Texans Holiday Party

In light of yet ANOTHER heartbreaking loss by our Houston Texans football team, let's focus on something a little more upbeat. Last week before the devastating loss (seriously, how many more ways are there to lose a football game in such stunning fashion???), ahem, as I was saying... Last week Connor and I had the honor of attending a holiday party for all the kids in the Toro's Kids Club (Toro is the mascot for the team). Yes, Connor is a card-carrying member of the club as any young Texans fan should be. The kids got to have a fun night of football drills inside the official practice facility, a tour of the stadium, and cookies with Santa Toro. It was such a fun night!

Here we are heading to the party. Of course, Connor had to wear his full uniform for the occasion.


We decided to strike a "tough" pose. Don't mess with us, ha!


And here's Connor inside the practice "bubble" which is an indoor football field where the team practices during those miserable Houston summers.


Here's Connor doing one of the football drills.


We got to visit the official weight room. Here's Connor standing next to some of their fancy equipment.


Probably Connor's favorite part--seeing the inside of the tunnels where the Texans players run in/out before and after each game. Anyone who has seen Connor play football knows that before you can throw a pass, you have to run out of the tunnel and be introduced. So yes, this was a highlight!


Here he is enjoying a Christmas cookie in the Texans' cafeteria.


And here is the official pic of Connor with Santa Toro:


We were there during all the preparations for Monday Night Football, and so we got to see the stadium before they put in the grass for the game. Our tour guide informed us that live grass is trucked in, placed down in pallets (1000+ squares to cover the field), and then removed and replanted in several fields close to the stadium after each game. They rotate the pallets to ensure the grass looks nice and fresh. You can see in the picture below that the goal posts are removed, too. Our seats are located right above the end zone tunnel in the picture.

Here's another pose for you from the field level.



Aaaaand another one from the front entrance of the stadium.


All in all, it was a super fun night to spend with my little Texans fan. Or should I say, fan-atic! ;-)