Jeff's birthday weekend in Aggieland

We knocked out the scary portion of our Halloween bright and early on Friday morning with a trip to Passport Health in Austin, for our travel shot debriefing and the first round of injections. It was actually a wonderful visit--very informative and personalized--and our nurse made the whole process as painless as possible. From there, we made our way to the Arboretum to get the birthday weekend started with our annual combined November birthday/half-birthday trip (for Jeff, Weston, Clay and Ruth) to Estancia Brazilian steakhouse. This is always one of the highlights of the year! And, from there, it was off to Aggieland!

Our first stop was the new and very impressive Equine Complex, where a sweet member of the Aggie equestrian team gave us a tour of the facilities. After that, we checked into our motel room, which we were happy to get on short notice, on a game weekend. This happened to be the same motel some of our family members stayed in when we got married, and it appears that they literally haven't changed a thing in the last 16 years. But, it was available, and inexpensive, and close to campus, so we didn't feel we had anything to complain about. 

Fun at the Equine Complex

a pile of boys

Eventually, we made our way over to Chicken Oil Co. to hang out and grab some grub. We took the kids there last year, and so, embracing the Aggie Spirit, it has become a tradition for us. After dinner, we had a mandatory nap time, to help combat major grumpiness during Midnight Yell. We made it to campus about 10:20 and were able to see the "Flight of the Great Pumpkin," before following the band over to Kyle Field for Yell. 

A cutthroat game of Crazy 8 at Chicken Oil

Flight of the Great Pumpkin on the Quad

watching the junior Yell Leaders do their class set before Yell

Clay quickly picked up the pass-backs and really got into it

We were directly behind the band at Yell,
so we had a good view of the big drums as they exited

Future Yell Leader

One of the kids' favorite things on campus

The game was at 11:00 on Saturday morning, so we arrived at the stadium by 10:00. We were sort of in awe of the magnitude of the recent renovations. And, while the stadium was far from full, it is always fun to watch the Aggies play at Kyle Field. It's even more fun when they pull out the win. 

Game day selfie

Kyle Field, with the newly added south end zone seating

Reveille

"Now forming at the north end of Kyle Field…"

"…the nationally famous, Fightin' Texas Aggie Band."

Yell Practice and an early game proved too much for this little guy

In an effort to introduce the kids to more "old school" Aggie establishments, we took them to Layne's for lunch after the game. By the time we finished eating, Midnight Yell had caught up with all of us, and another mandatory nap time was instituted. 

Jeff chose Lupe Tortilla for his birthday dinner, mainly based on the fact that they were the only non-fast food joint in town with a playground and adult beverages. Due to exceptionally slow service, we ended up just having drinks and appetizers, but the little boys were able to get all their wiggles out on the playground, while the two older kids and the adults played cards and shared some delightful conversation at the table, under the heaters on the patio. We ended up eating dinner and dessert at Applebee's, chosen mainly for its proximity to our motel. There were no fewer than two drinks spilled at our table, and the waitress made me feel older than dirt when she proclaimed that she started Kindergarten the year we graduated from A&M, but we still managed to have a good time and share a lot of laughs. 

brother time at Lupe Tortilla

This morning, we spent some time just wandering around on campus, indulging Clay's statue obsession and marveling at all the ways in which campus has changed since we were students there.  For instance, there is the most magnificent Starbucks in the library now, and the inside of that building no longer looks like the '70s threw up on every floor. 

Having a blast at the bike "fix-it" station

a particularly popular sculpture with the kids

Clay wanted to stop at every statue on campus and have his picture made.
(He also talks about wanting to see all the statues when he looks at the travel books.)
We don't really understand his obsession, but we are happy to oblige. 

Ringed with Aggie Spirit

The kids have been asking us forever to go bowling--basically, since the Marble Falls bowling alley closed down several months ago--so, we decided to take them while we were in the "big city." We had a great time at Grand Station, and Weston emerged victorious in our game. Our final stop before heading out of Aggieland was Wings 'N More, where we took the first available table in the bar, which is how we discovered that Weston is a huge fan of the sports' bar concept. (I know, this should have been obvious. Because, hello, food+sports.) He would have stayed all day, but, despite all the mandatory napping, the younger boys were quite tired, and it was clear we were going to have to voluntarily leave the restaurant or get kicked out. We had such a wonderful weekend, celebrating one of our very favorite people, in one of our very favorite places! 

Ready to bowl