Notre Dame 20th Reunion Day 3

We woke up slightly exhausted from the previous two days of Notre Dame fun.  We squeezed in a few more things before we headed home.

We got to introduce the kids to breakfast at the dining hall.  The menu was impressive and the unlimited food/drinks was so exciting to the kids.

The photo ops all around campus were my favorite.

As well as our matching St. Patrick's Day shirts.

Banana phones.

Leprechaun waffles.

Pastries, omelets, bacon, juices, cereal bar and more.  We loved eating at the dining hall with the kids.

One more stroll around campus.  The flowers all looked so pretty.  We revisited our favorite spots and the weather was chilly.

There are so many pretty spots on campus.

We headed to do some shopping and strolling at Eddy Street Commons.  The restaurants, shopping, Trader Joes and more make it such a fun stop.  I think that the bookstore here is better than the one on campus.  There's a Starbucks inside with a neat Notre Dame coffee cup.

The kids are ready to go back for a football game ASAP and I'm so glad we were able to make this trip happen!

Notre Dame 20th Reunion Day 2

We woke up bright and early Satruday morning to head to campus.  We were ready to check into our dorm for the day and get busy exploring.  There were events all day long on campus - picnics, get togethers, tours, photo ops, family fun and more.  We looked over the agenda and were ready to go.

It was a non-stop day.

We checked into the dorms for one night.  Our accomodations were basic and they may have failed to mention that air conditioning was opening your window, but the kids loved it.

We trecked out to Carroll Hall which we heard had recently been remodeled.

Kevin's dorm was the most remote and he's got some crazy stories from his days in the dorm.  I think he'd tell you he loved his single apartment living way better than dorm life.

We were trying to pack in as much as possible before the rain hit.  Fletcher brought along his tablet so he could take pictures of his own.  It was precious.

Stopped and said some prayers at The Grotto.  I took a picture of Kevin and the kids then a sweet lady insisted I hop in the picture for a whole family shot.  Moms looking out for moms!

We popped in the student center for some snacks and coffee.

And got a tiny glimpse of what it'll be like to visit our college kids at college.  I'm guessing they'll always be excited for snacks with mom and dad.

We got to go inside the stadium for a luncheon.  It was so cool!  The kids had never been inside the stadium so this was neat.  Leo wasn't impressed, but the older two can't wait to go back for a football game.

Next, we headed to a drinks/snacks/game tent to hang out.  The kids loved the oversized yard games, snacks and place to hang out.  The rain came and we still had a great time.

Leo climbed all the big rocks on campus.  He wasn't impressed by all the landmarks, but he was impressed by the rocks.

We hurried back to the dorms to get ready for Kevin's class dinner that night.  The rain stopped, we dropped the kid's off at kid's camp and headed to enjoy dinner.  The food was delicious and we sat with a really nice table of people.  Just as we finished we got called to come get the kids.

I packed a different outfit for the dinner, but the flowy pants + rain weren't a good combo.  A run to Meijer for a new dress for the win.

The clover treats all weekend long were my favorite.

Has it really been 20 years since we were in college?!?

One more day of Notre Dame fun tomorrow!

Notre Dame 20th Reunion Day1

Kevin got the invitation for his 20th reunion from University of Notre Dame back in the Spring and we started talking seriously about going.  We have managed to skip every single reunion opportunity for the both of us for the last 20 years.  Neither of us had any interest in going until year 20.  We both gradulated from undergrad + got married 20 years ago this Summer.  That felt like a big milestone.  They had tons of events for families, kids and alums.  It was the first week of Summer so we decided to make reservations.  It's just about 5 hours north of us now so we planned a quick weekend roadtrip.

We had the best time!

We visited all of the famous landmarks on campus.

We got to spend the night in a dorm!  Super exciting very basic accomodations.  We might have decided taht we're too old to live in dorms again, but the kids LOVED every second of dorm life.

We visited our favorite spots around Southbend and just generally loved an entire weekend filled with Notre Dame festivities.

We felt nostalgic and sentimental about sharing a place that we love so much with the kids.  The big kids are ready to head back for a football game this Fall.

There was an exciting buzz on campus with alums everywhere you looked.  This group of guys offered to take a family picture for us and I appreciated it so much.  

Classic Leo.

We hardly ever use our stroller anymore, but we threw it in the car last minute.  I'm so thankful we did because we did a ton of walking all weekend long.

Fletcher looks so good in ND colors.

The weather was perfection!  And we had so much fun snapping pictures all over campus.

We got invited to a vow renewal ceremony in the Basilica.  It was a sweet group vow renewal and perfect for us celebrating our 20th anniversary next month.

It's a beautiful place.  I've been in the Basilica several times, but this was my first service here.  The kids did mostly great and the marriage service was sweet.  I'm glad Kevin signed us up for this special event.

After the service we explored campus.  The kids loved all the giant trees and pretty flowers.  Let's not forget the squirrel chasing.

Every single detail of the campus is beautiful.

We made several trips to the bookstore to update our ND gear for the season.  Olive found the cutest sweatshirt and belt bag.  They have a great bookstore on campus and a really fun one on the edge of campus.  Both are filled with the cutest gear.

All checked in and official for the Forever Irish weekend.

Then we headed to our favorite mexican restaurant for dinner - Salsa's Mexican Grill.

They have a "Guac Girl" who comes to your table, a spicy ranch, delicious salsa and such good food!  We were here when Fletcher was little so it was fun to come back.  The portions are huge so we did a lot of sharing.

We went to bed so excited for another fun day on campus tomorrow!

Game Day: Homemade Pico and Family Traditions

I hope you had a really nice, long weekend!  We had a really rainy holiday weekend in Indiana.  Our new trees and our grass was thankful for that.  We also got to kick off the college football season.  Although Notre Dame lost, we were proud of how they played.  It was awesome to see our new coach in action.  We loved cheering for our favorite team and eating all the game day food.

The kids were excited to put on all their ND gear and watch the game with us.  They weren't so sure that they wanted to watch a 4 hour game, but they were excited to celebrate any time we scored.  I made a nacho bar and cookies for a fun game day at home.

Do you ever make homemade pico??  

It is so simple and so much better than the store bought stuff.  I have a mix of thing we grew, things friends have grown and store bought things for this recipe.

Chop all the tomatoes.  Any kind will do.  I pour in all the seeds and juice.

Add in your favorite chopped onions - I like purple and yellow.  And add in 2 cloves of garlic.

Salt and pepper to taste.  Chop and add sweet peppers.  Green would be the prettiest, but I added yellow and orange because that's what I had on hand.

The juice and zest of one lime.

Stir it all together and let it sit for at least an hour in the fridge.  It tastes better when all the flavors blend together.  Our jalapenos were really hot so I chopped them and left them on the side.  If you like the heat or have more mild jalapenos, I would add them right into the pico.

We all built our own nacho plates and loved this meal!  Sour cream, guacamole, queso fresco cheese, taco cheese, black beans, sauteed sweet peppers and taco meat made a yummy nacho plate.  The kids opted for hard shelled tacos and everyone else did nachos.

I made some game day cookies of course!

The kids were hoping to get to do more touch down push ups with Leo instead of just one.  Hopefully, that'll happen in the games to come. 

Week 1 is in the books and we can't wait for next Saturday!  I have a whole game day Pinterest board of recipes that I'm hoping to try out for football games this season. Stay tuned!