Tuesday Themes-day: March Edition

Happy Tuesday!
Hope all my readers are doing well!

So today starts the beginning of a new series I am going to do! It's called Tuesday Themes-day! Each Tuesday in March I am going to post about something fun I have done since I have come to school. These things aren't necessarily in St. Augustine. I've just done them since coming down here!

Today, I am going to focus on 3 different activities, all done within the last few months!

First up:

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Minnesota Vikings Game

I have never been to an NFL game in my life, which is sorta strange considering I live about 15 minutes from the Panthers Stadium and have been a fan of theirs since I was little. Like every other female Panthers fan (and probably everyone else), I kind of love Luke Kuechly. I even asked for his jersey for Christmas. --Sidenote: Clay, my brother, loves the Eagles, so we each got a jersey for Christmas but for totally different teams.

I even got to meet Luke the summer before I started school. He was filming a security company commercial in the neighborhood right next to mine. The little girl I used to nanny, Olivia, and I scoped out the scene at her grandmother's house (HE WAS RIGHT NEXT DOOR!!) and then made our move. He was so incredibly sweet to us. We waited until he had a short break and then he came over to sign Olivia's soccer ball (yeah I know, wrong sport). He took a picture with Olivia, and I sat there wishing I had looked a little cuter that day...

Anywho, I had never been to a game before. My college roommate, Rachel,  has lived in Jacksonville since she was little, so she suggested we have some fun and go to the Jags vs. Vikings game. My other college friend, Taylor, lives in Jacksonville too, so the three of us met up and hit the game. Of course I didn't really have anything teal, but I managed to throw together a mainly black and white outfit and fit right in. I will be honest though. Rachel and I had an ulterior motive. We had heard through the grapevine (mainly Instagram and Snapchat) that one of the guys from the Bachelorette (JoJo's season) was going to be playing at a tailgate before the game. I was obsessed with him on the show and knew this was my moment. Especially since I didn't get my moment with Luke. The tickets to the tailgate were  little expensive, so we set out to find him in the Bud Zone at the stadium. We kind of creeped on his Snapchat and found out what he was wearing. I know what your are thinking. Kayleigh you are such a creep! But hey, it made it a whole lot easier to find him in a crowd.

And find him we did. We spotted him and some of the other guys from the show and made our move. I was literally shaking. I couldn't breathe, and of course Rachel thought it was hilarious. I wasn't normally like that. We were sly though. Rachel "accidently" bumped into him and looked up to see who it was. She excused herself and then said "Oh my gosh! You're that guy from the Bachelorette!" He admitted he was, introduced us to the other guys (and the girl he had with him), and talked to us for a good 10 minutes. Then we took a picture, and he disappeared to watch the rest of the game. It was probably the best 12 minutes of my life to date. Not really. But really.

His name is James by the way. For those of you who watched the show, he was the one who always sang with his guitar to JoJo. He also had Vinny (the barber) and Robby (runner up) with him.

Don't assume we didn't watch the game though. We did! We watched the whole first half in our seats and then watched the second half from the Bud Zone (minus the 12 minutes dedicated to James). The Jags lost and then we made our way home! Back to being a Panthers fan!

Second up:

Wicked

So a couple weeks ago I mentioned my friend Sarah. We have gone on many adventures together, but one of the top two would have to be going to see Wicked in Orlando. When I was younger, my grandmother introduced me to musicals. I used to watch West Side Story, Mary Poppins, Wizard of Oz, Annie, Hairspray, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, My Fair Lady, Singin' in the Rain, The Sound of Music, Grease, and so many more! We also used to watch Michael Flatley and his Riverdance shows and every Disney movie known to man. I was quite the musical snob, and I really think this is why I liked to dance so much (especially tap, because hello...Singin' in the Rain and Riverdance are iconic). When I was 12, my grandmother, aunt, and cousin boarded a bus to New York City and went to see The Lion King. I was officially hooked. After that we saw 42nd Street (also iconic tap), Carousel, and Wicked. Every time I was entranced. The singing. The dancing. The stage work. All of it. I went to see The Lion King two more times and saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

When the opportunity arose to see Wicked in Orlando, I jumped on it immediately. Wicked was by far my favorite, and I couldn't wait to see it again. Sarah had never seen a play before, so I was excited to be the one to introduce her to this world.

Needless to say, it was amazing. I saw it the first time with Idina Menzel before she was incredibly popular so that was a huge deal looking back at it. I knew almost every word to every song. Knew the high notes. Knew the jokes and foreshadowing. But it was still wonderful. Obviously I couldn't take many pictures, but here are two that I managed to take before the show.

Also, throwback to when I saw it the first time! I was 14 (I think). Such a baby!

Last up:

Were there any guesses as to what my mystery photo could be from?

Let's get to it!

The Highland Games

Yeah I was confused too, just like I am sure you are. Had no idea the Scottish Clans of Jacksonville had a Highland Games in the very city I live next to. Who could pass that up? It was definitely something I had never done before and maybe would never do again.

My friend Taylor asked if I wanted to go last weekend, and of course I said yes! I am Irish and so is she (a Quinn and an O'Leary in a Scottish festival). Ireland is very close to Scotland, so we knew there would be plenty of Irish stuff there too.

It was a constant commotion as soon as we entered the fairgrounds. Bagpipes coming from every direction. Smells of sausage rolls, fish and chips, pastries, and so much more. Cheers from huge crowds when a man or woman threw the caber properly. Dogs barking and running around pens for you to pet. And SO MANY KILTS.

I learned quite a lot while I was there.

1. Every clan has a different color and pattern of kilts. That's what distinguishes them. During the opening ceremonies, we got to watch all the clans circle around the arena and play the bagpipes and drums. It was pretty awesome.

2. We got to watch the Caber Toss and the 56-lb. Weight for Height. Each caber is different depending on which class you are in. The men were tossing 175-lb. and 19-ft. 6-in. logs. They had to pick it up, then steady it while running down the path until they had enough momentum. They then fling it as far as they can, while hoping it will flip over and go even farther. We only got to see one person flip it completely over. The rest of the men almost had it, but then it stopped. The Weight for Height is basically just a large weight that the men try to throw over a tall pole. The highest it has ever been thrown is 84 feet!! That's crazy!

3. When the O'Quinns came to America from Ireland, they changed the last name to Quinn. They thought it was simpler. Our name originally comes from the last name Conn, but there are many different alternative spellings. Most of my ancestors were soldiers. They had information booklets all over the place that you could read the history of your family. I found it so interesting. Pretty sure I don't have any Scottish in me. My last name is actually one of the 20 most popular last names in all of Ireland!

We found the crest and almost every Irish kiosk/tent had things for sale with the Quinn crest on it. We also found out the Quinns come from the western part of Clare County in Ireland.

4. We got to see SO MANY dogs. We saw Scotties, border collies, shelties, hounds, and so many more. They even had a parade for them. We got to pet them and play with them and it really made my day since I miss my puppies so much at home. During the opening ceremonies, there was even a Scottie with a matching kilt to his owner's.

5. The things we are wearing on our heads are called Celtic Circlets. They are worn during formal events. There were so many but we liked these the best!

Taylor and I also got to see traditional Scottish dancing and a band play music with many drums and bagpipes and even a didgeridoo (pretty sure they don't often use those in Scotland). It was pretty fun and something I will definitely not forget!

Join me on Friday for this week's Friday Favorites! I will give you another clue as to what I am going to include during next week's Tuesday Themes-day too! I will also include a Surgery Saga update on Friday!

Have a great week!

XOXO,

Kayleigh