the Gamecocks are National Champions!

It has been such a busy week and most of it has revolved around Gamecock baseball and the winning of the national championship. It’s been hard to be productive because since Monday night we’ve either been watching a baseball game or celebrating! We are so proud of the baseball team and coach Ray Tanner. Todd is even saying that if we have another boy his name is going to be Tanner Carroll. We’ll see about that!

On Wednesday afternoon, there was a huge welcome home party at Colonial Life Arena (where the Gamecock basketball teams play) for the Gamecock baseball team. The place was full. I was thinking we’d just run in and do some cheers. But we ended up about 3 hours there watching the replay of the winning game against UCLA, cheering, and then listening to the coaches and players speak. Even Hudson loved it and was proud to be there!

We got to sit next to my former coworker and friend and her husband and they helped us keep Hudson entertained. He loved all of the excitement and cheering. This was the closest thing to a sporting event he had ever attended. It’s a shame neither of my boys were wearing garnet or black!

It was a little hot in the arena, though, so Todd’s body temperature was rising as he was wrestling Hudson. He got to sit in his own seat for a little while so his daddy could cool off.

You can see a little bit of the arena and see how many people were there. The Gamecocks had just entered the building with their trophy. Look at everyone holding up their cameras!

The Mayor, Steve Benjamin, got up to speak and told the crowd that an old-fashion ticker tape parade would go down Main Street on Friday to celebrate the victory! And Governor Mark Sanford wrote a letter saying that the Gamecock baseball flag would fly over the State House for the rest of the week. So exciting!

So today at 11:30, Hudson and I headed out and we picked up TC from work and went a couple of blocks to Main Street to watch the parade. We met up with a lot of TC’s former coworkers (who are still his good friends) and their families. Hudson was very excited!

“Hooray for the Gamecocks, Dadda!”

Coach Tanner, Cocky, and some of the 2010 National Champions

Hudson was loving it! And loving his little palmetto hat!

And a few seconds later… he tried to jump down off of his daddy’s shoulders. Yikes!

Gotta sneak in a picture of mommy. (I’m always behind the camera and there are probably 10 total pictures of Hudson and me together. Sad.)

The South Carolina State House with the Gamecock flag flying high on top!

After the parade, the parade-goers walked down to the State House. There was a huge crowd gathered at the State House to celebrate and listen to a few speakers that wanted to offer their congratulations. It’s so nice to be a part of a community that shows so much support for the University. We’re very proud of the team for their athletic accomplishment, but also because they had the highest overall GPA out of all the teams in Omaha. And all of the USC teams had the highest GPA in the SEC this Spring.

The Independence Day celebration started early this year! We’re excited about the weekend and spending some time at the pool with family.