It IS Great To Be An Auburn Tiger

So proud of the Auburn Tigers as they led or tied Alabama for most of the IRON BOWL game!

Alabama is #2 in the nation and Auburn is not ranked but you would NEVER have believed it if you had seen the game!!!

Auburn scored 2 touchdowns before Bama scored at all.

With 1:32 left on the time clock in the 4th quarter, Bama scored to make the score 26-21!

Auburn fought hard and did a wonderful job. Way to go Auburn! It is GREAT to be an
AUBURN TIGER!!!

More of Houston

Benny is ready to crawl any day. When he is on the floor, he moves all over the place but he isn't quite crawling yet. He is so good natured and he just smiles all the time. Even though he had a pretty bad cough when I was there...He would cough and then smile his sweet "Benny" smile!!

Peej is placing the Aubie tail in Bennett's pants. Bennett is patiently letting him do it.

Another one of Peej's favorite things is David and Goliath. I brought him a book and a video about the Bible Story of David and Goliath and he LOVES it. He is placing his "sword" in his pants like Goliath did in the movie!!!
Sword/bat......ready for battle......

More of David and Goliath! Notice that he is dressed in Auburn gear also.
His two favorite past times!!!

Houston Visit

I had a wonderful time in Houston last weekend. Even though Peej and Benny had runny noses and coughs, they were in great moods and we had a great time. Peej has a name for his runny nose........
He told Brooke that he had "Bless You's" all over his face."

Peej is doing a great job of riding his bike. We went around the block and I jogged as Peej drove.
He is growing up so fast to be able to ride his bike so well.

The three Vescovo boys......Handsome as ever! Peter, Peej and Benny!

One of Peej's favorite things to play is ARMY Men. He got these for his birthday and he loves to pretend with them. I am enjoying playing and pretending with him also.

Benny was "Aubie" during my visit. Peej place his tail in his pants so tht he could be" In Character." Peej was Chris Todd and I was Coach Chizik or Coach Malzahn. Peej is a true Auburn Fan! If I called him Peter or Peej he always corrected me by saying," Chris, not Peej"

Sweet brothers! So handsome and precious. I love them SO MUCH!

Peej??? or Chris Todd???

I know that Tracy, my niece will relate to this post....Peej asked me who my favorite Auburn football player was. I don't really have a favorite but I thought about the quarterback, Chris Todd
who has undergone alot of criticism but has done a really good job.

SO, the last few times I have talked to Peej on the phone, he has corrected me whenever I call him Peej, or Darling, or Sweetie, or Precious.
"Not Peej.....Chris!
"No, Honey, not Precious. Chris."
"Me and my buddies are playing football for Auburn. We are practicing. We are playing for the War Eagles."
I asked Brooke if he "talks" to his buddies like they are imaginary friends. No, he just refers to his imaginary buddies.
Once I asked," Who are your buddies?"
"Chris, Kentucky, Bo Jackson"
He went to the Kentucky game and he had heard about Bo Jackson.
Today he told me that he had on his Auburn jersey that is orange and blue and the # is #1!

He also knows how to sing the fight song and I have a recording of him singing it on my phone.
War Eagle Fly Down The Field
Never to Conquer, Never to Yield
War Eagle fearless and true
Fight on you orange and blue and gray
Go, go go on to victory strike up the band
Give em heck, Give em heck
Power of Dixieland
Peej's version of War Eagle with a few word changed!
Brooke has had ENOUGH of the whole Auburn scenario. Hopefully it won't last too much longer! It is really cute for now, though!!

Auburn Upset

As we were traveling to Auburn early on Saturday morning IN THE RAIN....I told Donovan that I knew the day was destined for disaster because:
1. We were playing at 11:30 and we ALWAYS do horrible at 11:30 games
2. We were playing Ole Miss who has been doing really well this year
3. Our last 3 games have been absolutely HORRIBLE.
4. It was raining
P. S. Every single home game this year has at least had a threat of rain so that we have hauled all of our rain gear for a mile to walk to the game.
Also, I promised him that I was going to be a "lady" at this game. No cursing or yelling things like "You idiots."
I found out that an old friend, Stan Murray was going to be the Backfield Ref in the game so I thought I would just look at him in the binoculars, look at the cheerleaders, the players, etc.
In other words, not be all caught up in the game.

