It seems that we don't usually make any big plans for the Super Bowl.  This year was really no exception - until we heard that Evan was getting an uncharacteristic Sunday off and wanted to watch the game with us.  So Ray and I figured if we were going to have company, why not make it worthwhile?  We gather a small group... Evan...

...Jen (who came after she finished strike), Tonya and Jami...

... and Kevin, who made masterful food for all of us to munch on! Just before the game started I had to run to the airport and pick Ray up.  He was home, appropriately dressed to cheer on the Colts, before we had missed a full 5-game minutes!

So after yesterday's looong day... I was ready for a little bit of relaxation - but it wasn't to be, as today is the first day of the NFL season!

Now I expected to be able to watch my 'Boys beat up on the Bucks from my living room sofa; when I had checked the Fox programming schedule last week at our fantasy football draft it indicated my game would be on locally.  So it was quite a surprise when I turned on the TV to see the Eagles and the Panthers!  Ray was out running errands, so I called him to see if we couldn't head down to Finnegans to watch the game - even though that's where all those Eagle fans would be anyway.  In honor of opening day, Ray had put on my old Dallas t-shirt, since his Colts shirt is too big for him now.  I don't think he was expecting to go to the bar...

The guys did give him a rather hard time about it, but he was a good sport.  We did get to see 'Boys and Colts win!  Oh, and the Eagles won too....  So the 2009 NFL season is off to a good start, only another 16+ weeks of cheers, jeers, heartbreak and triumph!

Thanks to Joe for capturing these once-in-a-lifetime shots on his iPhone!

Every year since we got engaged, Ray and I have hosted Thanksgiving for our family at our house.  This is year number seven, and over time our numbers have increased.  Last year our good friend Tonya announced that she wouldn't be making it home to Seattle for Thanksgiving, but in fact would also be hosting a pair of cousins who were attending schools on the East Coast.  As always, the more the merrier, so we invited them to join us.  This year, Tonya's two cousins turned into three cousins, plus we had a pair of Champlain students (who Ray works with at the EMC) who also had no home for turkey day.  The irony of Thanksgiving for us is that I don't eat turkey, and Ray is allergic to it.  So while he makes a wonderful meal, we have a ton of leftovers that we can't do anything with.  Tonya and her Hoffman cousins have become our dependable leftover handlers!

Unfortunately, the McCarthy side of the clan was unable to make it.  My brother and his girlfriend, Katie, hosted turkey day in their first (solo) apartment together, and my folks headed out there.  While we missed the four of them, we fully understood how long the trip was, and we know we'll see them for Christmas!

Thanksgiving is probably Ray's favorite holiday, and he spends days (and weeks) planning the menu and cooking.  And he creates quite the feast!  First, thing out of the oven this morning was a lovely apple pie.  It was so lovely, it didn't look real!  Fortunately, it turned out just as yummy as it looks! 

The only real rule on Thanksgiving is that no one is allowed in the kitchen but Ray (and very occassionally me, if something needs to be dished up and brought to the table).  Here is Ray threatening me with the sprayer to stay out of his kitchen!

The other Thanksigiving tradition in our house is football!  The Cowboys always play on Thanksgiving, so we plan dinner and dessert around kick off.  In another ironic twist, this year the Cowboys were playing the Seahawks!  Tonya and her Washingtonian cousins wore there team colors, and were great football company!  Fortunately, the 'Boys pulled out a victory, but here's a shot of Liz, Tonya and Christopher watching the game.

  (Thanks for the two pictures Tonya!)

And Andrew (Tonya's other cousin) sitting with Rafi and Dan, the Champlain students.

All-in-all it was a great day, the company was excellent and the food was even better!

Feelin' great after yesterday's win (and the "real" Texas beef that Dad had for dinner) we embarked on our final two tours of our trip.  Now, growing up, my parents lived in Texas and they always told my brother and I how it never rained in Texas.  When I was 13 and they took us on a cross country road trip we drove through the pan-handle of Texas.  It rained the entire time.  This would be my only other Texas experience, and guess what: it's raining today.  Irony folks.

So we departed under drippy and overcast skys for the Texas Stadium Tour.  It was very cool, we got to visit the luxury boxes, the club room (where Troy Aiken announced his retirement from football and TO signed his recent contract extension - remember the huge bowl of popcorn?), the locker room, the infamous tunnel and the field!

Here's Dad in one of the luxury boxes.  For only $3,200 you too can have this box, 8 tickets to the game, food for 24, a case of soda, a case of beer and 3 full bottles of liquor!  The price is so reasonable that companies rent them out for the year!  This box belongs to the City of Irving.    Tax payers love football so much in Texas apparently they pay for this sort of thing!

