Man, you just can't go anywhere without hearing about this darn elf these days. All we hear about is who among our friends is doing an elf, what they're doing with him, what mischeif the elf is getting into, what presents he brought.. Etc, etc, etc, blah, blah, blickety blah.

Oh wait. That isn't my gig at all. Sorry friends, I am a self-proclaimed Elf on the Shelf lover. Our Elf is named Twinkle, and this is how we met him.

First, Mimi read to Katie a story about the Elf on the Shelf, and how he came to be. In the story, Katie learned that her Elf will watch over her all day, then fly back and report to Santa every night whether she was a good girl or not. She also learned that she must never touch him.

Katie is a very studious little girl, so she took her time reading all about the Elf. When she went to bed that night, she asked if an Elf could come stay with her for a little while. I told her it was up to Santa, but maybe it would happen since she's pretty much been a good girl all year long.

Sure enough, we all woke up to a very special North Pole 2012 breakfast, brought by Twinkle himself! He brought letters for both the kids, as well as a pair of Christmas jammies for both. Christmas jammies are a pretty big deal around here, so it was awesome that Twinkle got them early!

So once Twinkle got everything arranged, and gave me the dish on what he wanted the kids to have for breakfast, he took to his little perch and prepared to watch.

There comes a time in every little girl and boy's life when she or he attends his or her first Ole Miss Rebel football game!

The first thing they have to do is stand in the Grove for the Walk Of Champions, where all the players walk through the crowd on the way to the stadium.

Then, after the band plays Dixie and the fight song, they walk to the stadium.

And on the way, they see the back side of the big Jumbo Tron for the first time. It's HUGE! 

Once they get to their seats, they get to see the band on the field for the first time, and it is seriously a life-changing event.

Then, the big moment arrives! The Ole Miss Rebels come out into the stadium! Yay! 

And then comes the best part of the pre-game festivities! The Hotty Toddy! Traditionally, a celebrity, news-maker or much-loved Rebel leads the crowd in Hotty Toddy. Since this game was Veteran's Day weekend, it was only fitting that a loved Rebel Marine NROTC instructor (and Iraq war veteran), Gunnery Sergeant Stephen Roberts lead the stadium in Hotty Toddy.

As an aside, here's a link to a story that explains why GySgt Roberts is a loved Rebel:    

                             

http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/2012/9/21/3368930/ole-miss-screaming-marine-gif-interview 

And of course, before the game starts, babies have to take a few more pictures..

And then its finally time for some football!!

And then, not much later, watching football gives way to sleepy-time. For the record, real Rebel babies can sleep just fine in the stadium!

But sometimes, the excitement of winning some football gets to be too much, and a nap just can't happen.

But then you might start to lose the game, and a nap will seem like a much better idea..

When it's all over, every Rebel boy and girl has had such a great time at their first football game. They yell "Hotty Toddy!! Go Lebbels!!" as loudly as they can, they make Mommy walk up and down the bleacher stairs 90 times for bathroom trips, and they scream for the band to come back on the field a lot more than they scream for more football.  But at the end of the day, they are all smiles, because they know that real Rebels may not win every game (even against Vandy.. yikes.), but they never lose a party.