The National Championship Game

When Notre Dame went undefeated 12-0 this season, we were excited to hear that the National Championship Game was to be played in Miami, a mere 2 (or so) hour drive from Naples, where Nanny and Grandpa have a condo.  We thought just maybe we could go and combine the game with a nice trip to Florida.  However, when our family's 8 entries in the ticket lottery resulted in zero game tickets and the ones being sold online were going for $3000-$6000 per ticket, we figured we wouldn't be going.  Then a surprise Christmas present arrived for Grandpa.  His brother Jim got him and Nanny tickets to the game!  By early January, the prices for tickets online started dropping.  Michelle found a seller on eBay with 2 pairs of tickets and bought one pair for her and Brian.  With the help of travel costs being paid for by Nanny and Grandpa, we were able to buy the other pair of football tickets a mere 9 days before the game and head down to Florida to enjoy an impromptu vacation and attend the football game.

We flew down on Friday, January 4th, and Nanny and Grandpa were already down in Florida for their after Christmas trip. Their friends down there frequently host their grandchildren, so there were plenty of toys and kid stuff (pack and play, beach toys, kid size table, etc.) to borrow for our time there.  Austin and Sarah immediately gravitated to the kids' table, coloring supplies, and tea set.

Austin had a pretty loose tooth when we arrived, and he let Nanny pull it out.

He was pretty excited about it when it was all over and he got to decorate a little box and write "Austin's tooth" on it before adding a ribbon and putting it under his pillow for the tooth fairy.

Trevor was fussy at the beginning of the plane ride, but settled in and slept for a large portion of the flight.  He was still pretty happy to be off the plane in the end, though.

We had a wonderful dinner at La Playa Beach Club that night.  Brian was decked out in his ND attire.

Trevor snuggled with Nanny and fell asleep.

 And the big kids got bored by the end and watched Winnie the Pooh on my iPhone.

 Grandpa and Uncle Jim.

On Saturday, we enjoyed a day at the beach and pool at La Playa.

 Finding sea shells with Auntie Michelle.

 Then some fun swimming time.

Trevor's first time swimming.

All that swimming is exhausting!

More play time.

Sarah had fun using empty glasses to create sand cocktails for Joni and Nanny.  She would take orders, then put sand in the cup, add a straw, and serve it.  When asked, "What did you put in my drink, Sarah?" she would respond with, "Uh, all the ingredients you asked for!"

More nap time for my sleepy baby!

And Sarah totally zonked out as soon as we got in the car.

Helping Grandpa make scrambled eggs in the morning.

On Sunday morning, we took the kids to the Naples Zoo. 

Austin enjoyed being the navigator.

We arrived just in time to see the alligator feeding.

Some of the gators are HUGE!  This one was pretty average sized and was just enjoying hanging out in the sun.

Checking out the cheetahs.

We also saw tigers, chimps, birds, zebras, and gorgeous lions among others.

The kids also got to feed the giraffes.

Austin rode a camel with Nanny.

Then more pool time!  

Austin loved having Daddy throw him around in the pool.

Trevor enjoyed swimming with Mommy, but it definitely wore him out.

Hanging out on the lanai.  All you could see was Daddy and Austin's feet sticking out as mirror images of each other.

On Monday, we were blessed to have Joni and Janet come over and stay with the kids while we headed to the game in Miami.  We all got dressed in ND gear before leaving.

 Our coveted tickets!

We've arrived!

Tailgating with Uncle Jim.  In honor of their Dad (my Grandpa, the kids' Great-Grandpa), Jim and John brought Grandpa's bottle of scotch from when they cleaned out his house after his passing.

Our family before the game.

Ready for the game to start!

Michelle and Brian's seats were in the Alabama lettermen section.  We were able to arrange a swap with 2 Alabama fans across the aisle from us in the ND section, and Michelle and Brian were able to join us!

And the rest of the family was just a few seats down the same row!

 GO IRISH!

Unfortunately, the game got off to a very bad start with 2 horrible ref calls and Alabama solidly beating the Irish.  At least our band was better than theirs!

(I love that in the formation in the shape of the US, now the Irish Guard makes the island of Hawaii and uses the fire extinguishers to make a volcano going off!)

Interlocking ND!  GO IRISH!

We headed back to Naples when the game ended and got back around 3:30am. Austin and Sarah got to stay up and watch the game before heading to bed.  When we got home, Trevor had just woken up and was snuggling with Joni having a bottle.  We are so grateful for Joni!  If she hadn't stayed with the kids, we would not have been able to go to the game, and thus, we would not have made the trip at all. Thanks Joni!

The next morning, we were all exhausted, but the kids were raring to go.

More tea parties!

A little more pool time before Nanny and Grandpa headed home to MN.

Nanny, Grandpa, Auntie Michelle, and Uncle Brian headed home on Tuesday.  Due to how late we booked our tickets, there was a $1300 difference between flying home Tuesday and flying home Wednesday, so we stayed an extra day and headed back on Wednesday.  On Tuesday night, we treated the kids to a fun dinner at a hibachi restaurant (DaRuMa) and they thought it was great!  We had to be extra careful due to Sarah's shellfish allergy, so the chef didn't do many tricks, but they had fun watching him cook the food and make things like the flaming onion volcano.  The first time the chef made the flames on the cooktop, Austin jumped out of his chair, backed away about 3 feet, and put his hands over his ears!  He laughed about it, came back to his chair, and was fine the rest of the time. I think it just startled him at first since he wasn't expecting it.  Sarah thought it was great!

On Wednesday, we flew home.  We had a whole row in the plan to ourselves, Trevor slept almost the entire flight, and Sarah and Austin sat contentedly watching movies on their DVD player.  We got settled back in at home and returned to our normal routine of work and school for the rest of the week.  It was a very fun trip and we're glad we had the opportunity to go (even though the game was terrible!).    Still glad to be an ND fan!  GO IRISH!