  Unfortunately, Neman Marcus was doing a photo shoot on the field (in the rain?) so there was a crew there building some sort of platform over the infamous centerfield star.  Dad encouraged a little bit of rebellion and I jumped in the middle quickly so that he could take a photo!  Kiss the Star!   This is me in the endzone closest to where our seats had been the day before.  It would be a better photo if those people weren't in the way!  Photo shop!  For a mere $500,000 you too could own this endzone.  If you feel that price might be too steep, guess what, there's more: VIP tickets to the final game in Texas Stadium (vs. Baltimore), photo session in your end zone with Jerry Jones before the game AND a post-game tailgate party in your endzone!  Wowie!  I also had a chance to sit on the 'Boys bench, right near about where Tony Romo had spent some of the day before!

And finally, there's my Dad at the 50 yard line!  Go Cowboys!

  We learned that Texas Stadium will be imploded after the season.  Turns out that while Jerry Jones owns the stadium, he does not own the parking lot.  Not much you can do with a stadium with no parking! 

After our Texas Stadium Tour (and the rain) we headed out to Valley Ranch!  We had a different bus drive than usual for the lucky 30 folks who got to go.  Unfortunately, this bus driver didn't know where to go, and some how missed the HUGE white building with the giant Dallas Star on it.... so we drove around in a huge bus through some condo developments for a while, before the bus passengers nearly mutinied and started yelling directions at him based purely on the location of the afore mentioned building.  We did make it there eventually!

  Here's Dad in front of two greats: Lee Roy Jordan (that's whose jersey he's wearing) and Roger Staubach.  These paintings are in the hallway at Valley Ranch, there is one of each member of the ring of honor.   We also go to visit the on-site TV studio (who knew they had one?), it's not where the press conferences are held (because that's acutally in a hallway, we got to see that too).  But here's Dad and I sitting behind the desk (we have no explanation for the inequitability of the heights of the chairs).   And here is a parting shot of our FAVORITE bus driver (he rocked) and Ronni, the Maximum Sports Connection goddess.  She really rocked it out.  Everything about this tour was seriously awesome!  They took care of everything, and all we had to do was sit back and have an amazing time.

This weekend went by super fast!  It was totally amazing and I had the best company, my Dad (the reason I'm a Cowboys fan).  He picked it right, we had to go before they moved out of Texas Stadium.  That's where the Cowboys have played my whole life, and to miss seeing it would have made me sad.  Now I can't wait to do this again!  Maybe I can convince Ray to do an "away" game at the Giants next year......

As Day Two of our Cowboys weekend dawned, we realized there were some benefits to our room location.  Not only did we get to see all of the players cars outside our window - we also got to see them leave in the morning!  It was funny, there was a fence around the perimeter and people were already lined up outside at 7:30 am, when I woke up.  We could tell if someone was going to walk by our window, because the crowd would start to run in our direction.    Here's Rookie cornerback Mike Jenkins waving to me in my PJs!

Promptly at 11:00 am we loaded up the bus to head to the stadium!  The game wasn't until 4:15, but we had some tailgating to do!

  Once again Maximum Sports Connection had taken care of everything!  We had lots of food, lots of drink, a DJ and a flat screen showing the Colts vs. Texans game!  Dad and I decided to wander around a bit, check out the other tailgates (and a port-a-potty) and take a look at the Pro Shop.  Well, believe it or not, there was a waiting line!  We went as soon as we got there (as advised) and we still had to wait outside for about 10 minutes.  Crazy!

More craziness - here's a great example of the right place at the right time.  Dad and I were just wandering around the perimeter of the stadium when who should appear?  Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys.  It was a completely surreal experience and I had some trouble getting a photo, but Dad is one smart cookie.  He positioned himself just right, stuck out his hand and SHOOK JERRY JONES'S HAND!  I believe he also uttered "Nice job with the 'Boys" before the body guards pushed him aside.

  Right around 3:30 we wandered into the stadium, and were pleased to find our seats (they were great)!  Funny thing, I was sitting next to a 30 year season ticket holder, who also happened to be a South African native!  We chatted about my trip and his decision to become an American citizen in the '70's.  He was also a great resource to have at the game, he pointed out where Jerry Jones was sitting, Phil Simms in the announcers booth and the 30 years of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders who were on hand for the game. 

Here are some highlights (though they may be fuzzy) from the game!

Best part about it - the Cowboys won!