Boll Weevil Football

Wasn't life just great when you could slouch like this? This picture of lil' Stephen came after a busy weekend for he and his siblings. We went to our first Boll Weevil (UAM's mascot--you'd have to have an appreciation for cotton to realize how evil a boll weevil can be...) football game. We always look forward to the tailgating and small-town college football games come September. Though the university is small, and their tailgating pales in comparison to most places, it is a lot of fun!

Here Hope, Beth, and Stephen are joined by our friends Mistye and Nora Catherine Saffold (Kenny and John Patrick Saffold are in the background on the right). The gentleman grinnin' as he's grillin' ribs (below) is Scott Saffold, patriarch of this clan. The Saffolds were some of our first friends as we moved to Arkansas (they attend our church), and we're still very close to these dear people, including Mistye's mother Linda, who the kids call "Nanna".
Scott is a UAM grad from some years ago, and is now a VP at Union Bank, who is sponsoring this part of the tailgating. Mistye is a teacher who now works for the local education coop. Our kids have grown up together, and they are a fine Southern family whose hospitality is impeccable. If they look familiar, it may be because they proxied as godparents for Beth when Brian and Michelle Bennett were unable to come down several years ago.
Kenny had a blast this day, getting to play with his friends, ride the bull, and he even sat with his friends during the game. Beth had fun too--she's still too small to really run with the "bigger" kids, but she seemed to enjoy the game, and waived her little green-and-white pom-poms a lot.

Beth's still unsure of the Weevil's mascot (the green dude in the picture above), but she's at that stage where anyone in a costume is pretty scary. One of the great things about small college football is there is never a bad seat--unless you're the opposition, and have to sit in the sun on the far sideline.
Try as hard as he may (well, he worked hard on sleeping during the game), lil' Stephen's first Weevil game ended up in a loss for the home team.

The part of the game we watched was exciting, full of big plays and turnovers, and the weather was beautiful for this time of year. The UAM marching band and drum line are quite good, and we always try to last until at least half-time to get this part of the entertainment in...
We left after the band finished to get the kids to bed at a reasonable hour (here we are behind the tunnel that the team went through before running on the field).
Here's some more pictures of the kids in their "natural" environment. First, a little toast for breakfast...
then Stephen gets a bottle, served up by his big brother...

and finally, lil' Beth all tuckered out:

Finally, we were thrilled to hear Lisa and Jon's announcement, and can't wait for the new cousin!!