If you had asked me before now I'd have told you I pictured Colt's first Razorback athletic event as a really big deal. I'd have told you he would love it and be enthralled with the game, sitting still and watching the action.
Well.
Mr. Squirmy Pants spent the first half of the Ladyback Soccer game tonight making me feel better and better about our decision to wait a few years before we take this monkey to a 3-hour, full-price ticketed football game.
But the kid DOES love to call those Hogs.
Tailgating in rain boots. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
The rain threatened to ruin our afternoon of tailgating and hog calling, but it cleared out just in time. No actual game for this little guy yet -- maybe next year. But he spends every spare minute during the week asking when we get to "go see the Razorbacks" again. So we did! First, tailgating with good friends then we walked up to the stadium to see the first few minutes of the game from the grassy hill just beyond the gate.
Go Hogs!
When I was originally compiling my Life List, I spent some time looking over other people's lists to get ideas and inspiration. And among the common items like "Go skydiving" and "Learn a second language" was something that struck me as interesting -- Be a tourist in your own town. It came up time and time again, but it was usually on the lists of people who live somewhere fabulous like San Francisco or NYC or Boston.
I didn't add it to my list because I thought it would be too easy. I thought I'd pretty much done what it takes to "tour" NWA so I left it alone. But the last few weeks have changed my thinking about what it means to truly experience your own hometown.
I Googled "Fayetteville Arkansas bucket list" and stumbled across a countdown compiled by The Free Weekly - The Top 40 List of things you must do to be considered a true NWA resident. As I read through it, I was shocked by some of the things I haven't done. But I had several nice, nostalgic moments as I remembered the stories of the items I was able to cross off.
The Fayetteville, Arkansas Bucket List
40. You must have been to at least five small towns that are off the I-540 corridor — and by “been to” we do not mean drive through: You must stop and talk to at least three people.
39. Have a Facebook chat with Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan.
38. Hike Devil’s Den State Park.
37. Party on the Patio at Powerhouse Seafood and Grill.
36. Know what business was in a building at least three businesses ago.
35. Share a kiss by the cross on Mount Sequoyah.
34. Have a Bloody Mary at Common Grounds in Fayetteville.
33. See a show at the Rogers Little Theater.
32. Have lived in a Lindsey apartment complex. You get extra credit if the complex had Links or Greens in the name.
31. Buy a piece of art from a local artist.
30. Experience the linear parking lot that I-540 becomes at certain times of the day, like between 6:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to about 7 p.m.
29. Get gas at what is locally known as the Gucci Gas Station, also called the Prada Pick ’n’ Tote, in Rogers. Its real name is Pinnacle Station Local Market.
28. Visit a taqueria — Spanish for taco shop.
27. Go boating on Beaver Lake.
26. Eat at the Monte Ne Chicken Inn.
25. Know at least three celebrities from the area.
24. Go to First Thursday on the town square in Fayetteville.
23. Cross state lines to gamble.
22. Feed the animals, or get slightly nipped by one, at the Wild-Wilderness Drive-Through Safari.
21. Have your photo taken with Dick Trammel at a charity event.
20. Call in to Jon Williams’ morning show on 93.3 The Eagle.
19. Take a flight from Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport or at least know where you are when you land.
18. Have a drink in at least five restaurants in Benton County — just not all in the same night.
While there are still no liquor stores, Rogers and Bentonville offer plenty of places to get a glass of wine, a swig of beer or a cocktail with your dinner — well deserving of the nickname “The Wettest Dry County in Arkansas.”
17. Buy liquor at Macadoodles on Sunday at the location in Missouri just north of Bella Vista.
16. Visit the home of the official Bluebird of Happiness - Terra Studios.
15. Get a ticket in Johnson.
14. Eat at Herman’s Ribhouse along North College Avenue in Fayetteville.
13. Visit the ruins of William “Coin” Harvey’s health resort — now mostly under the surface of Beaver Lake — in Monte Ne.
12. Experience the Arts Center of the Ozarks.
11. Attend the Rodeo of the Ozarks over the July Fourth weekend in Springdale.
10. Take either Scenic U.S. 71 or the Pig Trail Scenic Byway (Arkansas 23) to Interstate 40 to find out why I-540 means so much to all of us.
9. Know that Springdale is nicknamed “Chickendale” because of the presence of some big poultry companies, such as George’s Inc. and — the biggest of all — Tyson Foods.
