On the Banks of the Red Cedar....

Is a school that's known to all....


On Saturday I took Aaron to East Lansing. As is per tradition we make a trip to tailgate once a year to partake in all things green and white. September is my absolute favorite time on campus and being there brings back so many good memories.

We first made a stop to visit the Sparty statue. Aaron always thinks he's the bee's knees when he gets to stand up there "like the big kids".


We tailgated with my very good friends Richelle and Brian, Richelle's sister, her husband and Richelle's parents. It was like the good old times. Boone's Farm may or may not have been involved. ;) (I assure you I did not partake, but the fact that Boone's was there made me smile!). Tailgating at MSU is something that you just need to see. It's an event! People are very serious about their tailgating at MSU. Someone even had a deep fryer to fry a turkey this year!

After hanging out and eating good food Aaron decided he wanted to watch the band make their traditional march to the stadium. As a former bando(tm) who am I to deny him? I love watching the march to the stadium (called The Series). The very same color guard moves I did 13 years ago are the same exact moves they do today. The drum cadence used in 1966 is the same cadence used today. The SMB is very rich in tradition! Some might say the SMB is a bit militaristic but that's what makes it so cool.

As the band came around the bend near Sparty Aaron's eyes got huge. I wish I had the camera on him at the time. There's so much to see and watch. After they passed by he said, "That was SO cool!" I asked what he liked the best and he said watching the horns. I asked which ones he thought were neat and he said, "The ones that make noise!" Then I asked him if he wanted to be in the band and he gave a resounding "YES!" I have so many great memories of being in the marching band at MSU and the discipline I learned and the friendships I gained were priceless.

After the game started Aaron and I took a walk along the Red Cedar River. After the crazy rains we had last weekend the Cedar was no longer a babbling brook. It was a crazy rushing stream of water. I've never seen it like that before. There were no ducks to feed as I am sure they were all huddled somewhere safe so they didn't get hurt.

We decided then to head back to the car. First Aaron wanted to have his picture taken on the bank of the river.


We took a longcut back to the car, unfortunately. It's quite obvious that I haven't been on campus for several years and we went a bit out of our way. After a stop at Sleven (7-11) for a drink we were good to go. We were both very happy to plop down in the car.

One of the things I have always wanted to do with Aaron was take him the the MSU Dairy Store and to the 4H Children's Gardens on campus. Something always seemed to get in the way though and we've never done it. However, this was a year to start new traditions so I asked him if he wanted to do that. Ice cream? Bring it on!

First we went to the children's gardens. It has been a long, long time since I had been there. In fact it was 14 years ago today that I was last there, but let's save that for another time shall we? ;) Aaron had a wonderful time going through the mazes and playing on the various pieces of equipment set up. We would have loved to go the the regular horticultural gardens next door but we were illegally parked. No one wants to endure DPS at MSU!

Finally our last stop was the MSU Dairy Store. Even though there were several choices Aaron chose vanilla bean. I stuck to old reliable, butter pecan. Both were equally good. Then I whispered to Aaron that as a special treat ice cream was going to be our dinner. His big grin let me know that he thought that was pretty cool.

On our way home Aaron said, "When I grow up I want to be a Spartan". I hope more than anything that his dream can come true.

Go State!