Pep Pep Pep

After our fun morning picnicking on the Quad, we got ready Friday night for the Pep Rally.  Last year Jason and I didn't get to see Charlotte at the Pep Rally so we were really excited to see how she did.  Also, since she's now so much older and so aware of what's going on we thought that she would love it even more.  

We found a parking spot and walked over to the Pep Rally.  We paused in front of the Gorgas House to take a picture.  

Carrie, Scott, Sam, and Abby were already on the Quad saving us a spot so we found them once we got there since Memma and Papa weren't there yet.  We took some pictures while we waited for the pep rally to start.

Charlotte sure does love Sam and Abby!

And once she got in Carrie's arms she didn't want anything to do with us!

We started to get worried though that Mom and Dad weren't going to make it with enough time to find us and get Charlotte and get up on stage.  So we went to the entrance to the seating area and asked the girl guarding it if we could sit down and she said that we could.  This made a huge difference because had I had to stand up with James in the wrap the whole time I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much as I did!  Charlotte was also worried about Memma and Papa and kept asking where they were.  She is definitely her Momma's daughter and doesn't like to be late or even cutting it close to on time -- that girl wants to be early just like me! :)

Memma and Papa finally texted us that they were walking up and Jason took Charlotte to meet them.  She was really excited to get to go on stage and was just looking around with awe.  We really got a kick out of them sitting on the FRONT ROW!  I can't believe they let a two year old sit on the front row!  It worked out for her though because after they introduced Coach Saban he walked down the line of those on the front row shaking hands and he touched her arm and said "Hey there little girl."  Sadly, we weren't quick enough with the camera and missed it but you can see it in the video below -- Charlotte is the little girl in red. (Yes, that story will be told in the family forever and will probably be one of Charlotte's proudest moments from her childhood when she's retelling it to her children even though she will never remember it!  She is still able to tell you though that Coach Saban talked to her if you ask her who talked to her at the Pep Rally.)

Coach let some of his players introduce themselves and we were really excited to see Char-Char's friend Mr. Barrett.  When Charlotte sees them she says, "He's really big!"

We did have a few times during the Pep Rally when James got upset.  But he quieted down quickly.  There was also a time when Charlotte tried to walk off the front of the stage, but Papa got her before anything dangerous happened!  She bounced a lot and looked around everywhere but was otherwise very well behaved.

After the Pep Rally we took a picture of C, Memma, and Papa on the stage.  And then Charlotte got to meet Coach Moore! She had a big night meeting big leaders at The University!

Charlotte had been excited to see the Bonfire since one of her Alabama books mentions it but once she saw it she did not want to go any closer.  She kept saying that it was "really big" and that it "would be out soon."  She is STILL talking about the Pep Rally and Bonfire so I'd say that it was a hit!  It will be fun seeing both Charlotte and James on stage next year!