Baylor Homecoming 2016

I. Love. Baylor. Homecoming. 

I always loved homecoming as a student, but ever since I graduated six years ago (hi there, old here), it has most definitely become one of my very favorite weekends of the fall. Social media does a pretty good job of keeping everyone up to date, but it certainly can't replace hugging someone's neck. 

This same time last year I did a little rendition of "you know you went to Baylor when..." and being back this weekend just made me think of so many more reasons. I would be in a certain place on campus and it was like a memory nerf gun would start rapidly shooting random memories back into my brain. It was kind of cool - like my own little picture show.  

So this homecoming was pretty important because I allowed invited Jeff to get a dose of the jam-packed, fun-but-exhausting, green-and-gold-filled weekend. He's been down for a couple of games in the past (and the tragedy that was Baylor/OU last year), but never for homecoming. 

The reasoning was two-fold:

1) It's never quite the same experience when it isn't your homecoming, and

2) I had to be sure this relationship was going somewhere before taking this big step :)

But this year I realized there are still some very important people he needs to meet before we get hitched, and homecoming is a perfect place to take care of the majority of them.

Okay - so the run down. There's a homecoming itinerary. It's followed every year. This year we switched a couple things around, but alas - everything was checked off the list. 

We kicked off the weekend by speeding driving quickly, but carefully, down to Waco Friday after work. I was a part of the BRH (Baylor Religious Hour) Choir my whole time in college, and we host  "Singspiration" each year. What is Singspiration? Like a church service without the sermon :) 

It's where alum (and their people) get together and sing worship songs together and then the BRH alum sing two of our "token" songs ....and feel like celebrities. Old celebrities....but celebrities. It's a pretty perfect way to kick off the weekend!

BRH Alum - Jeff took a video of the last minute of I Am. You can listen to it below.

And for those of you who aren't - it's still a pretty good listen :)

We met in BRH ten whole years ago. It was like the Lord said "you (points at me) and you (points at Lisa) - y'all go have fun." And we did. And we still are. This girl is a bundle of joy - and I really would hate to see what the past decade would have been like without her!

Okay. So from Singspiration we walk down 5th street to Fountain Mall (which actually has a fountain now - back in my day it did not) for the bonfire/pep rally. 

I would love to tell you this is me and someone took it - but I borrowed it from Baylor's instagram. It's just way better than any of my bonfire pictures. 

So we hung out at the bonfire, watched the dancers dance, the cheerleaders cheer, and Seth Russell (my crush) give a pump-up speech. Kelsey was a Bryce Petty fan-girl, but my heart belongs to Seth Russell. He just seems like a sweet, Jesus-loving quarterback who is trying to lead a team in a tough time and I really just want to give him a big hug. 

Then we took a couple of picture by the pretty fountain....

And then we took a stroll down to bookstore. Because being back on Baylor's campus makes me want to do nothing more than buy all the Baylor gear. 

When we walked in, Jeff went to the guy side and I went to the girl side. I went over to check on him later and (jokingly) asked if he found anything. Then he just silently walks over to a shirt and stands in front of it. I laughed and said "do you want me to buy it for you?" And he said yes. 

Y'all - my sweet little Sooner is doing his husbandly duties and embracing the Baylor. But I can so tell he's trying to do so in a subtle way as to not be a traitor to OU. Me? I'm pretty awful. Jeff now has two Baylor shirts and I have none. I should probably work on being better at that whole embracing thing  :)

So then when we leave the bookstore we hear ridiculously loud noises and walk out to see the firework show right above us. I seriously am in love with Baylor Homecoming. 

By this time it was 10p and we hadn't eaten dinner. So where do you eat dinner at 10 o'clock at night? George's. #andallthebearssaidamen

George's is a staple. Even outsiders love George's. Jeff s a huge fan of George's. So we ate all the fried things and sat at the Table of Knowledge. And life was good. 

Saturday morning started (entirely too early) with the parade! I'm pretty sure there's some statistic about Baylor's parade being one of the largest collegiate parades in the world. My sorority usually has an alumni breakfast that we go to, but as a lot of my girls couldn't come down this week, I watched it at the Quad - which I actually liked ten times better. 

But first, we needed coffee. 

The guys dropped Lisa and I at Common Grounds to wait in the ridiculously long line while they went and got a spot for the parade.
So we waited.
For almost an hour.

The love for the CG runs deep. 

After getting coffee, we walk over to campus for the rest of the parade.

