National Funding Holiday Bowl!

Happy New Year!!! Here’s to 2016!

Wednesday night was the National Funding Holiday Bowl. It was, without a doubt, one of the best nights of my life. There were so many events leading up to the game, with each one more exciting than the next. I’m so excited to share with you my adventures this past week. 

Sunday afternoon my family and I went to the San Diego Zoo to welcome the USC Trojan football team.

I grabbed a couple of photos with the players.

Adoree Jackson:

Quarterback Cody Kessler:

The team captains took a photo with a giant snake. I got in on the action.

We hung around the zoo for a bit, then headed home. We went to Burger Night for dinner with a friend. 

Beef burger with pepper jack cheese, red onions, tomatoes, arugula, chipotle aioli and onion rings. I went big.

Monday’s breakfast:

We took the kids to the USC football practice at Southwestern College in Chula Vista. 

Coach Clay Helton took my son out to throw the ball with some of the players. I don’t know who was more excited: my son or myself! 

After practice, some of the players signed my son’s football and our jerseys. 

After practice, we raced over to the next event: a tour of the USS Theodore Roosevelt battleship with both teams. The kids and I ate McDonald’s in the car on the way. 

Both teams were present and both coaches spoke before heading onto the ship.

This ship is over four acres in size. Incredible!

My husband grabbed a photo with the Captain of the ship, Captain Craig Clapperton.

That evening my mom came into town. We took her to CPK for dinner. My husband and I shared the Tostada Pizza.

I had half an Italian chopped salad.

For dessert, we shared a chocolate soufflé cake.

Tuesday’s breakfast was toast and peanut butter. Honestly there wasn’t time for anything else. It was time to race out to the next event!

It was time for the Battle of the Bands at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel. Both the USC and Wisconsin bands were present and they played for the crowd.

It was awesome!!

After that, it was time for the National Funding Holiday Bowl Kickoff Luncheon. 

 Family and friends were present. 

Each table had two players. At our table were Juju Smith Schuster and Adoree Jackson from USC. My son was beside himself with excitement!

My husband sat at the head table with the coaches, the mayor, both team captains, members of the holiday bowl committee and various others, including Pat Haden, the athletic director of USC.

There were several speeches, including my husband’s.

Proud wife. :)

Lunch started with a salad which I didn’t take a picture of. I did grab a shot of the main course:

Chicken, mashed potatoes and vegetables. Dessert was some sort of chocolate cake.

Wow. Incredible event. I’m so proud of my husband!!!! 

That night we all went to Mia Francesca for dinner. All 27 of us. Yep….almost all our family was in town! 

Dinner was served family style. 

Everything was delicious! It was nice to all get together to celebrate the events of the week!

We were up bright and early Wednesday morning to head downtown for the Holiday Bowl Parade, the largest balloon parade in the country!

My husband and I got to ride in our own car in the parade! 

Definitely one of the coolest things I’ve done in my life! 

We all came back to the house and ordered Leucadia pizza and salads for lunch.

We rested for a bit, the got ready for the main event. It was time to head of to Qualcomm Stadium for the Holiday Bowl!

First up was the VIP Tailgate Party. 

We had so many friends and family there! I saw people that I haven’t seen since college!

My mom and I:

Lisa came with us to take photos. The above two are from her but I will be getting the rest soon. I cannot wait to see them!

Eventually, it was time to head to the field for the game. 

There were several of us that got to stay on the field for the whole game. My husband and I got to go out for the coin toss. My husband was actually the one who flipped the coin!

The game started and the fun really began!

At halftime, we visited my husband’s fraternity brother and our family upstairs.

The game came down to the last play, but in the end Wisconsin beat USC 23-21. To say I was devastated would be an understatement. I pulled it together and my husband and I headed to the stage to present the trophy to the Wisconsin coach, Paul Chryst.

It was a hard loss, but in the end, I have memories that will last a lifetime. 

I enjoyed spending a few glorious hours of my life with the above crew. We all had a ball and I’m sure will never forget that night. 

We got home around 1:00AM and crashed. Yesterday morning, we all met a Milton’s for a final family meal. I had Spicy Omelet with hash browns.

Everyone went home and it was suddenly very quiet in our house.

Last night we went to a friend’s house for New Year’s Eve for a bit. I had a few bites or this and that, but in the end, our family was exhausted. We picked up Pei Wei and ate it at home. I had a very dry, terrible Spicy Tuna Roll.

I slept like a rock last night. I haven’t been sleeping well this week….too much craziness and excitement. 

Breakfast this morning:

I’m still in my pajamas and may stay that way all day. Happy New Year everyone!

Technorati Tags: Burger Night, California Pizza Kitchen, Everyday, Holiday Bowl, Leucadia Pizza, McDonald's, Mia Francesca, Milton's, National Funding Holiday Bowl, Pei Wei, San Diego Zoo, USC