Caleb's 1st Gameday Experience

Rudy and I were so excited to share one of our favorite experiences with Caleb and Jan this past weekend. On Saturday, the 4 of us went to the pre-game rally at the Arkansas Alumni House. Because the kickoff was so early, we had a breakfast buffet instead of the usual fare, but it was so fun to show Caleb off in his Razorback regalia! When we first got to the house, we took a few pictures, but the fog was so thick, you couldn't even see the stadium in the background! As we were about to go in to get something to eat, the cheerleaders showed up. Several of them took to Caleb right away and he was super-thrilled to see some real "bee-zuh-backs." We hurried up to get a front row seat for the cheerleaders' performance. Caleb was tentatively in the middle of the action as the cheerleaders called the Hogs and sang the Fight Song. When they came out into the crowd to dance to "Hey, Baby," one of the girls came straight to Caleb. He was completely freaked out by that, but didn't cry. He just put his hands in his mouth like he always does when he's nervous. As soon as I offered for him to come back to me, he nose-dived into my arms. The cheerleader was very sweet about it and we thanked her a lot for taking the time for him. After they left, we had a yummy breakfast and even topped it off with frozen custard. (I don't care if they did change the name, it'll always be Shakey's to me!) Throughout the morning, I bored everyone to tears with my need to take pictures. I just couldn't stand the idea of not getting that perfect shot at such an opportune time! Once we were finished at the Alumni House, we meandered through some of the tailgaters. Jan was amazed by the atmosphere and we all soaked up the grins that came Caleb's way as he checked it all out. We stopped and took MORE pictures and then Jan and Caleb headed back to Rogers while Rudy and I made our way into the stadium. Alabama beat the living daylights out of us (49-14)! We spent the first half of the game in our seats with the sun beating down on us, then Rudy's co-worker and friend, Richard called and invited us up to their luxury box for the remainder of the game. The air-conditioning and hospitality were much appreciated! We stayed in Fayetteville for an early dinner at Jose's and then came back home exhausted.

Now...we prepare to play Texas on Saturday. Ugh.