National Champion LSU Tigers!

15-0. (Or, if you prefer, Fifteen and Eaux.) That's how LSU ended their latest season of college football: with a perfect record. It was incredible to watch over the course of four or so months.

The title game just so happened to be held in New Orleans this year. Purple and gold flooded the city even more so than usual, with a fair amount of orange from Clemson fans mixed in. (Very interesting that both teams in the final game were the Tigers, also both with stadiums called Death Valley.) Local artist Becky Fos painted the official poster, and she made appearances all over the city at area grocery stores signing free copies. We got one!

The game was played on Monday, January 13, but celebrations started days before then. Kenny joined some of the guys for an impromptu gathering of former Tiger Band members on Sunday afternoon. They met up at Lucy's, performed on Fulton Street, walked over to Harrah's, continued down Peters to Jackson Square, and finally made it into the Quarter, playing Tiger Band standards most of the way. All without official permits or road closures or police escorts. Kenny said it was pretty amazing to behold.

The next day, game day, the boys and Kenny went off to school and work decked out in their purple and gold. GW Fins decided to open up for a special lunch, so of course Nola and Nopsi reserved a table. Dana, Lizzie, Jeff, and I joined Nola, Nopsi, Lynne, and Uncle Dean for a fun and festive lunch. It was a great day to be a LSU Tiger.

We walked down Bourbon for a bit after lunch, soaking it all in (Nopsi even got picked for a street show!). It was hard not to be confident in our team going into the last game of the season, after all we had accomplished thus far. People were pretty positive LSU would come out on top. The mood downtown certainly reflected that, and I was so glad to be a part of it.

And come out on top we did. We got off to a slightly slow start, but then we put our heads down and never looked back. Final score: LSU 42, Clemson 25. We were National Champions once again!

GEAUX TIGERS!

Ten Things

1. Riley posing with a fellow trombone player at Celebration in the Oaks and Kenny's awesome Christmas pancakes.

2. My boys are both officially riding on two wheels now! Kenny was determined to get them going before January 1, and he made it happen. They're not pros yet by any means, but they're doing great.

3. LSU handled Oklahoma in the CFP game on December 28 and earned a spot in the National Championship game in NOLA on January 13. (That will be a whole separate post.) And Joe Burrow(eaux) won the Heisman Trophy. Such an awesome season for LSU football.

4. Sunday dinner NYE celebration!

5. We inherited Bridget and Brian's old playset and Kenny and Nopsi worked hard between Christmas and New Year's to get it set up in our backyard. The boys are so excited.

6. Seeing Spies in Disguise. It was cute, but the boys both said they liked Frozen 2 better. Go figure.

7. For a number of years, Nopsi has given the women in our family a handmade gift, usually an ornament for the tree but sometimes a pin or a piece of art. (Not pictured is his springy copper Christmas tree with colorful marble ornaments. I had already put it away.) His creations are some of my favorite decorations to put out every year. I love them all so much.

8. Finally checking out City Putt mini golf on a gorgeous day.

9. Saying goodbye to Tallulah, who we discovered had NEW GROWTH sprouting when we moved her outside. Never seen that before!

10. Playing in the leaf pile before dinner on Sunday. Kate accidentally raked Riley's face and he ended up with quite the injury. However, no one knew what had happened until a couple of minutes later. He held in his tears and tried to tough it out!

Lagniappe: Sleepy pics. You're welcome.