MIZ

This past weekend we took a ‘quick’ trip to Columbia for the MIZZOU-vs-Miami (Ohio) football game. We set out on Thursday morning for Kansas City, breaking the drive into two days. Clare did really well, sleeping most of the way thru Kansas, who can blame her, Kansas is pretty boring. I had prepared myself for making more stops than we normally would, as Jeff pointed out Clare would probably need gas before the car did. Surprisingly, she didn’t need all that many stops; we made 3 on the way there and 3 on the way back – not too bad!

Checking out the front seat while Dad loads the car for day 2 of driving.

After spending the night in Kansas City we went on to Columbia where we walked around campus all-day and waited for Greg and Gail’s arrival that evening. Clare got the grand tour of campus, with no pressure for going there; she would be class of 2032. We stopped for a picture with the Tiger, shopping at the bookstore, and even got a scoop of Tiger Stripe ice cream from the dairy there on campus. We were thrilled that the weather was beyond perfect, a cool breeze and sunny skies. Overall it was a great day spent together walking around and taking in Columbia.

Obligatory picture with Truman, maybe someday we'll get the same picture if she chooses to go to school there.

Every girl needs some tiger ears!

One of Jeff's friends on his TigerBoard chat board wrote this book.

Tiger Stripe ice cream, she clearly likes ice cream, who doesn't!

Playing with her iPhone at Heidelberg, just like all the other kids.

Saturday we drove to Columbia for lunch before the game and then walked around campus with Greg and Gail. Gail and Clare stayed at the new student union while the three of us went to the game. While the game was somewhat of a blowout, 51-13, it was still fun. I spent most of the time watching the people, occasionally the people on the field, that cannon will startle me every time! Jeff and Greg seemed to have a good time, neither of them rushed the field or painted their chests with MIZ, maybe they toned it down a bit with my presence?

Driving home was a long day, we decided to do it all on Sunday. Clare was a real trooper; she slept almost the entire time and didn’t have any major meltdowns. We only stopped 3 times and got home by 8pm. Monday we all slept in a bit, we’re grateful for our jobs being flexible and allowing for that :)

Walking around campus brought on a number of thoughts and feelings. I didn’t feel necessarily old compared to the students, but more that the students are really young! We figured out that today’s sophomores were born the year that Jeff started at Mizzou; the freshmen weren’t even born yet! Should Clare choose to go to college, which I hope she will, she’ll graduate in 2032; that seems like a lifetime away! Jeff questioned that she wasn’t going to graduate in 3 years? I gave her one for a Masters; she’s an exceptional little girl, but no pressure! There were lots of parents walking around, it happened to be family weekend, I couldn’t help but wonder what Clare will be like and if she’ll want us to come visit for parents weekend, I promised her we wouldn’t embarrass her should we come. With all the thought of Clare going to college made me also think that I can’t imagine what it’s going to cost to send her to college, I should be saving every penny I can, something tells me it won’t be cheap! Maybe she’ll get lots of scholarships for her excellent grades and outstanding athletic abilities, again, no pressure!

I love taking weekend vacations with my family; I wish we could do it more often. Hopefully our next trip will be to Ohio, she needs to get a taste of the land of the Buckeyes first hand.