Thanksgiving with the Dallas Cowboys

(warning- this may be a record long post!)

Where do I begin? Dan has been a Dallas Cowboys fan since he was about 5 years old. He has never been to a game at Texas Stadium and wanted to get there before the end of the season because they are going to tear it down. A couple of months ago our neighbors ended up with 2 extra tickets and Dan was the lucky recipient. Problem was, he took his brother and not Mitch! Dan felt bad and promised him he would take him later in the season. We have never been on a vacation or any kind of trip by ourselves (including our honeymoon-but that's another story) so I suggested we go, just me, Dan, Mitch and Emery. He mentioned going on Thanksgiving but I said no way! On Wednesday (Nov. 19) he was browsing ebay and found tickets for the Nov. 23 game for a great price. But that was in 4 days. Too soon, right? On Thursday he was trying to figure out which weekend he could get away from work and it was going to be at Christmas time. NO WAY! The only other time was RIGHT NOW, so next thing I knew we were on the road to Texas on Friday morning! It just so happened that they were playing at home twice within 4 days. Can't drive all that way and come home the day they are playing again. Needless to say, I spent Thanksgiving in Texas!

I never thought I would see this again.

But with gas prices falling and a $179 a night hotel room for $39 (thanks to one of Dan's customers), it was very affordable!

We arrived at Texas Stadium about 3 hours before the game actually started. A "blue parking pass" was included with the tickets. We didn't really know what that meant. We found out it meant we had a parking space about 200 steps from our seats!

When we entered Dan thought he was in heaven. Right in front of us were some of the great players he grew up watching:
Eugene Lockhart, Michael Downs, Everson Walls

Back in the early 80's Dan had written a letter to Everson Wall's and he actually wrote back. (I'll have to post that later) We went back the next day and while Dan was over buying something, he came over and started talking to Mitch again and asked "Didn't I meet you yesterday?" Mitch was holding a football and he asked him to pass it to him. Dan came back and couldn't believe his son was playing catch with Everson Walls. (I took 500 pictures-how did I miss that one?)

I wonder if these two have ever been happier..........




I wonder if Santa will bring me one of these for Christmas.......

We were in row 10 on about the 10 yard line. I knew the seats would be good, but only when they were on this side of the field. Some how it worked out that about 80% of the game was right in front of us. I almost felt bad for the people on the other end!

The excitement was too much for Emery. I could not believe she fell asleep with that much noise. At times I could not even hear my own voice.

Every one stood up most of the game so Mitch had to stand on the arms of the chair and balance himself so he could see.

I loved looking at all the signs people made to try to get on t.v.

Notice the guy in the yellow shirt on the left. We stayed too long after the game and had to be asked to leave.

One of the reasons I love taking pictures is so I dont' have to be in them, but there were people everywhere insisting that I let them take the picture.

The next day we went on a tour of Texas Stadium. It included the locker room,

and was supposed to include some time on the field. They were getting ready for the half time show on Thanksgiving Day (the Jonas Brothers) so we only got to play on one end zone.

Someone suggested that we go to the Gaylord and see the ice show.
It was amazing. They had all kinds of winter scences made of clear ice. Then we walked into a room with a huge gingerbread house and all this candy.

I thought that was amazing, then we walked in and there was a huge Santa with a lap that you could sit on. Then the next room was a huge sleigh with Santa and reindeer flying through the air, with ice slides. It was too slow for Mitch (and even though he wouldn't admit it, I think too cold for the shorts he was wearing) but Emery LOVED it.

I thought that was it, and then we came to this room with a huge nativity scene. This was just a little part of it. It went around the room and was soooo pretty.

It was $50 for the tickets to get in and we only spent about 25 minutes. It was sooo cold. I thought my nose and ears were going to fall off and I was worried about my camera. (It reminded me of Ricks College, walking to my final exam at 6:45am so many years ago)

Emery's most favorite was the Rainforest Cafe at the mall. We tried to go 2 nights in a row, but we were too late and they closed. We finally made it for lunch.

There is also a store in the restaurant and Emery wanted a stuffed animal. I told her to pick something else because she has so many animals. She got down on her knees and begged.
"Please, please, beg, beg"
Yes, it worked. His name is Romo. Honestly she was soooo good, I probably would have gotten her a real puppy if she asked. She was so happy the whole time and never complained once. No whining and not one melt down. (I hope she didn't save it all up for this week!)

We spent a lot of time at the mall. When we are home I can't get Dan to a mall for anything, but this mall had a Cowboys Pro Shop, a Fanzz with Cowboys crap, and a store called "Stars and Legends" that he loooooved and Emery got to see the Rainforest Cafe again. The mall was HUGE! I walked into The Children's Place and I think it is bigger than all their stores here combined!

The other highlight for Emery was the hotel. We were going to go to an amusement park, but both kids said they would rather swim. We had the pool all to ourselves everyday but the last.

I think Emery loved that Mitch didn't have any cousins or friends around and gave her all his attention!

Thanksgiving Day. I thought we went to the first game early, but this one even earlier!
This time our seats were on row 22 between the 20 and 30 yard line. Better for this game because it was played all over the field.

And still plenty of action and touchdowns right in front of us.

I am glad there is still a place for a moment of silence.

Emery fell asleep again at this game. She was happy when she woke up and got this star that lights up.

More anxious people to make sure I was in the picture. She said "you have to- it's a once in a lifetime experience". I should have told her we had just done it 4 days ago!

I love it when we do something that's makes someone this happy!

By the time we found somewhere to eat it was almost 10pm. Our Thanksgiving dinner was pepperoni pizza and bbq chicken salad from a restaurant in the Hilton hotel. (sad) One year when my Dad was in the hospital we had Thanksgiving dinner at Burger King. I guess I am thankful it wasn't that!

Emery loved following Mitch around and copied whatever he did.

Traveling with Romo.

How did we ever travel without a DVD player, Nintendo DS, and a Garmin?

It was a big week of firsts for me. Not that I don't like vacations with others, but it was nice to have our first vacation with just us on our own schedule. My first purchase on Ebay. My first time in Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. My first NFL game. I never thought I would cheer for the Dallas Cowboys! My first Thanksgiving away from my family. The first time I worked out on vacation and the first time I actually lost weight while vacationing! WAHOO!!!