Spirit Day

Sweet friends: Lily and Margie Grace

Aubie, Mrs. Kim (Margie Grace's teacher) and MG

Getting ready for "Two Bits"
I'm proud to say she knows the whole cheer and all the words to "War Eagle" -- this girl is being raised right :)

Posing with the cheerleaders

Last week Margie Grace's school celebrated Spirit Day. Everyone wore their favorite team colors (orange and blue, of course!) and they ended the day with a pep rally and visit from the Auburn University cheerleaders, Tiger Paws dance team and Aubie! After the pep rally, each class got to go up and have their picture made with the whole AU group. The day before, we were talking to MG about seeing the cheerleaders and Aubie at her school and she asked if she could give them all a big hug. When it came time to walk the walk, though, she was a little more cautious. She did hug the cheerleaders but she decided in the end only to give Aubie a little pat on the head! She had a great time cheering, dancing around and yelling "War Eagle!" (and admiring Aubie from afar!)

**For my sewing buddies -- I made MG's outfit by altering Martha Pullen's A-line jumper pattern and making the pants from this Jackie Clark pattern (so simple and cute!). I found that adorable cheerleader embroidery design for free here. The material is from my stash but originally came from Hancock's (I knew two yards of orange and white pin stripe would come in handy one day!). Gotta love it when a super cute outfit comes together so easily :)

Kicking off the season

"Waaaaarrrrrr Eagle, Hey!"

We got new seats this year . . . definitely higher than last year!

Enjoying a treat

Our little cheeleader

It is hard to believe that it is that time of year again . . . another Auburn football season is official upon us! The Wilder family ventured out Saturday night to watch the Tigers take on Louisiana Tech. Hooray for a victory!! Neil and I decided to take Margie Grace to the game with us and she did much better than we expected. However, she breezed through the bag of goodies and distractions/toys I brought by half time. And, frankly, by that time Neil and I had also had enough of sitting in the heat and trying to entertain a 2-year-old. So, we packed it up and headed for the house, listening to the rest of the game on the radio. Margie Grace seemed to really enjoy herself. We watched the Spirit the eagle fly, cheered with the cheerleaders, danced to the band, sang War Eagle several times, enjoyed a frozen lemonade and beaned the lady in front of us in the back of the head with a shaker exactly three times. All in all a great start to the season!

War Eagle, Hey!

On the eve of another Auburn football game, I thought I'd post these pictures of Margie Grace from last week's AU vs. LSU pep rally. She had a great time (and had a great view from her Poppy's shoulders!) but seemed to get a little overwhelmed at the size of the crowd and all the incessant cheering. We stood near the band and she really enjoyed watching Uncle John play his drum. She even got to play it herself when the pep rally was over. War Eagle!

A Family Divided

When it comes to college football -- or college anything for that matter -- us Wilders are Auburn through and through. However, among extended family the allegiances are not that straightforward. Neil's brother graduated from Mississippi State and Neil attended one year of school there before transferring to Auburn (he claims to only bleed orange and blue, though). So the AU vs. MSU football game each fall brings about a nice opportunity for a little family rivalry. This past Saturday we ventured over to Starkville, Miss., for the game and met Tim, Sue and Neil's dad [who was sporting a MSU shirt and an Auburn ballcap -- he told me his heart belonged to Auburn but I could swear I heard him say the same thing to Sue about MSU:) ]. Neil, Margie Grace and I were dressed head to toe in Auburn orange and blue. Tim and Sue proudly wore their maroon and white. Like I mentioned earlier, Mr. Wilder wore both. Here are a couple of pictures illustrating our divided family. Although Tim successfully got Margie Grace to utter the words "Go Dogs" a couple of times Saturday night, Neil and I spent the entire ride home practicing "War Eagle" with her! The game was pathetic but we still had fun.