This past weekend was a fun one! Tab had the Texas versus the University of Oklahoma game that’s held every year at the Cotton Bowl which just happens to be inside the FAIR! He had the game a couple years ago and the day was a blast! We were so excited he got it again. The weekend started off with his crew (the guys pictured above) on Friday evening all coming to our house with spouses, replay guys, etc. for a crew dinner. I had a delicious dinner of chicken and beef fajitas catered because 20 people!! I don’t have those skills. ha!
*A little football talk…every week each crew rolls into town by 6:00 p.m. on Friday evening. The guys all have “crew dinner” usually at a restaurant. Friday night/Saturday morning they have pre-game meetings and then GAME TIME!*
So after dinner I kept all the children outside to give them as much quiet as I could while they held their meetings in the living room. Worked great! We served up some warm sopapilla cheesecake with ice cream for dessert. They were all begging for more and then they split for the hotel.
Tab kept his tradition and stayed with his crew at the hotel. As they were walking out, he handed me a parking pass for the fair/game. I should have asked him a ton of questions like…
1. How do I even GET to the fair? But I didn’t think about it at the moment.
2. What time should I leave to get to the game on time?
Questions like that would have been important for me to ask. 🙂
The kiddos and I FINALLY arrived to the parking lot where our parking pass granted us access. (I told Tab later a few of the roads we were on to get to the fair and apparently they’re out of the way. Those questions above were pretty important.) We tried a couple others and were unsuccessful. Nixon asked me every three minutes, “How much longer ’til kickoff?”. We hopped out of the car just as the cannons were going off. Huffed it to our seats and only missed a few minutes.
The weather was AMAZING for some college football!
This was our view…check out the cutie walking toward the OU sideline. 😉 We were in the shade which made it even better.
The last few games I’ve attended have been in NFL stadiums where there’s just more space. I’m spoiled with all the extra room. This stadium was different. ha!
Everyone stood the entire time, so we did too! Bowen Slaughter was a TROOPER! When people were standing his little three-year-old self could not see a thing so I’d hoist him up on the bleachers so he could stand too.
These two sat some when they got tired, but seriously…all three kids did great!
We saw Miss Brittany! Miss Brittany is a sweet college sophomore who went to our church and was so sweet to Ebby Lee. We loved getting to chat with her for a few minutes.
Look how cute she is! Both teams’ fans had on THE cutest clothes! The dresses and rompers I saw were adorable!
This kid was totally into it…the entire four hours!
After the game we made a little detour in the livestock barn. We were headed to get Bowen’s stroller. Our car was close but they wanted to check out the cattle.
Two seconds after this picture that longhorn swung his head, his horn got close to Nixon, and Nixon’s face was sheer panic.
We grabbed the stroller and made it back to the field to see Tab. Tab’s sister and her boys met us at the fair after the game to experience the State Fair of Texas.
Proud of this guy! He worked a great game.
Right after the game there were a TON of people. I was patting myself on the back all day for putting both boys in highlighter yellow! It made it so much easier to keep up with them.
These two are all about milking cows.
Like a BOSS! 🙂
The Budweiser clydesdales make me think of Missouri. 🙂
All the crazies down on the farm. 🙂
This big boy was so proud of himself.
When we usually go to the fair, I’m ALL about the shows. I could sit and watch a show on pretty much anything, but game day throws me off my usual fair schedule. So we missed almost every show. We did get to check out the Taylor Swift Experience…they had dresses, other clothing, and memorabilia from throughout Taylor’s career. Ebby Lee thought this was CRAZY cool.
Family selfie (minus Bowen) in front of Big Tex.
Nixon, our kiddo who doesn’t like rides, is turning over a new leaf! He was all about the rides this year. (See the highlighter yellow shirt)
Everyone got a turn at the balloon game.
We grabbed some dinner. I know many of you are partial to Fletcher’s Corny Dogs, but every year I head straight to Catfish Floyd’s….fried catfish, fries, and the most amazing sauce ever make me a happy girl!
The four of us rode the Haunted House ride. Check out Ebby Lee’s face. hahaha!
Blurry but had to post…she was a mixture of half excited and half scared to death. 🙂
Here we go!!
This makes me laugh. The little ride took us around inside this area where there were creepy statues or dressed up mannequins. At the end one of the creepy things moved. It wasn’t too scary, but Ebby Lee thought otherwise.
We ended the night like this. The fair is one of those things I’ll look back on when they’re older and will be so thankful for these memories. As we were driving home, Ebby Lee thanked us for bringing them. My mama self (remember I cry over EVERYTHING at the age of thirty-three) wanted to tear up. I think they’ll look back on the fair and be thankful too. #makingmemories
If you’re local, I highly recommend you checking it out! During the week you can find some great deals on tickets. There are tons of things to see/do that are completely free! Okay, that’s my Public Service Announcement for the fair. 🙂 Have a great day, friends! XOXO
Okay, there was so much goodness in this one post…but I must say your stroke of complete genius was putting your boys in that yellow. I never would have thought of that…and it was sheer brilliance! I'm so glad you had fun!! I thought about you guys all day!
Wishing I still lived in Texas to visit the fair – so fun!
XO
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Looks like y'all had an awesome day! And I have zero idea how you manage to look so cute at the end of a football game and after doing the fair all day long! I'm impressed. 🙂
Ok, officially OFFICIALLY jealous now! And you're right – your kiddos will have the BEST memories of the fair days. It's just good ole wholesome fun. That is, when people aren't stealing your stroller 😉 Glad you managed to hang onto it this year!
So fun!! Fried catfish, football, and fair fun: sounds like the perfect day!!! Love all of the pictures, friend!! Xo
Girl, you are brave! We went Sunday and it was insane and I can only imagine what Saturday was like. Tim was at the game and says the fair part is always super crowded. You are braver than I am! I'm glad y'all had fun!
How fun! You give me the courage to take my kids out of the house by myself. Ha!… so scary but so worth it for moments like this!
What a fun little weekend for your family! I so wish Tab was an SEC official….just selfishly so I could maybe meet you in person. 🙂 I was so hopeful the fair was in our future when I saw my kids had yesterday and today off school but no luck…dang high school football practice got in the way!!
It looks like y'all had a great day at the fair and at the game!!! I have a question though, because as a football wife, I absolutely cannot stand to sit in the stands and hear the fans yelling and bad mouthing the coaches. So, how do you deal with hearing the fans when they badmouth the officials? It just makes my blood boil, and I want so bad to just turn around and yell at them!
I ALWAYS put my five year old in neon when we go to Silver Dollar City in Branson on the weekends or anywhere for that matter ha! Boys don't know how to stay close by so it makes me not so much of a basket case trying to keep track of him.
I thought I saw him on TV! I love college football and this is the biggest game of the year for this Longhorn fan! It is not fun being a Texas girl in Oklahoma during this game! Haha 🙂 I love the fair and I really love that Ebby Lee thanked you – I am also 33 and cry at everything so I probably would have teared up too!
So.Much.Fun!!! You all had a full day but it looks like all the Slaughters had an absolute blast! You seem to make everything so special and fun for your kids and I know they are so thankful for that!
We are going to the fair soon and I can't wait. This will be Maddox's first year! Beckham is going to want to go in that scary ride…I HATE spooky rides…I'm sure I'll freak out even it it's not scary. I might have to try the catfish, but I sure love the corn dogs! And fried oreos!
SOOOO Much fun!!! Funny fact – the cow they were milking is Dairy Max and my sister in law used to work for them! She traveled all over doing presentations with that cow!!