So......the first quarter was kind of typical of the last 3 games. We moved the ball a little better than we did in the previous weeks but not alot.
The 2nd quarter we scored a touchdown and actually lead 10-7. OK, that's pretty good but definitely not a reason to get excited!!
After halftime I got kind of bored so I told Donovan I was going to roam the stadium. I always do that. BUT, this time when I roamed, we scored a touchdown. I went back to my seat and we had a bad play again.
I roamed again and we held Ole Miss! I'm beginning to get the message......Roam, Becky, Roam!
I didn't mention that I was in the restroom when we scored the first touchdown!!!
SO, the entire rest of the game I walked ALL over the stadium. Occasionally, I made my way into the game and sat in empty seats.
I figured out that when I went to the opposite side, where the students sit, Ole Miss scored. So I made my way back to our side of the field.
The game SO exciting. We won. 33- 20. Most of the scoring was in the 3rd quarter.
I did get to peek into the stadium to see most of the big plays, or else I watched from the ramps where the smokers go (cough, cough!)
But, it was very wonderful to see Auburn come back to life.

After the game we went to the spot where the players come out. Donovan and Marlin did this for me and I loved it although I couldn't tell who they were without their uniforms on!

A Visit to Alabama

Benny found the SEARS ad and loved playing with it. When I took it away and gave him a toy he cried!!

Peej waving the faded Auburn Flag

Uncle David and Peej were playing Auburn football before they went to Auburn. Before Peej made a "run" he said, "Honey, Cheer!" Which means I am supposed to say " Go, Peej, Yea!, etc."

The Vescovo Family.....BEAUTIFUL!!!!

After we got back from Canada, we had a visit from Brooke, Peej, Benny, Leah, Peter, David and Matt. I listed them in the order that they came into town.
Brooke and Leah and "the boys" came in on Wednesday night. Peter got in about 4:00 Thursday and David got in around 6:00. Matt came in on Friday!
We loved having all of them around. They also went to Auburn and visited with Nana and John. Peej went to his first Auburn game. He loved it but he was disappointed that he didn't get to play and 'Fly down the field'.

Canada Visit

We went to Canada recently to visit Kate, Liz and Donovan. It was so pretty...cool and crisp but not snowing yet! The other times that I have visited there has been snow everywhere!

This time we visited Niagara Falls which is about 1 1/2 hours from Waterloo.
The Falls were gorgeous. However, Kate in her cute 7 year old voice said, " I just don't see what the big deal is about The Falls." I am sure that as a 7 year old I would've said the same thing!

Kate is emerging as a great singer. She really loves music and she loves to play Rock Star.
Donovan and I were her dancers and then Donovan II, Liz and Donovan I and I danced together as couples to her singing. It brought back memories of when Leah and Brooke were little and they put on dances and plays! Fun!!

While we were there they celebrated the Canadian Thanksgiving which is very much like our American Thanksgiving. We enjoyed celebrating with Liz' wonderful, beautiful family!
We had a great time, as always.

Kate had gotten her hair cut a couple of months before we arrived. She had 11 inches cut off and she donated it to LOCKS OF LOVE. Her hair looks so cute and she has SO much of it! It is very thick and wavy and such a gorgeous strawberry blonde color! She is a sweet heart and she is still every bit as full of life as she was when she was little!

A view of the City of Detroit from the Bridge
going into Canada

Rainbow at Niagara FallsKate & GranddaddyKate and Daddy

Cute Kate

The Rock StarPlaying the Drums for Guitar Hero

Houston Visit

The trip to Houston was memorable, as always.....but what I did not expect was to hear, "Mom????" at 4:00 am and to see flooding again! Yes! After new drains, new floors,etc. water came back into the Vescovo household. This time it subsided much faster and hopefully the problem will be solved "forever."

On Saturday Peej got decked out in his Auburn gear to get fired up for the game. Notice his John Deere gloves. We got those for him in Orlando at the John Deere store and now those are officially his "War Eagle glubs" During the 4th quarter of the game, things got a little scary so Peej got to see me act like a complete alien as I do during the games!






We saw Papa, Ella and Cosy (the dogs) over the weekend also. Papa was the ultimately wonderful granddaddy as he babysat for both Peej and Benny for a few hours while Brooke and I went to a wedding!!

