superfans.

phil has always been very, very good about planning both dates and family outings for us.  rare have been the times we’ve gone out without his having something up his sleeve for us.  so much so that it usually doesn’t even occur to me to ask what we’re doing or where we’re going because i know it’ll be something really fun (for family) or really good to eat (for date nights).  so i’m pretty content to just wait and see where we end up and so far, i have yet to be disappointed.

it’s something that is easy to take for granted, because it’s something he’s always done for us.  but it’s something i really do appreciate about him.  🙂

and it was the same way back when we were dating, too.  he usually liked to keep our dates a surprise and i usually didn’t ask for specifics beyond what i should wear- casual, formal, jacket needed, and the time to be ready.  you know, just the basics.

so this one time, phil said we would be outdoors, it was a sporting event, and we would eat there.  i threw on a t-shirt and overalls (because it was somehow socially acceptable to wear overalls waaay back then) and was ready to go.

he was decked out in ucla gear when he came to pick me up and informed me that we were going to a ucla game, so did i want to put on some ucla gear too?

now before we started dating, i had been to a handful of games and cheered along with everyone else, but it actually never even occurred to me to wear college colors and such.  i didn’t own more than maybe one ucla shirt at the time.  hey, that stuff was expensive!  so i guess you could say that i was not what one would call a super-fan.

but as it turned out, i was dating, and eventually married, one.

so on our way to the rose bowl (where ucla home games are held), phil informed me that we were going to be tailgating before the game.  i had never heard of tailgating before this point but didn’t want to let him know how woefully clueless i was.  so i just smiled and nodded and tried to look excited about it.

we got there and he started pulling out an ice chest, TONS of food, and a weber smokey joe charcoal grill.  he laid out a blanket for us to sit on, then he proceeded to grill hot dogs and hamburgers right there on the grass beside the car, then piled them on plates and added potato salad, chips, guacamole, deviled eggs, cookies…  it was comical how much food he brought for just the two of us.

but i sure enjoyed it!

and afterward, as we packed it all back into the trunk of his saturn, i casually asked him if we were going to go tailgating now that we’d finished eating.

i tell you it’s by God’s grace alone that we ended up together.  🙂

aaanyway, that was a long time ago and i’ve learned a thing or two about attending sporting events with phil since then. 

things like how it’s expected to wear your team’s colors to show your support and to experience being part of something bigger than yourself. 

and because phil doesn’t want his kids to be 21 (the age i was) before they know what tailgating is, he decided to outfit the whole family for a tailgating party.  but because they’re also my kids, they thought that tailgating meant you had to actually sit in the back part of the van for it to really count.

i found it comical again how much food he brought for just our family.  but the brand new ucla sunshade came as no surprise.  i’ve known the way he operates for thirteen years now and some things are just to be expected.

there is something about passing on the school pride and igniting the excitement in our little ones that i really love too.

especially when these sweet faces are involved.

so the kids finally ventured out of the back of the van while daddy grilled up burgers and hot dogs for us.  he’s since upgraded to weber portable propane gas grill.

see that there?  yes my friend, those are in fact fried eggs sitting atop those burgers!

because the tailgating was taking place on a golf course, the kids found this handy little sand pit to dig in.  all the neighboring kids were having a field day in this giant sandbox.  which i understand from my brother is utter sacrilege to all the golfers of the world.

but i couldn’t worry about that, for there was this burgerific beauty awaiting me.

that right there is a mommy who now loves every part of tailgating.  especially the eating part.

and yep, our little monkeys found lots to love about tailgating too.

especially when daddy has bruin t-shirts and hats for everyone.

and stickers to put on these impossibly cute baby cheeks.

as for mikey?  rest assured that he is now a bruin fan for life.

go bruins!

as if the tailgating wasn’t fun enough, there was also the game to behold!

and that’s where mikey got the foam finger he’s been wanting for a long, long time.

also where the girls got their bruin bears that they didn’t know they always wanted until they got there.

bruin touchdown!!

pretty fun to be part of this sea of blue and gold.

staring contest.  i believe jonah won.

towards the end of the second quarter, someone was getting tired.

“mommy, i’m too wittle and tired to cheer anymore.”

and her immediate reaction when daddy offered to get her a treat.

there’s very little in this girl’s world that cotton candy can’t make all better.

another bruin touchdown!!

you’d never know it because phil is usually very calm and reserved in everyday life, but he can yell louder than anyone i’ve ever heard when cheering for his team.  he has a voice that carries impressively far.  and he doesn’t hold back at all when we’re at a game.  even when he’s holding one of our babies.

he is, and always has been, a superfan.

and now, it appears that he’s succeeded in making superfans out of all of us.  and because it makes for great family memories, i’m ALL for it, too.