Battle of the Tigers

Football season began last weekend and Clemson's first game was slated to be played in Auburn, Alabama. It just so happens that one of my besties lives in and works for Auburn. Not only that, but she moved back to Auburn about 4 years ago and I had yet to visit her at her new house. The location and timing worked out perfectly for Thomas and me to go to the Clemson/Auburn season opener and to be quite honest, it's an overdue trip to see one of my lifelong best friends. We were fortunate enough to get Fifi, Jerry and MaSha on tap to help take care of the boys while we were gone for the weekend.

We got in late on Friday night as we both worked a full day before getting on the road, then we hit traffic just north and south of Atlanta, which slowed us down, but we were so glad to finally get there when we did! Colby and Scottie's house is just beautiful! I loved seeing it for the first time and also getting to finally give my best friend's baby bump a hug! Colby looks phenomenal and is one of the cutest pregnant girls ever.

Saturday morning was so pleasant to get out on Colby and Scottie's back porch and eat breakfast and watch Gameday. The weather felt great and we were able to leisurely enjoy the morning (with no wild kids around to distract us from our relaxation!). Thomas had never been to Auburn before so he and Scottie jumped in the car to drive around to see a little of the campus and the town while Colby and I took their sweet dog, Prince Hairy, for a walk around the neighborhood. We then got ready for the game, got to see Colby's parents and brother Collin, ate a quick lunch and headed out to the tailgate.

The Peerys and the Lakas's on their back porch

Colby and friends's tailgate is amazing. They use a service called Tailgate Guys - I can't get over how awesome it is and I'm still raving about it. We pretty much just showed up to a perfectly put together tailgate, complete with tent, chairs, cooler with ice and tv set up. All we had to do was bring beer and snacks. They even had BBQ catering delivered later in the evening for dinner. It was so incredible. I love having a really nice tailgate with no set-up or tear down. Colby and her friends do it RIGHT, y'all!

We knew a few Clemson friends were going to be there for the game and it didn't take us long to meet up with Steph and Clark! They came to our tailgate first and then we went to check theirs out as well.

Steph and me

Clark and Thomas

Craig, Steph, Clark and Thomas

It was a beautiful (and maybe a little hot) day to tailgate. I so enjoyed seeing Colby's friends that I hadn't seen in a long time and meeting some new ones, too.

Check out the name of their tailgate: ALL WE DO IS WINe.
Classic.

Elly, me, Colby and Melanie*
*Melanie's husband is one of the owners and co-founders
of Tailgate Guys. I still can't get over it.

Elly making guacamole at the tailgate

Scottie photobombed us!

My sweet cousin Kacie is a freshman at Auburn!
So glad to see her and thankful she came by to visit us!

These "tailgate guys" were having fun

Time to go!

Colby hooked us up with some tickets from her boss so we had great seats. I can't say enough good things about the Auburn fans. Even though we were sitting in an Auburn section (but luckily had two Clemson people right beside us), they were full of southern hospitality and grace. It was definitely a fun, lively and loud atmosphere.

Thomas and me in Jordan-Hare Stadium

View of the field from our fantastic seats

Clemson won a hard fought battle, and we were just glad to come away with a W, being on the road, in a night game, against a good team, in a rowdy stadium. After the game, we made our way back to the tailgate spot to find Colby and Scottie as the last men standing (well, sitting) at the tailgate and we walked back to the car and headed home. I know I got good night of sleep that night after a long game day. On Sunday morning we got word from MaSha that the boys were sick and Stokes had thrown up a few times, so we had to get up and get moving to come home and take over our parental duties. Unfortunately, the boys were a little under the weather the previous week and I had to pick them up early from school on Friday afternoon, but got a little worse over the weekend while we were gone. Big props to MaSha and Fifi for caring for our sick little buggers and taking such good care of them! It was nice to have Labor Day that Monday so we could all stay home and rest up. We had planned to go to the pool and to go see the Tiger mascot downtown on Labor Day, but had to stay home and try to get well. By early this week, everyone was well enough to go to school.

Pic of the boys from game day that we got from
MaSha and Fifi!

Going to Auburn was such a fun experience. I was so glad to see Colby and Scottie (and their baby bump and their beautiful home), experience an away game during the 2016 football season, and just get away for a day of tailgating enjoyment. Thank you, Colby and Scottie, for hooking us up with a fantastic getaway and lots of fun.

Thomas and I hope to get the boys to Clemson for a game or a tailgate at least once this season! I know they would love it just as much as their parents!