A Day Away

"Cheer Cheer for Old Notre Dame.."
Sometimes just a day away refreshes your body and soul.  We received tickets for Christmas to a ND Basketball game from Matt (Jenna's boyfriend) for January 6th.  Well, that day South Bend had a record 28 inches of snow in a 24 hour period.  Obviously we didn't go, but I just happened to call the ticket office the next day disappointed, and they gave us tickets to a future game.  ND vs Villanova!  But, a Monday night, so some school would have to be missed. (Since tickets are basically final sale, this was much appreciated.)  I added a ticket for Natalie thinking she would be done with BB. Not!! After finding out early Sunday morning she would be able to miss practice, we quickly came home from church and frantically rushed around packing a cooler, a change of clothes and Sophie's stuff for Grandma's house.  We figured if we were going to drive over three hours there, and three hours back, an overnight would be in order. We arrived in South Bend to hit their mall for about an hour. I had received a gift card to Olive Garden, which made for a wonderful dinner. It is one restaurant that makes everyone in our house happy!  We then headed to the hotel and to be honest just had fun sitting around, all five of us, in a small room for the evening, instead of spread out in bedrooms and basements, on computers and PS3's all night like normal.  It was nice to have some good family time.  Ok, I gotta be honest. Natalie still sat at the computer most of the night following her friends on Facebook.  (But, we were all in one room!!) We watched the Oscars and fell asleep around midnight. 

Oh my, when the phone rings at 5:30 a.m., you know something isn't good.  My Mom and Dad were at our house because of the rain and were worried.  Both sump pumps were running continually and the back yard was flooded and the dock was underwater.  What to do?  I, of course, did not fall back asleep after checking three different radars and the weather forecast.  It looked like the rain was over.  We called back around 8 and indeed it was looking better.  We decided to stay and so glad we did.  We hit a few fun bookstores and shops and then headed over to campus for a visit.  We went to the bookstore and the Visitors Center, then to the Basilica and Grotto where we lit a few candles. 

Sold Out Senior Night

 We had a quick dinner at the Huddle (Student Union) and then proceeded to the game.  It was our first ND BB game. So much fun!  The student section and the band and the fight song and then a record number of three's in the first half!  It was a blow-out, but oh, so much fun to watch.

ND Student Section

 
 The dreaded three hour ride home wasn't as bad as expected, but unloading a car at midnight is not my idea of fun!  The kids were able to get up well, although I will admit I was a little slower than normal in my routine yesterday! The sunshine helped, but I think overall the change of scenery and just being away from home, (although a little stressful for a few hours!) was just what we all needed after months of snow, slush, clouds and dreariness! There was definitely a "pep in our step" being out and about, especially on the beautiful campus of Notre Dame. 

Thee Golden Dome on a beautiful clear day! The sky was so blue!