The Adventures of a Jen: Game Day

So... originally I was going to "celebrate" the last Notre Dame home game today by posting some pictures that my little sister and I took during the USC game (we rode our bikes over there since we live so close and it was quite a thrill... even though we weren't even in the stadium. Something about watching the game right next to the stadium at the ESPN zone was just as exciting. Especially to a 12 year old girl who is wide-eyed and exciting from just being on campus) But things all changed...in a good way.

I was raking huge piles of leaves this morning wondering how I would spend my afternoon when I got a call from a guy at my church who answered that question. He asked if I would be interested in some free ND tickets. Um--do you have to be psychic to answer that question?!? um-- I don't think so-- of COURSE I would like the tickets! We asked my dad if he wanted to go, because he is the REAL football buff in our family, but he was too busy, and since it was so last min (we got the call about 12:45--and had to leave for the game at about 1:30) it was just too crazy. So I asked Stephanie (my little sis) if she would be interested, and of course-- she get's all wide-eyed again and jumps up and down.

We get dressed up in our "game gear"-- ND shirts that no one will ever see because we have to pill on so many layers of other stuff just to stay warm. Even on a nice sunny day like today there was still a bone chill in the air. Since we only live a few blocks from the stadium dad decided he would just drop us off. We found our seats in the 25th row in one of the end zones. Maybe not the perfect spot (I prefer the side seats) but dude, who was complaining! It was so much fun explaining the rules and terms of football to my sister. She was wondering how we would be able to tell when they made a first down since there wasn't a little yellow line on the field telling us where it was like on tv. (haha) It was also a lot of fun watching the ND student section-- have marshmallow fights, do crowd surf pushups (this is just awesomely cool to see!) and even throw tortillas around too (they might be going to the Fiesta bowl) I guess somebody even threw an orange on the field (the could go to the orange bowl as well)

We loaded up on fun football snacks-- hot dogs, natchos, soft pretzels, and washed it all down with some good hot chocolate. Sugar rush buddy! The final game score was 34-10. Nice way end it.. especially if you are a senior and it's your last game at home. It may have not been the best game ND has ever played, but the finished on top and that's what matters. What a great game... and a great memory.

thanks God... for the smell of fall leaves, football, spending time with little sisters... and just the little daily reminders that inspite of all the craziness in the world you still care about each one of us.