An Irish Hello!

I don't have any cards to show today, but hope to be able to play in the basement later. I do want to share some pictures of our weekend though. We had a fabulous time on our surprise road trip. We picked the kids up from school and told them we were taking them someplace.

Our first stop... the BANK! Hee Hee...Surprise! That got big groans.

Stop 2....Pizza Hut. Whoo Hoo! We had a fun dinner together.

They thought that was it. A trip to Pizza Hut. We continued to drive and told them to go to sleep after about the 10th time of them asking where we were going. By the time we got to....

Stop 3 Grandpa's House ( 4 hours away) they were NOT happy campers. Happy to be at Poppa's, but NOT happy that we were in the car that long.

The next day we told them we had ONE MORE surprise. So we hopped back in the car. This did not make them very happy. They had guessed where we might be going, but we tried to trick them. So when we got to....

Stop 4 Southbend, Indiana......Home of NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL, my daughter was mad that we lied to her:( NOT the reaction we expected. Still we had a Blast.

Here are a few pictures of our trip:

The TICKETS!!!

On our way to campus we HAD to stop in front of the Notre Dame Fire Truck.

This is the administrative building, also known as, "The Golden Dome."

There are several things that I learned about Notre Dame and some of the special events that happen on "game day." The first, being that ALL the football players attend mass before the game. They all walk together in their dress suits.

We were able to walk through the Basillica or church before their mass began. It was so BEAUTIFUL. My picture could never do it justice. The second thing I learned is that after their mass is finished, they again walk together to the stadium. Fans line the path to watch them. A couple in front of us was kind enough to let our kids stand in front of them. My son was so excited to get to slap the hands of some of the players. It was too crowded to get a good picture of that.

Next we went to watch the band warm up.


This wasn't a top priority for my son. But once the band started to play he was caught up in the beauty of it too. He actually started dancing to the music.


My other family...just as enthralled by it all.

The game started out beautiful. The sun was shining. We had AMAZING seats. 29 rows up behind the Notre Dame goal post.

The band played.


The crazy Lephrechan Mascot cheered

The kids loved participating in the chants and spirit of the fans. The first half was a blast. During half time a storm came in and it poured. We got soaked. It continued to mist/rain for the entire second half. It didn't matter though because it was such a close game that spirits were high and enthusiasm was intense. The game ended with us winning and the last play was pretty wild. It was right in front of us. The receiver got hit so hard his helmet flew right off his head. He ended up with a concussion.

The whole game was full of excitement despite the cruddy weather.
Our kids both said it was an AWESOME day. They forgave us for lying to them:)


There are 2 things in this world that make my husband happy (other than family):

1. Notre Dame Football

2. Hunting Season. Which is 6 weeks away.

I have a funny story to share about hunting. A few weeks ago my husband finally bought some new hunting gear. He has been wearing the same stuff for about 14 years. He got everything out and tried it on. With a big grin he looks at me and says, "So, what do you think?" He is so excited. I just paused and thought, " Is this a trick question?" I mean there is NOTHING attractive about deer hunting camouflage. It isn't like army camo. It has big tree limbs with ugly leaves all over it. I imagine this is how a man feels when a woman asks if a certain dress makes her look fat. That's how I felt....put on the spot. So, as honestly as I could I said, "Honey, THAT is about as attractive and sexy as hunting camouflage gets."

Phew! That seemed to make him happy as he walked away shaking his behind at me:)

Hope to be back here tomorrow with a card. My little guy is sick today so I hope I can stamp some while he hangs out on the couch. I put football on the TV...that should occupy him for a few hours:)

Have a good one!