Benny continues to be totally pleasant and sweet! He just smiles and coos and looks at Peej adoringly. When you're around him you just want to kiss and hug and cuddle with him and he lets you do it!
He loves his bath and even loves to have water poured over his head! Notice the dimple! Also I just absolutely LOVE that chubby, soft baby skin. So SWEET!

Post Game Review

OK, imagine this crowd of people but imagine that it is pouring down sheets of rain, lightning and thunder AND imagine that all of these people are crowded under the stadium because the rain began 30 minutes before game time and most of these people were already IN the stadium!

I am extremely claustrophobic so when we were making our way to the upper deck and we hit a wall of people who were not moving because they were against a wall of people..........

They had cleared the stadium because of lightning, thunder and blinding rain. So 80,000 people were crammed together under the "grandstands".

After about 20 minutes I got the familiar hot, panicky feeling. I excused myself from Donovan and DeLena and pressed my way to the 10 feet of space that looked out into the parking lot.

Very soon I was joined by other "clausties" who had toughed it out longer than I had and were on the verge of passing out! It's amazing how freeing it is to be able to see open spaces even if it is pouring down rain!

The game was delayed for an hour. It was already our latest game of the season starting at 6:45
so why not just go ahead and wait until 8:00??? An hour before my bedtime!?!

When we finally got into the stadium and the game started, West Virginia scored 2 touchdowns in about 2 minutes! ( A little exaggeration but not much!)

We are thinking." We waited an hour in the rain for THIS?"

Well, the NEW TIGERS picked up the pace and soon it was 14-10......Then 21-10......then 21-13.
To make a Loooooonnnnnng story shorter we finally pulled ahead at the end of the third quarter but the 4th quarter was so back and forth that we were on the edges of our wet seats but it all paid off.....We Won 41-30! War Eagle!

Whew! By the time we got back to our car it was 12:00 am....by the time we got home it was 3:30 am. It was a truly sweet victory, though!

It is great to be an Auburn Tiger!

p s Another side story...Marlin realized that he had not locked the car. It takes 30 minutes to get back to the car when you ride the shuttle....longer it you don't.
We got ready to go into the game and realized he had DeLena's ticket with him. So we turned on our southern charm and told the ticket taker uppers what had happened and they let DeLena into the game!
She wanted Marlin to promise to go through the same gate and give her ticket to the same lady with the long strange fingernails so that she would know that we were not lying. He did....and she remembered!

Game Day/Night

Well, for the 3rd week in a row we are headed to Auburn and for the 3rd week in a row it will be a night game.

Night games are great because they are cooler and breezier but they are really bad when you have to drive 2 + hours to get back home. And that does NOT include actually getting out of Auburn which takes 45 minutes to get back to the car and 30 minutes at least just to get moving past the traffic jam. It also does not include stopping at Waffle House to get coffee and food to help us make the drive back.

Tonight's game against West Virginia ( our toughest competition yet) starts at 6:45, is on T V AND an added bonus......has a 70% chance of rain. WHY do we do this? Because we love our team!!
Also, it's so wonderful that our offense is FINALLY exciting.

Even when we were good about 3 years ago, the offense was lackluster and we really had to count on the defense to keep things in tact. Let's face it...touchdowns are much more exciting than lack of 1st downs for the opposing team!

So, we are off t0 Walmart or somewhere to buy me a VERY lightweight poncho to watch the game in the rain. We know how those ponchos are air tight. I don't want to be wet AND hot!

Anyway, as Peej says, "War Eagle...Take me down to the field."

Cute Story

Peej in the car with his Auburn helmet

Brooke told me today that Peter and Peej have been going to Mark Murdock's football practices.
Mark is their neighbor and friend and he is about 11 years old. His Dad, also Mark, and a former UT football player coaches his team.

When Peej goes to the practices, he "dresses out" in full football gear....Helmet, pants, shirt... I'm not sure about pads and cleats.

Even though Mark's brother, Turner, Peej's favorite older friend is there playing on the playground with the rest of the teammates siblings, Peej doesn't play with them. He does everything that the players do.

If they are doing "knee lifts", Peej is right there doing them also. If they are doing lunges, he does them also. At the end of practice when he tells them to "take a knee" Peej does that, too.

So cute!!! They are coming to the Auburn/ Kentucky game and he thinks that he is going to go down on the field and play also!

Brooke promises to go to practice and take pictures and videos so we can all see Peej in action!

