We knew we were probably crazy to take all three girls to a Utes game, but we got a little more than we bargained for at the Utes vs. UCLA game at the Rose Bowl this year. New matching Ute gear had been purchased, Ute bows had been dug out from the depths of the girls’ hair accessory collection and everyone had been pumped for weeks. The girls even tried out their Ute gear when it was Wear Your Favorite Team’s Jersey to School Day at their preschool the day prior.

Sometimes, especially when there is a fair amount of eager anticipation and preparation in play, things are just destined for an epic fail, and that’s exactly what we’ll call this day.

Ute Game at USC 2015… technically Meredith’s first Ute game!

For whatever reason, all three girls were whiny, crazy and obnoxious on the trip up, which, combined with traffic, did not a pleasant drive make. We’ve had better 10 hour road trips to Utah than we had on that 1.5 hour insanity-inducing drive. Looking back, this was obviously foreshadowing that this day was just not going to go our way.

We were meeting our friend, Lucero, in Pasadena and had planned to have a picnic at the park before the game, but those plans were scrapped as traffic built up. We reached Pasadena with just enough time to park at the golf course at the Rose Bowl and picnic there, which actually worked out great. 

Sebastian, Kennedy, Amelia and Samantha ran around the green to their hearts’ content and had a blast playing tag. That was definitely the highlight of the game. 

Go Utes!

Climbing trees was another highlight for the kids.

It was 85 degrees that relentlessly hot late October day, which at the Rose Bowl, meant it really felt like 95 degrees because the stadium is literally in a bowl at the bottom of a valley. It was absolutely scorching and just getting from our picnic to the stadium felt like trekking through the Sahara. I had to pump in the car, with the AC on full blast, while everyone else made their way to the game, and from their reports, the kids were having a good time… for about the first thirty minutes.

As soon as I finally got there, I found poor Lucero holding a screaming Meredith, while trying to wrangle her own kids. Jake had taken the twins to the bathroom and by the beginning of the second quarter, everyone (especially poor Meredith) was hot, cranky and sick of being there already. There was no escape from the direct sun, and Meredith was inconsolable, even when I put her in the Ergo.

To make matters worse, we were in a section surrounded by obnoxious UCLA fans, who made poor little Kennedy so upset. Kennedy was so embarrassed that she asked if she could change clothes so that no one would know she was a Ute. Talk about heart breaking! We both agreed that based on our experience last year at the Utes vs. USC game, USC fans were much classier!

Five minutes after I got there, Lucero and I made an executive decision to leave and get the kids some cold snacks, shade, and possibly move to the other side of the stadium with our fellow Utes in the hopes that cheering with other fans would put the kids in better moods.

We sadly lasted three quarters longer last year than this year.

Maybe the cotton candy last year was the key?

ICEES placated the kids for a few minutes, but before halftime hit, we decided it wasn’t worth going back in, even if we had found different seats. I hate thinking about the waste of time and money, but at some point, we had to come to terms with the fact that this was a sunk cost.

With the kids melting down in the heat all around us, Lucero and I pointed out how this would be one of those days we would look back on in ten years and say, “Remember that time we took five kids to the Rose Bowl for a football game in 85 degree weather? Yeah… that was a disaster!” Lucero posted a pic on Instagram of her and the kids “having a great time” at the game and we laughed, knowing that only we will know the true story behind the “great time.”

The saddest part was that although the Utes won, we didn’t stick around long enough to see a touchdown, which I’m sure would have cheered up poor Kennedy. It was just an epic fail of a day all around. We gave Lucero and the kids consoling hugs before going our separate ways and prayed that the kids would fall asleep in the car on the way home (which they did… a bright spot in our day!)

Fortunately for me and Jake, we had a luau dinner/fundraiser event for the twins’ preschool to go to that night, and were able to relax and have fun at the end of a very tiring and disastrous day. It was the first time we were having  Charlotte and Claire, identical twin high school seniors I’ve known from church ever since they were just barely in Young Women’s, over to babysit, and while our twins initially freaked out at the new sitters, they ended up becoming great friends. Identical twins babysitting identical twins (plus one)… TWO cute!

Lots of love,