Totes magotes borrowed this from Baylor's instagram, too. It's just a good picture. 

Okay so not only is the Quad a better view of the parade - but Ryan's mom always sends him with homemade zucchini bread and pumpkin bread to nibble on. And her zucchini bread is one of the best things I've ever tasted. I had bread. I had Common Grounds. I was at the parade. I was just so dang happy. 

Parade crew. All with bread. 

The female three. And that one on the right? She basically runs things on Baylor's campus. And is therefore Baylor famous. And we know her!! 

Jeffrey's first parade experience. And his new shirt he picked out :)

 Hah- okay, funny story. So I really wanted Jeff to meet my friends Nick and Michelle from college (and their sweet little girl!). The parade was crazy so I honestly thought we'd just have a better chance at one of the tailgates. 

So after the parade ended, Jeff said he was going to go throw away his coffee cup. Then like 10 minutes later, he still hadn't returned. So we're all like, okay, should we be concerned? Did he run away? Was this all just too much for him? And then, lo and behold, he returns with none other than Nick and Michelle! Yes, the people he's never met. 

Turns out, Michelle recognized him from social media (thanks, insta!) and just stopped and pointed at him. So Jeff was quite confused at this tiny little nugget of a girl pointing at him. Luckily, she was with Allyson, and Allyson and Jeff are self-proclaimed BFFs. So she made the introductions and they all came to find me! 

We are getting to the point in life where our reunions come with babies. And this one was so stinking cute.

I love watching my friends be moms. Direct quote from Michelle: "Babies are fun. Look, you can just do whatever you want with them and they think it's funny." :)

The cool thing about homecoming is you can turn around and see someone else you know. After saying goodbye to this crew, I turned around and recognized Lucy - so I knew Lauren and Cody had to be close by! 

Lucy's first homecoming! And Lauren and Cody were like everyone's favorite couple in college. We just all took a little longer to find our respective "Codys" :)

And another pic with this one!

So by this point it's almost 11 and we don't have a set plan until noon. So what do I do? I take Jeff to the George's tailgating tent where I know they'll have the OU game playing (as it started at 11). #pointforkaty

But first we had to stop at my new favorite picture spot on campus. I'm so jealous of all the students. They just have it so good these days. (cue the 'back in my day' stories...)

All smiles from this one during the Sooner game. See? I try to keep my man happy. This is me embracing OU. Watching their game at Baylor's homecoming.

We then went to the Bear Walk to try to see Ashton (the Baylor dancer that's an old family friend) - but we missed her. The plus side is someone gave Jeff free pom poms so he was able to truly express his enthusiasm for this day...

(eye roll)

We then went over to Tailgating Alley and did more reuniting and such. We always go to Travis' tailgate. I love this guy. I met him freshman year and we've been friends ever since (despite the fact that he always seems to be making fun of me. He and Jeff bond over that).  He's actually the one who watched Charlie the whole time I was in treatment and such. He's a keeper in my life. He's also about to be a daddy. #somanybabies

Sweet Avery showed back up. Sportin her new gear :)

And then Lisa and I went and stood in line with several small children in order to be the Y. 

I asked Jeff if he wanted to be the Y with me but he quickly said no. I guess we found where he draws the line. :)

We then headed on into the game to watch Baylor completely demolish Kansas. Poor guys. I felt sorry for them. Jeff just kept saying "they're so bad" over and over again. 

In case you wondered, we completely roasted. And I have a V-neck sunburn and a farmers tan to prove it. 

After halftime we went to a souvenir shop in the stadium (I told you - I need all the gear!) and then walked back over to campus. We had a little time to kill, so we....... 

....went back to Common Grounds.

That smile. He's my favorite. 

And yes, I bought that green mug. I saw it when Lisa and I were in line that morning and I couldn't stop thinking about it all day. I seriously have a coffee mug addiction. I should probably see someone about it. And I think Jeff realized this weekend that when we get married, he gets me AND all my mugs. (insert wide-eyed emoji)

After Common Grounds, we walked back over to Waco Hall (seriously - so much walking) and did a quick change in the bathroom for Pigskin!! I was a Sing Chair in college - so Sing/Pigskin obviously have a huge place in my heart, and I was excited to share that with Jeff. You can't take pictures in the hall, so this is all you get. 

And then we drove back to D-town and left the green and gold behind. 

And I'm already looking forward to next year. 

If you were there this past weekend and I DIDN'T get to see you - let's make a point to fix that next year. 

SIC EM BEARS. 

Katy