A Most Important Milestone

After a great first week of school, I surprised Liam with a trip to South Bend for his very first Notre Dame football game!  Little did he know, I had been planning the trip for months as a mini-reunion with all my old roommates and friends.  We had rented a house off campus for the big Michigan weekend, and we all decided to bring our oldest kids to join in the fun.  I couldn't wait to see my friends and get these kiddos together!

We left that Friday (I actually had to take Liam out of school early to catch our flight... parent of the year right here!) and flew into Midway.  I couldn't go through that airport without stopping to get Liam's picture at our usual spot :)

We rented a little car and went straight from the airport to Notre Dame's campus for the Friday night festivities.  The pep rally was on the lawn between Hesburgh and the stadium, which gave us a pretty perfect background for our "We Made It!" shot!

My fearless boy getting his picture taken with the #NDGoldGang!

Right after the pep rally ended, the sky went black and a massive storm blew in with a drenching rain that just wouldn't quit! We ran as fast as we could back to our car just as it was starting, and headed to the rental house in South Bend to meet our friends.  That night, Liam had his very first delivery pizza (fitting that it be Papa John's in the company of my college roommates), and I thanked God that we had come out on the other side of his lactose intolerance.  Mozzarella for everyone!

Saturday was GAME DAY!  Kick-off was not until the evening, but thanks to Becky and Pat's incredible planning - and most awesome tailgating van - we had a prime parking spot in a lot close to the stadium for a day full of fun.

Me and my girls! Leanne, Kellie, Carly, and Becky

The best part was seeing how quickly all the little ones bonded over lollipops and Notre Dame football :)

Noah, Jameson, Xavier, Conor, James, and Liam

But the most adorable bond to witness was definitely between Becky's daughter Elisa and Liam.  Although they had met a few times before (and most recently in June during our road trip to Illinois), they cemented their relationship over candy in the back of the tailgating van while drinking Gatorade "shots" out of little shot glasses hanging from their Irish necklaces.  Yes folks, parent of the year right here indeed!

Liam and I left the tailgate an hour or so before kick-off so we could catch the band marching into the stadium.  We snagged a great spot in front of the Snite, and I have to tell you, that parade was one of the most exciting moments of the day. It was so nostalgic to be there, and sharing it with my son made it all the more special.

And speaking of special... this fine photograph is of none other than the high-five exchanged between Liam and the Fightin' Irish Leprachaun himself!

There are certain days in Liam's life I will never forget, and this was undoubtedly one of them.  As we walked into the stadium, Liam's eyes were as big as saucers as he tried to take in everything around him.  All of the sudden, he just stopped, looked up at me, and burst into tears, burying his head in my side.  I bent down and gave him a big hug.  "What's wrong, Liam?  Are you ok?"  And through his tears, I heard a little voice say:

"Thank you for bring me here, Mommy.  This is the best day of my whole life."

Carly hooked us up with amazing seats for the game.  After watching the Navy Seals parachute in...

... it was finally time for the game to begin!  And holy cow what a game!!

This was ND's last scheduled match-up against long-time rival Michigan, and the Irish clearly wanted to end this rivalry with a bang!  With four - FOUR! - unanswered touchdowns...

Notre Dame shut out the Wolverines, 31-0!

Liam and Noah with the scoreboard to prove it

It was the best, most decisive win I'd ever witnessed in ND stadium, and I couldn't have been happier to share it with Liam.

It was well after 11 pm by the time we got back to the rental house, and closer to midnight before the excitement died down enough for Liam to fall asleep.  I think we could have slept the day away on Sunday if not for our 1 pm flight out of Chicago!

The fun was not totally over for the weekend, however,  While getting ready to land in Philadelphia, our flight attendant leaned over to Liam and asked if he wanted to sit in the cockpit after we landed.  Is the Pope Catholic?!  As soon as that Fasten Seatbelt light went out, she came to get him (and my phone) and told me they'd meet me on the gangway.  A few minutes later, I was reunited with both-- the former walking on clouds, and the latter loaded with some very cool pics:

Thank you Southwest Airlines for the perfect ending to a seriously perfect weekend!