8. Attend a concert at the AMP at the Northwest Arkansas Mall in Fayetteville.
7. Attend a show at the Walton Arts Center on Dickson Street in Fayetteville.
6. Shop at the Fayetteville Farmers' Market.
5. Go to a Northwest Arkansas Naturals game at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale and have your photo taken with Strike the Sasquatch.
4. Spend at least one weekend in Eureka Springs.
3. Attend Bikes, Blues & BBQ in Fayetteville.
2. Go to a movie at the 112 Drive-In.
1. Attend a University of Arkansas Razorbacks football game — or basketball game or baseball game or track event or gymnastics meet, or … well, you get the idea. To check this one off, you have to wear a red Hog hat and yell “Woo Pig Sooie!”
See original list with more detail and commentary HERE. And HERE. Thank you, Free Weekly!
Now that Colt is getting older, we're rediscovering Fayetteville a little. Last weekend, we hiked out to Whitaker Point (not on the list). And this weekend we decided to test our luck by taking the trail around Lake Fayetteville (also not on the list). This was only after we spent the morning at the Fayetteville Farmers' Market (ON THE LIST!). And I can't believe this is true - but I've lived here for 10 years and this past Saturday was my first ever trip to the Farmer's Market!
So here you go - a few tourist photos of our weekend in Fayetteville:
We walked around the Fayetteville square all morning, but if you ask Colt what we saw he will excitedly tell you, "Rocks! And water!"
See that face? That face has sound effects. Sound effects that were in full force for the first mile or so, but disappeared for good once we really got going. The trail is about 5 miles and we walked every last step. Colt walked nearly every one of them with us -- only riding on Jeff's shoulders or my back for short stretches throughout the afternoon. We ALL slept hard that night.
We aren't making a mission of it or anything, but I imagine we'll hit a few more of those NWA Bucket List items before the summer is over. Some of them we'll do over and over - because we're good little Hogs.
What's on your hometown tourist list? Anything missing from the NWA Top 40?
Oh man, that was a heartbreaker. But such is the life of a true fan.
So -- the Sugar Bowl didn't turn out as we might have hoped. Obviously. But I guess it's all easy for me to say when I haven't invested quite as much time and energy into the Hogs as SOME people...
THAT would be my husband, the day after he and his Dad traveled to New Orleans the last time the Razorbacks got a trip to the Sugar Bowl. In 1980...
The more things change, the more they stay the same...
And of COURSE he would still have the same Hog hat he bought at that Sugar Bowl 30 years ago!
While we would have liked to go to the game, we originally had plans to just hunker down and watch the game at home, but we gave in and got a babysitter and headed out to one of our favorite old haunts to watch the game with 600 of our closest friends.
If you're a longtime follower, you may recognize some of those faces from 100 years ago. Well, more like 3 or 4 years ago, in our pre-kid, going-out-on-school-nights days. Keith (in the stripes) and Don (in black), and Jennifer (probably referred to as "Crazy Jennifer" in early posts) in the center in red. You might also recognize my sister Becky with the dark hair. We had A BALL catching up. There's nothing like watching the Hogs with good friends.
Ok Hog fans, all together now! "THERE'S ALWAYS NEXT YEAR!"
"We still do both," I answered in the weeks leading up to Christmas when asked about our plans.
I would usually get a scrunched face and a knowing, sympathetic look. Evidently, it's the thing to do now to swap holidays with your different families to cut down on travel time and such. You know, visit Dad's family for Thanksgiving and Mom's family at Christmas -- then switch for next year.
Apparently, we're old school. We do both.
A perfect storm of circumstances got us into this predicament and, honestly, I don't think we mind. All the Hoods only get together once a year, so we want in on that. And the Martins all have ONE little boy to spoil!
So! Two Christmases!
But first, there was the pre-party. I sent a camera to school with Colt in hopes of capturing a few gems from his class Christmas party. Mission: Accomplished.
Please notice that the frosting is being enjoyed as a mess only. Very little of it made it into his mouth. That's my boy!
I would have been there myself if not for this pesky conscience of mine that kept me and my flu-like germs at home. We'll be there next year, Buddy.
Stupid flu also derailed my plans to procrastinate all holiday shopping and baking till the weekend before Christmas. Yeah. That didn't work AT ALL. We didn't get to our gingerbread house, but I have half a mind to do it this week anyway. Stupid flu.
