For several months Sean and I had been planning a getaway trip, especially since he'd been traveling 60% of the time the last three months and with baby #6 coming along, and date nights away from the kids almost non-existent. Sean had accrued some flight miles and free hotel nights so we debated going to Arizona or someplace warm during the winter to get out of the rain. When Oregon made it into the Rose Bowl with an excellent chance of going to the National Championship, we debated for a couple of weeks and then decided it was a chance we couldn't pass up. We were so grateful to my parents for taking the kids so that we could get a few days away and enjoy this awesome experience together.
After a fun birthday party with Josh and his friends we headed down to Albany, dropped off the kids and headed down to Grants Pass to stay with Dave and Christine for a head start on the next day's drive. We drove the rest of the way to Valencia where we had dinner at Five Guys and enjoyed some great burgers and fries. We had Frozen Yogurt afterwards and then went and got some blankets and hats and gloves because it was so cold! We were expecting warm California weather and arrived to find record cold temperatures similar to what we left in Oregon! That evening we played Yahtzee in our hotel room to celebrate New Year's. We went to bed a bit early though, because we were so worn out. Can't believe it's 2015! The next morning we drove to Pasadena, getting to the game several hours early. We parked on the golf course north of the stadium. It was an amazing sight! Thousands of cars parked and tens of thousands of Duck Fans tail-gaiting in a fun, relaxing environment. We walked most of the length of the golf course to go see the stadium and take pictures, then we went back to the car to eat lunch before the game. Some guys next to us had brought a corn hole game that they let us borrow.
The game was awesome! Lots of fanfare and entertainment, but the football game was the best part of all. After a tight first half, Oregon steamrolled the Florida State Seminoles in the second. The forced fumble after fumble (and an interception or two) and capitalized on the turnovers to rack up a completely dominating score of 59-20. It was what we had hoped for, but much more than what we were expecting. So much fun to watch! We drove back up to Albany the next day.
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| Beth and Matt came too to celebrate their 20th anniversary. |
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| We saw Marcus Mariota's dad! Matt called out to him and Sean thanked him for raising a great son. He said thank-you. |
