were going to be at the beach for the rest of the weekend so we could handle a little late night driving. So we arrived at the condo around 1 am or so. We also knew that Hurricane Gustav was in the Gulf but we really thought that Gulf Shores was out of the range. (We would be proven wrong.) I'm using Al's work computer so I don't have access to my pictures so you'll just have to imagine the scenes until I can post the pics for ya.

Anyway, the next morning (Sunday) was when the adventure really starts to unfold. I won't say too much now. I'll have to make this a 3 or 4 parter so just to give you a few spoilers; it includes evacuation, throwing up, and a bar room brawl. Got ya interested yet?? Just know that my family typically has interesting adventures and vacations but this one might take the cake.

We aren't coming back until tomorrow b/c of the extenuating circumstances. You'll understand soon!

Happy Labor day to all! Hope everyone stays safe!