We are the Aggies...

I'm not usually one to be a "die hard" anything.

However, there is something about November that makes Aggieland even more of a special place. All my Aggie friends will/can agree that we have some unusual traditions that my non-Aggie friends think are crazy.

And, well, maybe we are a little crazy, but we are also bound together by a "Spirit that can ne'er be told".

I have felt that Spirit this week as November 18 marked the 11th anniversary of the Bonfire tragedy. I was tempted to do an entire post about Bonfire, but my words will never do it justice. One day I'm sure I will attempt, but for now I will simply say that day, that moment in time, while tragic, will also remain one of my proudest moments as an Aggie.

In the days that followed 40,000+ students, community members, former students and others came together to support a fallen school. Every one did as much as the could and no matter how big or small the gesture, it was felt by all of us.

I LOVE living in College Station and I love working at Texas A&M. Now, while I may joke about the small things that sometimes drive me crazy, I am glad that my kids will grow up here and hopefully grow to love this school as much as Ryan and I do.

Saturday was not just "game day" it was THE game day of the year. Our last game at home and the official Maroon Out game (the game when we attempt to make Kyle Field a sea of maroon). We were all dressed in our best game day gear and ready to head to campus.

The whole crew was going... and managed to all fit in my Dad's truck:

Katy, Ryan, Radley, Emersy, GiGi, Pops, Krista, Will, Kayla, Bonnie and Jeremy.

All of us.

In one truck.

Radley and Kayla were pumped and did not mind at all that crazy people were in the back of a pick up. Thank God for Texas. :) Just a normal occurrence around here. We made it to campus and did what all good Aggies do... crashed a tailgate! :)

Thank you, Tackitt Family, for welcoming our crazy crew! Kelly, we are so excited that you will join the ranks of "3202"!

We took Radley and Kayla to the "kids Yell Practice" and as you can imagine, Radley fit right in with all that yelling for sure!

Next it was time to watch the Band march in and if you know my family at all, you know that we like a band. Radley was MESMERIZED by them. (see below). I don't know if it was all "the big guys" as he likes to call college students or the noise or the uniforms or all of it, but he couldn't get enough of it!

Of course no tailgate was complete without food:

Annaliese '31

Kayla '30

Caroline '30

Radley '30

The kids were so popular that we had tons of strangers snapping there pics and sending them as text messages. We should start charging.

And don't worry... Emmy '32 was there, too! GiGi and Pops had her under wraps. :)

It was a GREAT day in Aggieland and reminded me once again to be thankful for/to my parents for sending me there. In the almost 14 years that I have been here, I have met some of my best friends, made great memories and have started my family.

I pray that no matter where Radley and Emmy choose to go to school (unless they choose Texas Tech and then they are on their own ;)) that it is as special to them as Aggieland is to me.

Hope you all are enjoying football season, too.

Gig'em!