College Football National Championship

You might have heard that the College Football National Championship is happening right here in our city! It's very exciting when something big like that comes here, and while we're not invested in either team, or rich enough to go to the game, we did get to enjoy some things happening around Tampa Bay this weekend. 

Asa worked New Year's Day, so he got a comp day to use later in the week. He picked Friday so he wouldn't have to go into the office, and so we could go to the Playoff Fan Central. 

On our way downtown, we just happened upon the Alabama team arriving. 

Fan Central was open all weekend, and we were trying our best to avoid big crowds, so we decided if we went at 3 on Friday when it first opened, we could avoid traffic, and long lines. (We were totally right, by the way). 

We got there a little before three and had to wait in a small line until the doors opened. 

The whole place was set up with the four teams who made it to the playoffs. I was bummed Ohio State didn't win, simply because I was hoping my cousins (one who goes to Ohio State, and one who graduated last year from Ohio State), would come visit me. But, it wasn't meant to be. It's the only time I've ever been sad to see Ohio State lose. Maybe Jake & Nate will come visit me sometime anyway. 

We really did pick a good time to go, as when we first arrived, we were one of the first people in the convention hall. Somehow I doubt we would have gotten a picture like this later. 

There were all kinds of games and drills for the boys to play, mostly the type of stuff they set up for the kids at Bucs training camp and such. But, this go around, anyone could do the activities, not just kids 12 and under. 

 So everyone got in on the fun! There were various throwing and catching games, the boys all got their shot at kicking a field goal, and there was some very serious competitions. But my favorite was the one where they had to get to the football while wearing these jackets attached to these bungee type cords that pulled them back. I took some videos, which are super entertaining, but I don't know... can I do videos on blogger? Hmm. 

Calib totally took it on that one drill, check him out jumping OVER the landing pad. He's the reason you have to sign those waiver things. (Don't worry too much, there was just a scraped elbow). 

They faced off in a couple of throwing competitions too. Asa beat Calib, and Hayden actually got more balls in the tire than Peyton. 

Goodyear was sponsoring a couple of jumping competitions, and they took this really cool slow motion video of everyone and emailed it to us. 

Asa was the only one to actual make a field goal, and Calib ended up with a bent toenail, and then blamed me for peer pressuring him into kicking. 

I'm not really sure in what scenario throwing a football should result in whatever Hayden is doing down there, but it makes me laugh every single time. His hand eye coordination is just not one of his strong suits. 

The real college football trophy was at fan central, somehow I missed it, but Peyton and Asa caught a glimpse of it. We did, however, get to see the trophy in lego form, and that was fun too. 

Mostly, it was lots of Alabama and Clemson stuff in the store, and like I said, we don't care too much about either team. But, I guess if we're picking one, we'll go with Clemson. 

And it's our city hosting, and we love our city! 

We did collect some giveaways, too! 

By the time we had made our way all around Fan Central, it was getting a lot more crowded, and the lines were growing, we snuck out the back way, and on to the riverwalk. 

There were some seriously big Yachts at what was apparently dubbed 'Championship Yacht Village'. 

 

And the Gasparilla ship was even parked out in the river, and all decked out for the Championship. 

 The whole town is decked out, really. We decided to walk to dinner, because parking is a bit hard to come by downtown these days, so we got to see all the Championship banners, and such on our walk through downtown. We never did make it down to Curtis Hixon Park, though. That was the hub for all kinds of free concerts and such this weekend, but I couldn't get anyone on board with going. (To be fair, Asa was working every night but Friday and that was country music night- blah.) 

We had dinner at Hog Barbecue, which is always a favorite for all of us. It was a little chilly on Friday, but not too bad, and eating outside was comfortable. 

It made for a nice walk back to the car, too. 

We even caught the Goodyear blimp a few times. 

Calib wanted to go by the stadium to see it all ready for the championship, so we did that. Traffic was already shut down on a few streets, which was kind of crazy. 

Saturday, Asa and I made a trip down to Trader Joes, and over to the Alessi bakery for breakfast. They had Alabama and Clemson cookies, but all the Alabama ones were sold out. Oh, and breakfast was delicious. It was VERY cold eating outside though (and Asa was not prepared for the weather). 

We were downtown again, this time by Amalie, to get the package pick up for the National Championship 5K. 

Things got colder between Saturday and Sunday, and on Sunday morning we were blessed with the coldest day of the season. And not just Florida cold, it was in the 20s. So, Peyton, Hayden and I bailed on going to support our two runners. I mean, I was on board with getting up at 6 AM, but I was out when people started talking about windchills. I mean, look how miserable and cold they look! 

Even the USF band was all bundled up. Asa said they played the National Anthem before hand, and the Columbia restaurant was on hand with some salad, and  black beans and rice post race. 

The race shut down Bayshore Blvd for a few hours, while runners ran up and down along the bay. Calib beat Asa by a minute or two, but they both had pretty good times. 

And they got cool National Championship medals! 

In other, non-football news, we've been working on our Around the World project of the year. We've done Afghanistan and Albania so far. We're pausing tonight to for the National Championship,  but, we'll be back at it tomorrow. 

 

Tonight we are having southern food, in honor of the two southern teams. Asa made an Alabama barbecue recipe (white sauce, on the end), Carolina barbecue (mustard based, in the middle), and a classic sauce to keep our pickier eaters happy.

We also had some southern sides: creamed corn & potato salad, and some bread pudding for dessert. 

It never really warmed up on Sunday, and we were all freezing to death. I think it topped off somewhere around 45. (I know, we're going to die at the inauguration) Today is supposed to be a little warmer, and we should be back up near 80 by the end of the week. 

 I haven't reported anything since New Year's Eve. Asa had to work, until midnight on New Year's Eve, so we had a nice day at home, complete with one more holiday spread of food. 

We hung out, played some games, and watched TV, not a bad way to ring in the New Year. 

Oh, and we played flip the bottle. It's really more exciting than you might think. And Asa is way better at it than any of us. 

 We also had one last taco bar for the end of the football season. 

I'll miss plates of nachos, and Hayden thinking he made something amazing with his 'mega nachos' (which is really just a taco on top of nachos). 

And hey, it wasn't a bad season for the Bucs. They won their last game, finished 9-7 and just missed the playoffs. We can't complain too much after the last few seasons. 

On the homeowner front, I decided I could figure out how to get those ugly, builders grade toilet paper holder and towel racks out of the boys bathroom. One, I don't know who designed that with the wet towels hanging dangerously close to(and sometimes on) the toilet paper. Two, I wanted hooks for the boys towels- there's no where to hang three towels in that place, and I got some cute fish hooks at Kohls. So, I watched a youtube video and took them out.(I realized I didn't take a before picture, oops!) But, once you do, you're stuck with these holes in the wall, because apparently to put those things in, they cut into the drywall. Ugh. 

So, I collected my supplies... 

 And, I fixed the holes! Look at me! 

Unfortunately, I sent Asa to get the paint color, and it didn't match. At first I thought Lowes did a terrible matching job. But then I realized Asa took the paint can out of the garage for the paint in our room to have them match it, instead of the one that belonged to the bathroom. It's being remedied as a type though. (And to be fair, I should have checked for him, color matching is not his strong suit- when we were looking for the right color today, he kept telling me the bathroom AND Calib's room are the same color- but they're not.) 

Oh, and the big news is our brand new water softener, ta da! No more hard water for us. It's so bad here, you really need one to extend the life of your appliances, and keep the white build-up off your showers, dishes, and sinks. We love it. 

I leave you with some cute pictures from the Waterstraut pets. We got a catnip plant for the patio, and the cats were thrilled. 

That's it from here.