My Daddy

Peej and Daddy's footprints

One day when we were in Gulf Shores and headed to the beach we reached the end of the "pier"
and Peej saw his Daddy's shoes at the end of the pier.
Everyone left their shoes at the end of the pier to walk in the sand.

So Peej said,"I am going to put my shoes right next to my Daddy's shoes because I love him SOOO much. He carefully placed his crocs right beside his Daddy's tennis shoes!

So sweet!!! I didn't have my camera with me at the time so the footprints will have to suffice!

Why?

After his first day of Preschool, Peej and Mom were in the car and he asked the question,
"Why did Jesus die, Mom?"

Brooke explained that Jesus died on the cross for our sins...for Mommy's sins, for Daddy's sins,
for your sins......"

Peej again asked,"Why did Jesus die? Was he hit by a car?"

Peej in the car....thinking

See, Peej has a tendency to wander away from the car in the parking lot and Brooke tells him,
"Do not leave the car and go into the parking lot or you may be hit by a car."

So, in his little 3 year old mind, if someone dies, he has been hit by a car. We will see how Brooke and Peter explain Jesus' death on the cross to Peej.

She did say that she said to Peej,"This is hard to understand and you will understand it better when you are older."

As far as preschool goes, he had a GREAT day. He liked his new teachers and he is in the big boy class where he does not take a nap!!!

Brooke gets a checklist of the things he did and did not do....the only thing he did not do was eat all of his food..... which is pretty typical of Peej.

He had much rather play and talk to his friends than eat!

AU BU RRRRRRRR N

The 'Sea of Orange' during Tiger Walk before a game last year

Last year at Blue Day
Becky, DeLena, Donovan, Marlin

Excitement is in the air as we get ready to head to "The loveliest village of the plains" to see our first game of the new season tonight at 6:00!

An entire staff of new coaches?!?!?! Kind of don't know what to expect. But then with Auburn you rarely know what to expect anyway!

Some of you know this about me but many of you don't know that I turn into a complete alien at the games....yelling things like," What is wrong with you idiots? " and other obscenities, burying my head into my hands when a big play is about to happen, going under the stands when we're just miserably losing, calling David to complain about how horrible we are, calling Dale and Sharon who are also big football fans to complain. Also, I just scream out Aihhhhhhhh!!!!
when we fumble or do something idiotic. My throat actually hurts after the games!

Another huge diversion is that Emily my best friend since 5th grade sits right across from us at all the home games so I can talk to her for at least one quarter and that takes my mind off the goings on on the field!
PD, Em's hubby and Donovan are very patient as we go back and forth across the aisles. So are the other people who sit around us as we crawl over them!

Anyway, when we ARE winning, I usually really get into the cheers that have the bad words in them. At the beginning of the game I kind of gloss over the d---s and the h---s, but when we start really winning I shout those words along with the rest of the cheers!
Weagle Weagle War D--- Eagle
Kick Em in the B---big Blue
and
Track Em Tigers Just Like Beagles
Give Em H--- you War D---Eagles!

More Fun!!

"Broverly" Love (Peej's words)

Cute Benny !

Peej and Matt going down the slide at the "Laizy River"
Brooke happened to hear an Alabama accent referring to the
Laizy River

"Laizy River".....notice Peej sitting in his innertube like a big guy!

Peej's favorite toy at the beach. There were three hoses and a shower on the pier.
He stopped at all 3 on the way down and 4 including the shower on the way back from the beach
no matter how many times a day we went...He never got tired of it!

More Beach Pictures

Benny's Tent

Benny's Sunglasses

Sandcastle

Peej on the Raft

Benny in his tent

First Beach Trip

Gulf Shores.........Brooke, Peter, Peej, Benny....Matt, Leah, Becky and Donovan all went to Gulf Shores for a long weekend and we had a great time.

It was Peej and Benny's first trip to the beach and it was a real success. Peej loved the sand and the ocean. It was a perfect trip.

First Day...we arrived at 3:00...at the beach by 4:00!
Peej & Matt on the way to the beach



Playing in the waves

Benny and Peej on the balcony of the condo

At the marina after dinner...notice Honey's glasses. Just the way I wear them!

We ate outside beside the marina and afterwards Peej and Honey explored.
We looked at all of the big fishing boats!

We even saw a boat that was named the Ashley Marie, just like Peej's cousin.

Fun first day!!!!