Go Aggies!*

*Please E&K, don't hate me.

I just realized that I didn't write about Thursday night. So here I go...

As soon as I landed I dialed up J's phone and asked "What are you wearing?" which is another running joke we have. He said, "Sage green. A lot of sage green." Ha ha...very funny.

We chatted until we met up at the end of the security checkpoint. *sigh* It was so awesome to see him again. We hugged and I did not want to let go.

We retrieved my luggage and headed to his place so he could change out of his uniform. We talked the entire way which was great. One of my fears was that we wouldn't have enough to discuss. But we jumped right in and hit the ground running.

We went to BW3s for dinner and then we walked around the boardwalk, talking and walking for hours. At one point my brother Kevin called, whom I haven't talked to in awhile. While he and I talked J entertained me by dancing to a Michael Jackson tune which was blaring from an area restaurant.

We drove home and continued talking until almost 11 which was late for both of us. It was so great. We just sunk back into our roles as friends even though it had been years since last seeing each other. So far so good, I thought.

Now...I wrote about Friday already so back to Today.

J woke up before me and headed downstairs to see if his nephew H was awake. I stayed in bed a little longer because I figured he needed a little one-on-one time wiht H and his Sister A.

I went down about 30 minutes later and met his sister who is a doll. J&! went to the grocery store to get breakfast goods and such for the day. Honestly it was quite fun to go shopping with him. He got to see my quirkiness when buying eggs (I check each and every egg int he container to make sure they aren't broke on the bottom). He just laughed at me.

We headed back and when J's bro-in-law S started breakfast we realized J's sis had already left. So we enjoyed some OJ on the back porch playing with the dogs - Lucy, Chase and Chiquita. Lucy's a Lab and very territorial. When the other two would head to J&I to be petted, Lucy would grab them by the tail and swing them away. We found this extremely funny so we taunted the little dogs over just to see Lucy in action. (*No dogs were injured during this time.)

After a yummy breakfast of breakfast burritos, J&I showered (separately, of course) and got ready for the game.

J wanted to give me a tour of the campus so we walked around a bit and then went to the student center so I could get a shirt. I was wearing a light blue tee which had me standing out like a sore thumb in a sea of maroon (It was a Maroon Out day). J was pleased I got a shirt and it made me happy to fit in for once. And it is a nice shirt. :)

We took the trek up to the Zone and all I could think was "Thank God today isn't the day after the marathon." Truly I never would have made it. This was a ramp that was 5 or 6 stories high and just kept going and going. J thought it'd be good for PT training but I just wanted to get to the top and get some water. Food was not a necessity at that point - but water. (To which I also kept thinking about what Powell had said when he came back from internship in Texas that you're not hungry in the heat - which was so true.)

We finally made it to the top - to the Zone - and found our seats which were incredible. They were in perfect sight range for the field and right in the Texas sun.

The national anthem was great with F-16s from Lackland AFB doing the fly-by. THAT was a rush. Both of us love F-16s so that was an incredible moment as they flew right over our heads. We could almost see their nose hairs. Wow...

The game...well...the game was rough. As J kept saying, "The band was great!" But the team struggled - a lot of turnovers, bad calls, poor playing. The band was great - sharp looking, tight formations, excellent playing. And despite not bleeding maroon and white, it was hard for me not to get caught up in the moment of it all.

After the game, J and I walked by a statue of some guy who saved A&M from closing years ago. Students now put pennies at his feet for good luck on exams. Then we walked under the Century Tree where we quizzed the locals for the legend. One girl was supposed to take her friend's pics under the tree but she wouldn't walk under the tree alone or she'd never get married (as legend has it). J and I were already walking under it so he took her camera and took the picture for them.

Then J took me to another memorial across campus. The Bonfire Memorial was for the 12 students who died in 1999 when the traditional bonfire collapsed. The memorial is a beautiful tribute and I found myself tearing up even though I had no clue who these kids were.

After about 30 minutes there we headed back across campus to our parking garage which confused the hell out of us, but eventually we found the truck. Then a quick stop at the mall to exchange some items for J before heading back to his sisters for dinner.

When we got there H was still awake so we played with him while J related our day to S&A. When he got to the Century Tree and how we had walked under it, A gave ma a look. Hmmm...Yes, I know the legend, J knew the legend, but whether that legend comes true will be a good question.

I had fun playing with H while S&A cooked dinner and J hung out with them. H is such a cutie and we banged toys and crawled all over the living room. It was fun. A was a little surprised when I told her I have 8 nieces and nephews and 1 Goddaughter. This is the first little one in their family so I'm sure that struck her funny.

It was a brat and hotdog night at the household. I was starving, having not eaten since breakfast, but I held off a bit on devouring all the food. One brat, some chili, some mac-n-cheese and sweet tea. That was plenty. If I had eaten more I'd be sick right now.

During supper was interesting. S brought up a sensitive family matter to J for them to discuss - right in front of me which surprised me. I didn't really care and actually was kind of glad because a) I didn't have to talk then and b) I was able to be there for J when he needed a sounding board later.

After dinner we headed back to home, even though it's a 3-4 hour drive and it was already almost 8pm. J and I plan on going to church tomorrow so we wanted to go. He was tired though so I got to drive the Big Truck! :) Of course anything is big compared to a MINI.

It was a pretty uneventful trip. J's getting ready for bed now, even though he slept about an hour on the way home. I should probably get ready for bed too. Tomorrow should be a good day, I hope.