Thank you again for all your prayers, calls, texts, messages, and more! Britt is doing really-dare I say the word, “well”?? Every day she’s feeling better which is great!
I’m back with another recap from our Rose Bowl Trip we took over the Christmas Break. If you missed Part One,
Part Two, or Part Three you should check those out!
Monday morning this was us right after breakfast…
Nothing but smiles 🙂
I got several questions about my lip color…on this trip, I mostly wore this lipstick in “blue raspberry”.
We were super excited about our plans for the day…Rose Bowl Float Barn Tour as well as a Rose Bowl Stadium Tour! Tab had meetings at the stadium earlier in the morning but the kids and I were meeting the other families to make our way to all the fun. Remember me telling you the Rose Bowl is known among officials as the bowl game that really goes above and beyond for the officials’ families? This day was a particular example of that. We had a nice, big bus along with two tour guides for all the fun.
Once again…can you tell they were excited?
Front of the bus for these two.
We met up with Tab right outside the float barn.
Inside the barn were eight or nine floats they were working on. There were roped to get us viewers in a certain space and out of the way. This was one of my favorite things from the entire trip! I loved taking a look at how people do this! And almost all of these floats are flowers or another natural product like bark, nuts, seeds, etc. Oregon’s float looked great!
And so did Wisconsin’s!
It’s too bad this blog post isn’t scratch ‘n sniff because the place smelled fantastic! Flowers everywhere!
Almost everything had some type of signage explaining what it was and it’s importance to the parade.
The floats even had a picture sharing what the end result would be. At the parade, it was fun spotting the floats we’d seen inside the barn.
Now this show gets released soon so I have no reviews at this point, but it was giving us that Troop Beverly Hills vibe just a bit.
And the float for this one was super cute!
An interesting Rose Bowl fact…any guesses on how much a float in the parade costs?
$250,000-$500,000
Because the majority of these floats are all fresh most of the flowers are placed less than two days before the parade. Our guides had prepared us for not seeing many flowers so I was pleasantly surprised to see so many.
FTD passed out roses as we entered the barn. Super nice touch!
These ladies were trimming everything but the teeny top of the flower.
The details were INSANE! Do you see those orange slices?
Super cool to see these pictures come to life.
Just a FUN little tour and then we made our way over to the stadium.
I’ve said it before, but this bowl game was a big fingers crossed, bucket list kind of game so it was all super special.
There she is.
Things got silly while we waited for our group.
The tour began…sometimes with bowl games we’re allowed to be down on the field before the game to take pictures with the guys. This particular bowl doesn’t allow that but to sweeten it for the families we had this tour and took a ton of pictures. #everyonewashappy
No one was allowed to touch the grass. At the Rose Bowl, they take the grass very seriously and it shows.
A little peek…
The television spot was all set and ready. There was approximately six big bundles of roses off to the side in the shade ready to be added for game day.
There was a little Rose Bowl museum inside the stadium.
I glanced over and saw Britty closely checking out the picture until I got closer…
I realized she was actually trying to nap. Hahaha! Bless her heart! This girl can hang with some big kids.
We made our way up to the press box for the most amazing views!
GORGEOUS!!
This Day ‘O Tours was one we won’t soon forget!
The bus ride back looked a lot like this. 🙂
But we all rallied for our evening plans!
Photo credit goes to Britt. 🙂
The Rose Bowl rented the private room in the back for the officials and guests for the night! How fun is that?! There was bowling, pool tables, televisions showing the games, food, drinks, and just lots of laid back fun!
Can you spot her celebration?
Here I go again singing the Rose Bowl’s praises…typically bowl games treat the officials and their families to a dinner {usually really nice} but I’ve gotta be honest-a family with young kids-that can sometimes not be super enjoyable. However, a loud room with plenty for the kiddos to do? Now THIS was FUN!
I spied the EXACT spot we’d seen just hours before!
Our party was from 4-7 and we all made it back to our rooms at 7 looking like this…
Wiped OUT! {Which also happens to be exactly how I’m feeling after this week!}
If you have any questions about how the official side of the game or bowl games can look, please shoot me an e-mail alittlebitofeverything83@yahoo.com. I’m doing a big Q and A post about our trip and will be sure to include it.
It’s the weekend eve, Friends!
XO
How fun!!! I have loved reading about your trip, and this day seemed like a blast!!!
It’s all so pretty! Definitely a bucket list bowl for us too!
Thank you for sharing your trip. We are big sports fans in my house so seeing it from the officials and family point of view is really interesting. I look forward to your recaps. I have enjoyed following your families adventures. Prayers for sweet Brit for continued healing.
What a fun trip! I smile ear to ear reading these posts. And super pumped to see Purdue (my alma mater) on that Rose Bowl sign! They went with Drew Brees the year after I graduated, and everyone in Indiana was so excited for them! Thanks for sharing all of the fun details!
What an amazing day!!! You guys will remember that FOREVER!
Looks so much fun! I can't believe all those flowers – the pressure of getting it all done like 48 hours in advance! yikes!!!
Glad to hear that Britt is doing well. Sending prayers for the quickest and best recovery.
Looks like an amazing time. My parents were volunteers working on the float decorations this year and they said it was a great experience watching them all come together.
What an incredible experience for Tab and your family! SO COOL and so special. You must have been so proud the whole time!
This looks like so much fun! What an awesome experience! Thanks for sharing some of the fun details…way to go Tab!
what a great experience for all of you and especially your kiddos.. they will remember these trips for a lifetime!! so awesome & Congrats to Tab!!!! glad to hear Britt is doing well!!!
I can feel the joy and excitement in your post!
What a great trip, I've just loved reading your recaps! The Rose Bowl is a bucket list item for me as well, so it was great to see all the pictures and details of your experience. Thank you for sharing.
Wow…so many great pictures. I would have loved the tour of all the floats…just beautiful. Looks like it was an amazing trip for you all.
So fun! My dad was a huge Rose Bowl fan and in 1982 when our beloved Iowa Hawkeyes made it, he was able to go. Trip of a lifetime for him! He passed that love onto me and I so enjoyed your sharing your behind the scenes tour ~ thanks so much for making my day by bringing back so many great memories!
Oh wow; those floats are spectacular!