Touring Jerryworld

The Death Star

Jerrydome

Jerryworld

Those nicknames and more have been given to Dallas Cowboys Stadium.  When Nick was in town, back in December, we decided to go and tour Dallas Cowboys Stadium.  ~M~ and I had toured it once before when the girlies and Hans had been down for a visit so we knew what to expect.

As I have said before when I first thought about the stadium I didn't want to be impressed.  But I was.  I didn't want to like it.  But I did. 

The reason I didn't want to be impressed or like it is because of the over-the-topness of it all.  As you near the stadium it's a massive well-designed stadium that looms large on the horizon.  My first thought was simply "WOW". 

In honor of Super Bowl XLV I wanted to share with you our most recent visit.  This time we took the self-guided tour and here's a glimpse of what you can see.

Us in front of the world's largest video board.

Me and Nicholas

Here's a close-up of the turf.  Have you ever seen turf.  It's feels weird.  It's just like plastic. 

Posing on the 50 yard line

Me and my awesome sister

While we were there they were preparing for the 75th Cotton Bowl Classic which was not being held in the Cotton Bowl as it should be.  Whatever happened to honoring a tradition?  If you don't hold it in the Cotton Bowl then you shouldn't be able to call it the Cotton Bowl Classic.  Okay - off of my soapbox.

Touring inside the stadium I was able to take a pic of one of their phones.  I love phones mostly because my Dad was a phone man. 

We got to tour the Player and the Cheerleader locker rooms.  Unfortunately we could find neither a player or a cheerleader hanging out waiting to talk to us.

I notice that when taking a pic I tend to turn a little bit.  I think that I think it must make me look thinner. 

I like Roy Williams.  Mostly because he played at UT - Austin.  And when he would get in the end zone after a touch down he'd throw up the Hook 'Em Horns sign. 

All during football season ~M~ would see one of the Gronkowski brothers playing and he would say "look" and without even looking at the screen or knowing what team was playing I would know he was talking about one of them.

I also have a special love for bathrooms as you may have read before in my bathrooms post.

I know you've been dying to see a pics of the bathrooms that the players use.

 

Was it everything you hoped it would be?  ;)

Here's some shots of the tunnel the players run through.

My sister enjoying a drink near the tunnel.  Not really.  She's just pretending to enjoy a drink.  She's doing a great job, don't you think?

Prepping for the big game.

We were fortunate that we were able to meet Jim Jeffcoat while we were there. 

Outside the stadium is an awesome bronze statue likeness of legendary hall of fame coach Tom Landry. 

We took this as an opportunity for a photo op.

We had a really fun time. 

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Thankful Thursday - Family Legacy Ministries - Camp Life

This week's charity spotlight comes from a high school friend of mine.  Meloney suggested that I spotlight Family Legacy - Camp Life.  Upon visiting the website and messaging Meloney I found out a little more about the charity.  Here's an excerpt from the webpage:

Zambia is a landlocked country located in south central Africa.  Zambia has a population of 12 million people, but a full 1 million of these people are, in fact, children who have been orphaned due to the ravages of AIDS and other extreme poverty-related diseases.  The U.N. says that Zambia has the highest per capita orphan rate in the world.  And although Zambia is some 10,000 miles away and seemingly forgotten, these children are ever before the heart of God.

Camp Life is a week-long camp held throughout the summer for orphaned and vulnerable children in Zambia, Africa.  Each summer about 400 Americans come to Zambia for one or two weeks to lead a group of 10-12 Zambian children.  We sing songs, play games, teach the Bible and each orphan gets a new shirt, a pair of shoes and a gift at the end of the week.  Almost 10% of the country of Zambia is an orphaned child and we want to show each child how much God loves them.  For many of these children this is the best week of their entire year. 

This year Meloney's daughter is raising money.  Her name is Kaily and she's 13.  Kaily, along with her mom Meloney and grandmother Diane will be going to participate in week 2 of Camp Life.  She is raising funds to support not only her trip but also the cost of the 12 kids that will be in her group.  Through babysitting and selling dog treats she has raised almost $2,000!  She's almost half-way there and she's asking everyone to please consider supporting her as she follows God's calling in her life.

So I'd encourage you to also consider supporting Kaily.  Like me, she's trying to make a difference in 2011....what will you be doing?  Click HERE to donate to Kaily.  On the donation page at the bottom you will need to put Kaily Graham so she will be sure and get credit for your donation.  I'm making my $5 donation and I hope it helps.  It may not seem like much but even if just 100 people donated a dollar that certainly could make a difference.

Technorati Tags: Thankful Thursday,Family Legacy,Camp Life,Zambia,Africa,AIDS,$5 donation,AF WingMom,WingMom,Air Force WingMom,charity,make a difference,I'd sure love it if Southwest Airlines would offer me a fantastically awesome job just for me!,Southwest Airlines