While I was procrastinating, Santa's elf (a.k.a. Grandpa Martin) was hard at work. I loved getting
periodic photos with Grandpa's progress in the workshop. You'll see pictures in a minute, but my Dad built a Lego table for Colt that is perfect perfect perfect. He's played on it every day since we got home.
In fact, he's been in overdrive. I think he opened more presents at Christmas this year than the number of toys we previously had in our entire house. But I'm pretty sure we got through the entire week without opening a single toy that requires batteries! God love Hot Wheels and Legos. (Aunt Sarah: I WILL find a way to repay you for giving my two year old cymbals and maracas!)
Ok - one last thing before we get to the deluge of Christmas pictures. This is too good not to share. We usually play games at both the Hoods' and the Martins', but the Martins tend to be more... animated. The game is Rigamarole. And it's kind of a combo of Charades, Pictionary, and Taboo. The teams were Grandma/Grandpa, Laura/Leo, Becky/Sarah. Colt and Jeff cheered us on.
Martin Family - Rigamarole. Christmas 2010 from Sarah Hood on Vimeo.
So! Two Christmases! Puzzles and cars, lots of football and lots of cousins at the Hoods'. Legos, Bass Pro, and new family members to introduce to the Razorbacks at the Martins'.
Christmas 2010 from Sarah Hood on Vimeo.
If you're viewing this post via email or a reader, please click on through to enjoy the videos.
There are probably families out there that ate more food and watched more football and spent more time doing absolutely nothing than we did this week, but there can't be many.
We spent about 80% of the weekend on the floor playing. Cars, Legos, cars, dominos, cars. Ninny dragged out some of the Matchbox cars Jeff had as a little boy -- and Colt was all over it.
The lovely people (some of) you may not recognize in these photos are my in-laws: Jeff's parents Ninny and Baw (Granny and Pop to the layperson), Jeff's sister Sarah, her husband Frank, and their three kiddos.
If you'll notice, most of the people in these photos are not looking at the camera. There are a handful of reasons for that, actually. Most likely, they are minding their own business and not paying a lot of attention to my incessant picture taking. Second most likely is that they are busy watching football. We watched A LOT of football.
It eventually warmed up enough for us to brave the outside world. So after a short trip to the Arkadelphia Walmart for some Black Friday People Watching, we bundled up and headed to the park. We were glad to get Colt out of the house for a bit, and the boys stayed home to watch - you guessed it - more football.
We made it back to Fayetteville in time to watch The Game. Honestly, does the LSU/Arkansas game have to be so outright stressful EVERY year? Per the usual, Jeff paced the house but the tension of such a big game was somewhat lessened by our favorite little Hog fan - cheering right along with us. And it's always nice when such a big game happens to end on a high note! Go Hogs!
I can only hope you had as much fun this week. Happy Thanksgiving 2010 from The Hoods.
Big weekend! Lots of pictures! Settle in.
People at my office kinda go nuts on Halloween and this year was no exception. I didn't dress up as I have in years past, but we did something a little new this year and combined our usual Halloween festivities with a fundraiser for Saatchi & Saatchi X's non-profit, The C.A.R.E. Initiative. The Dead Man's Ball was an excuse to dress up and play Guitar Hero at work -- all in the name of raising money for the kids. Here's a taste. This is FPO (Fanny Pack Organization) featuring my friends Ashley, Lauren, Josh and Michael from work.
I love my job.
Saturday was Homecoming for the Razorbacks and the game was late, so we loaded up The Boy and took him tailgating. We know he probably won't remember it, but it was the first time he's seen all the pre-game traditions in person.
We stood on the hill just outside the stadium so we could see the team run through the A and hear the National Anthem. Colt enjoyed the excitement, and it wasn't so crowded that we couldn't make ourselves comfortable.
It was Halloween weekend - so, of course, there were some crazies out at the game. We stumbled upon a pack of wild Elvi that we couldn't help but photograph.
But it was otherwise a perfect location to do some Hog-spotting.
And he was totally and utterly fine -- enjoying himself, calling the Hogs, pointing and laughing at the Elvi, soaking up the Razorback Game Day experience. Until the fireworks.
Not a fan.
And we never really recovered after that. So we headed home to watch the Hogs beat Vandy from the comfort of the best seats in the house. Sooie!
Halloween fell on a Sunday this year and from the way people were acting you'd think that had NEVER happened before. What night is trick-or-treating? Saturday? Sunday? Both nights? People. Be cool. Act like you've done this before...
