F-L-O-R-I-D-A S-T-A-T-E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This past week Rahul had to be out of town for the Florida Baptist Convention which meant I was going to be home with the kiddos by myself. When my parents and I realized it was a holiday, we thought it would be a great time to escape to Tallahassee for a little visit with my brother and cousin. Of course, I was missing my sweet hubby the whole time and reliving many memories of when we met as we drove down canopy roads, around the campus and even worshiped in the church where we got married Sunday morning. But... now I am getting ahead of myself, let's start from the beginning...

My Dad, Mom and Gran all piled into our van for the journey to Seminole Country. The fun part was, the boys had no idea where we were going. I had only told them that it would be a "long" trip, that we would see fall leaves and the weather would be cool. Here is Collin at the first rest stop! :-) I'll spare you the side of the road details that occurred a little later on in our trip!

Griffin had to get out to stretch his legs with Pop Pop too!

Back in the car, Collin and Grammie got all settled in again- note all the luggage, clothes and stuff piled high! They may have been squished, but they were still happy!

Griffin sporting his new "fall" hat on the ride...

...Eden was entertained by her shoes!

We told the boys to start looking for clues as to where we might be- it's a good thing they aren't reading yet or the secret would have been out!

Here was Collin looking around and wondering right before he saw something that gave it all away...

a Seminole head on the side of Bill's Bookstore! Check out this surprised look!!

Ahhh, Florida State! How beautiful!!

We were planning on meeting Sarah and Bill at the BCM on campus, when we suddenly looked out and there she was- walking down the sidewalk! What are the odds? Of course, she had to hop in with us!! Imagine that now- 5 adults and 3 kids in one van! Can you say cramped?!

Out of the car and into Sarah's arms!

Collin giving some love to Baboo!

Griffin's turn!

Collin giving Sarah one gigantic squeeze!

After a brief visit at the BCM, we took the boys down to the stadium.

On the way, they both found some garnet Fall leaves- which they hung on to for the longest time!

Is there any stadium as beautiful as this?! I mean really?!

Bill and Collin- I adore this picture because it really shows how much Collin looks up to his Baboo!

Right before heading in to the stadium

Eden had to have her turn- of course by now, I had changed her into her brand new Seminole Cheerleader uniform from G.G.!

All that riding in the car did a number on her hair! ha!

Bill taking them in!

Collin had to pose with the dippin dots cart for his Daddy- We thought it was pretty comical that it looks like he's holding one between his fingers!

Griffin getting a good view of the field...

...then taking some time to "run stadiums!"

Look how little they look compared to that helmet!

One of my favorite pics!

Had to add Sarah and Bill to the picture...

... and then me!

TOUCHDOWN!

Check out Griffin's awesome jump!

Future Seminoles- maybe we've got a couple of football players and a cheerleader on our hands!?

Unconquered! We tried to get a picture of the boys and Eden with this statue, but they were a little scared!

I was one prepared Mommy- with all that camera gear, I was NOT going to miss one precious, priceless moment!

Griffin was still a little concerned about all the statues. Thank goodness Bill was there for moral support!

Once Collin realized the little Indian boy wasn't real he decided he could pose for a picture!

Our sweet Eden! Cutest Nole's girl around!

At the baseball field...

Bill and I had our picture taken here once for Christmas cards. (Probably 6 years ago or more!) We thought it would be fun to try to "relive" the moment. This was the best image we got, out of at least 15 attempts! Eden was clearly more interested in the water behind us...

and so were the boys! This is all they wanted to do! Notice that they still had their garnet Fall leaves!

And here he is, our future Seminole coach! When Bobby retires he's got a replacement who's ready to fill his shoes!

What fun we had hanging out at the campus- but there was more in store and when I get a chance, I'll start sharing those moments too!