Caribbean Daydreaming: The Tradition Continues...

So as college football season draws closer and closer, I am feeling myself both REALLY pumped and also REALLY nostalgic. I think it's just a timing thing (this summer is my 10th high school reunion AND the anniversary of my freshman marching experience at OU). I mean really, I get this way every football season. I love my Sooners!! But being a part of The Pride of Oklahoma will always be a highlight of my life. I still laugh out loud sometimes when I remember things about those 4 crazy years. So much fun, so many memories, and some great music making. Oh yeah...not to mention Saturdays in a stadium filled to the brim with 85,000 Sooner fans and trips all over the country to support our boys in 3 BCS bowl games and the Holiday Bowl. So just to keep myself from rambling about how fabulous it was (and is) to be a part of such an amazing team of people, I thought I would give you guys some of my personal "highlights" from being a member of the Pride of Oklahoma:

I show up to the first day of marching precamp as a freshman scared outta my friggin mind. This is REAL folks! There is an audition and you have to compete for a spot with upperclassmen. I'm pretty sure I was hyperventilating through that entire week. Especially when I figured out that I would have a playing portion of my audition on a horn that had completely different fingerings than my horn in high school! So in less than a week I taught myself a whole new set of fingerings, a new marching style, and learned a whole mini marching routine (which was REALLY tough). I also remember meeting some pretty great people that first week. Hit it off COMPLETELY with Sarah Rice and Darren Parmele and so many, many others. People that literally helped paint my college experience...
A few weeks in Sarah, Darren, and I decided that all this crappy cafeteria food we had been eating at the dorms was just that. Crap. So we decided once a week that we would "meet for meat". So we went to Chili's. And ate real meat. Like grown ups and all...
Several times a week we would drive around in either my little cavalier or Darren's Rubicon and blast Boyz II Men (and make Darren sing all the embarrassing lyrics). I was also guilty, quite often, of forcing him to let me use the intercom on his super fancy jeep while we were in the parking garage. For none other reason than to sing "You Are My Sunshine" loud and proud...
Getting "initiated" at the mello party. Scared me half to death. Then I realized that I was on a team with some pretty fabulous people who I really didn't need to be scared of at all...
Meeting Brad Stone and realizing that sometimes, even if something isn't funny at all, if Brad laughs at it...that automatically makes it stinkin' hilarious. It also makes things automatically more fun when he's around. So one night me, Brad, and Darren went "dumpster diving" and came up with a walker that someone had left at the bus stop and an old stove that we insisted on loading up. Why? Who knows...we were freshmen...
Marching next to Darren Parmele during the Chicago show and literally loosing it laughing when he steps in a hole while we are marching and doesn't miss a beat. That one still cracks me up...
Making TERRIBLE costumes for Halloween with Sarah Rice. We were supposed to be Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart. I ended up wearing a trash bag. Literally. And I was SUPER thankful because the night I had to wear that costume to practice was also the first real cold night of the semester. And if I hadn't been covered in industrial plastic, I would have died from hypothermia...
Practicing and playing in the SuperDome. Seriously AMAZING place to get to do marching band...
Getting dolled up for games and standing next to Angie and Sarah in the stands. Seriously some of the cutest pictures known to man.
Marching next to Eric Shannon and laughing about the fact that he and I keep missing our "dot" every time we move into the Batman symbol. He says "Crapface!" every time he misses. And so the nicknames Crapface and Crapface were born. And 9 years later it is still stuck...
PORTLAND, OREGON. That is all...
Hanging out in Tempe with some pretty sweet folks. Losing my ID and having to go back to the hotel. Making the hot tub into a whirlpool. Making Rachel Porter get out of said hot tub when she was D-O-N-E. So many stories...
The Fiesta Bowl. We lost to Boise State, but it is literally the best game of football I've ever watched in my life. Such a game of ups and downs! But man we were all so proud of how our boys never gave up the fight. And neither did we. I think I left part of my lips in that stadium. They were seriously swollen for like 2 days after that...

There are about a million more stories. Maybe for another day! I'll leave you with some of my fav pictures for now. They're in no particular order... Boomer Sooner!!

Holiday Bowl fun at the USS Midway...

Getting ready to board the chartered flight to Oregon for the OU/Oregon game. Probably one of the most fun weekends I had in college!

OU/saxeT Freshman year. BEFORE the beautiful nickel silver mellos were in. So vintage...

So we all decided to get in a port-o-potty. College kids...

Leadership retreat before my senior year of marching. This was the site of the world's most EPIC water balloon fight launched on our professors. And I'm LOVIN' Chauvin, Adam, and Blake in this pic!

Judging by the carnation, I'm thinking this one was our last home game as seniors. Just me and Sarah!

Judging auditions in the meat locker room in Catlett with the lovely and talented Elaine Wiseman!

Mello Party 2006. That one goes down in history man...

Darreny and Rachie! I LOVE this picture...

This. Just this...

The Portland group

Rachie was a little tired. But I still love this picture of me and her and Crapface...

Sometimes. When I don't know where I am. I get a little emotional...

This is the Big 12 Championship freshman year. We literally stood in ice and snow for the whole game. As if you can't tell by our bluish lips, we froze our stinkin' butts off man!