I decided to try my hand at some cool pumpkin carving this year and invested in one of these babies.
Don't worry, I read the book. But I didn't really believe the book when it warned me of the mess this little project would make. My original plan of carving multiple pumpkins was abandoned after the first one left me (and the entire back deck) covered in pumpkin dust. My hands are still a little orange.
It's totally unimportant that you know just how many photos I had to take before I got some that even remotely resembled my child looking in the general direction of the camera and kinda sorta smiling.
It's probably also unimportant to mention that Colt wanted NO part of this costume. I went out of my way to choose a costume that would be indistinguishable from "real clothes". It doesn't get much more comfortable than a t-shirt and overalls, right? Wrong! It took both of us and a LOT of sweet talking to convince Colt that he was indeed NOT going to be wearing jeans and his motorcycle shirt for Halloween. He was going to be Dennis the Menace and pose for way too many pictures and that was that. It's the holidays, dang it! Get in the spirit!
But the fun didn't stop there! We headed to Nancy's house for trick-or-treating with this gang.
Colt didn't join in for the above group picture for fear of standing too close to the terrifying Blue Man (a.k.a. our preacher, Chad!), but we had a good time seeing friends and reminiscing about Colt's first Halloween spent with much the same crowd two years ago. Here he is posing with his friends Carol Grace and Connor as Little Bo Peep and her sheep.
And while most of the kids headed off to go trick-or-treating, he was pretty content to hang out on this bench, taking it all in. What candy?
It started to get dark and the trick-or-treating was really heating up, so we headed inside to help distribute candy and Colt busied himself with this helicopter (which he can ALMOST say!) and he informed me that Batman was driving. Duh, Mama.
Another successful Halloween! We spent time with friends, took some photos, ate some junk food and managed to make it home without a single piece of trick-or-treat candy! Happy Halloween!
It's probably not a big deal to most people to live in a single place for ten years, but I've lived in Fayetteville longer than I've lived anywhere in my life. Just sitting here now, I can count nine different addresses I've had in those ten years - and I've probably missed a few - but they've all been Fayetteville, Arkansas.
I love this town. And this past week, I couldn't have loved it more. Because living in a college town means living in a football town. And the Razorbacks are one of my favorite parts of the culture in Northwest Arkansas.
After living in Fayetteville for this long, I find it hard to imagine that it's possible NOT to know this, but there was a big game around here on Saturday. A BIG one. No, like BIG. It was all anyone could talk about for weeks -- biggest game in the history of Fayetteville... two Top 10 teams, first time in 30 years... Heisman talk... Bama this, Hogs that... -- I heard it at work and in line at Walmart. It was THE topic of conversation.
The game started out better than any Hog fan could have dreamed:
And it didn't really unravel until the 4th quarter.
But you know, the final score of that game is what it is. It's the culture, the atmosphere that comes with a game like that in Fayetteville. THAT'S why I love living here. The way this town feels on a game day. It's electric.
I love that I was able to pack up my boys the night before the game and drive up to the stadium to see a line of student tents over a quarter mile long, some having camped out since Monday - just to get the best seat in town for the biggest game of their lives. I love that we drove through campus passing students excitedly heading to what was surely one of the wildest pep rallies the Greek Theater has ever seen. I love that, even though I couldn't be at the game in person, I could participate in the absolute Razorback Lovefest happening on Facebook during big plays and timeouts. Messages and updates from old high school and college friends that are now scattered around the world. It was as good as being there. I love that "How 'bout them Hogs?" is an acceptable greeting around here. And I love the way this town stands behind our team.
We live in a college town, but it's not just ANY college town. It's OUR college town. My name is in the walk. Jeff's name is in the walk. I love that Colt is growing up in the culture that we loved so much we made it our home.
And the Razorback Nation shows up for more than just football. Being a Razorback means showing up for things like Razorback Relief: Operation Haiti back in June, when hundreds of Hogs volunteered their time to package meals for those in need in Haiti - and break a world record in the meantime!
Fayetteville is our hometown. And I'll take Game Day traffic any day if it means my boy gets to grow up a Hog.
I can't remember what we were doing on Fan Day last year, but I'll bet air conditioning was involved.
