Goodbye to The Oaks

 We went down in April for A-Day and the last rolling, as I'm sure many of you did. If you didn't read this article about the trees, it is fantastic and so well done.

 This day went a lot differently than I expected. Usually when we're in Auburn, we've coordinated and planned and we're meeting up with folks and there's tons of hanging out and catching up with friends. On this particular A-Day, we didn't do any planning and the only friends we saw were the ones we ran into... which there were plenty of, since it is Auburn and no matter how many people are there, you always see friends.

 I thought it was going to be this fun time of letting the girls roll the trees and enjoying the day and experiencing sweet Auburn.

But it was so much more than that. Because we weren't spending time with friends and it was just our family going through the day, we really soaked up and reflected on the full meaning of the day so much more. It was the perfect thing for that day.

Over 86,000 people showed up for the spring scrimmage, and I guarantee they weren't all there just to check out our new line-up. All these folks were rooted in Auburn and these two trees meant something deep and intrinsic to them.

 We watched the game, and it was the twins' first time inside the stadium, which was so sweet to share.

 Our little Auburn women.

 They played tackle on the field after the game.

 But when all the hoopla was done, we passed back by the trees on our way back to the car. The main festivities were about to begin, but the girls were done after a long day and we needed to start the trip home. Here's the transcript to David Housel's speech, which perfectly encapsulates the moment.

Just being honest, we snapped the girls into their seats, and I went around to the back of the car and cried for a moment before we got into the car. It may seem silly if you're not an Auburn person, and it may seem like they were just two trees, but Jake and I started the walk that ended in our engagement under those trees, and that's not even the tip of the iceberg of all the history that has passed under those trees. It is simply such a sad loss in the history of Auburn. But the beautiful thing is that there will be more history to come, and it's an honor to be a part of the Auburn family and be a part of that history in the making.