Good gracious it gets hot here. And most people have sense enough to stay inside. Not us. We joined the other Razorback Faithful and attended Fan Day 2010 in The Gardens this weekend. There was a pep rally with cheerleaders and the band and the whole shebang. But, not surprisingly, Colt was more interested in the wheels.
I'm not quite sure what that thing is supposed to be. Or if it's even road-worthy. But Colt couldn't have loved it more. We visited a few different times during the afternoon as there was actually a small line to sit in this thing and have your picture made. Silly Razorback fans...
Speaking of lines. It's a shame we didn't feel like standing in any, because we could've had our pick! It's the one day every year that Razorback fans all get together and stand in line! You have to see this to believe it. I wish I'd taken a picture of the HUNDREDS of people standing in line for various autographs and photo opps. We, on the other hand, wandered among the line-standers and stumbled upon THIS.
As I tend to do, I immediately thought he was too little for something like this. And as he tends to do, he couldn't wait to be right up in the middle of it. So off went the shoes and up went the boy. He stalled about halfway up the ladder and the sweet old man in charge broke the "one at a time" rule so that the cute little girl next in line could help him up. Well! He had no idea what he was starting.
Sweet Old Man's original instruction was for Cute Little Girl to help Colt up the ladder then slide NEXT to him on the way down. Colt had other plans. He climbed right into the lap of this perfect stranger and slid right on down. As you can see, he wasn't suffering.
It typically only takes once for the little guy to get the hang of something. So he got back in line and found Cute Little Girl #2.
After a few more rides down the slide, the line was getting longer and the sun was getting hotter so we moved on. But we just couldn't leave Fan Day without saying hello to Big Red. By this point, Colt was kinda done with the whole sweaty mess, but that didn't stop me from trying.
Colt wasn't having it. AT ALL. Big Red was so nice and patient, but Colt was just done. I didn't even realize Jeff had taken these pictures of us trying to get Colt to warm up to the idea.
What started as a plan to get Big Red to HOLD Colt for a photo, turned into this.
Easily more awkward than last year's Santa Claus picture. I love that Colt wasn't content to just not smile and not touch Big Red. He pressed his entire body against me so as to get as far away from him as physically possible. And poor Big Red is standing there all "what do I do with my hands?" Love it.
So it was finally time to give up and get back to some AC. But not before a hot, sweaty, sticky, exhausted family pic. Go Hogs!
It rained this weekend. Hard. But we were faithful and optimistic little Razorback fans and made an attempt at Razorfest 2010. (For the non-Fayetteville crowd out there: Razorfest is a fancy term for the tailgating-on-crack that goes on all day before the annual Red-White game.)
Incidentally, NWA's Race for the Cure event was also this weekend and was threatened by storms. But we really thought the worst of it would be cleared out by the time Colt woke up from his nap and we would head down to the stadium on Saturday afternoon. Sure enough, the sun was shining and we loaded up the car.
We found a parking spot pretty close to the action and we started walking toward the stadium. Sun still shining. But as we got within 50 yards, we felt drops. And the drops QUICKLY turned into rain. Big, fat, cold rain. We made it into the safety of the stadium just in time for the sky to open up.
So. There we were with a few thousand of our closest friends, huddled in the hallways on the inside of the football stadium, with no umbrella, and no real plan.
We walked around a bit, did some people watching, and as quickly as it had started - the rain stopped. So we made our way to an opening and let The Boy have his first look at the field:
It was still several hours until the game, which we didn't stay to watch, but there was plenty of activity. It never ceases to amaze me that people will wait in line for ANYTHING. There were lines everywhere in there. Lines for food. Lines for the bathroom. Lines to get your picture made with the General Mills characters (the leprechaun from Lucky Charms and what appeared to be the Pillsbury Doughboy). It seemed that the longest lines were for things we couldn't even identify. For the record, we waited in line for nothing. We made our way around the stadium, stopping to look at various photos and plaques of Bowl Games and notable players, enjoying the sights (and smells! of football food!).
By the time we got back around to the gate we had entered, The Boy had hit his quota for casual strolling and was ready for a change of scenery.
We made it back around to the Broyles Center where I had high hopes of getting a cutesy photo of Colt in front of this Razorback statue. And this is said photo:
That's his best "My Mama made me stand here and look cute, so I'm humoring her. Are we done now?" face.
All in all, not a bad outing. The rain tried to ruin everything, but it actually turned out to be a nice, slightly humid, day. And before we knew it, it was time to go home. Go Hogs!
