Zoo part 2 and Home

Here we are out by the polar bears. There was a sign that suggested this was Kodak moment.

This rhinoceros appeared to be posing for all of us. Some other women taking pictures near me commented how we could try to enter this into some photo competition (if there were such a thing).

We had so many cute pictures of MJ sleeping near us. I couldn't pass this up.

Tuesday morning we left Mario and headed back home. It took about 45 minutes longer than it should have because I was tired and took an extra stop. (I was happy to only take 2 stops on the way from VA to OH). But I figured making it home alive vs falling asleep while driving was the better choice.

Both boys seemed very happy to be home. Since we've been back, MJ has been very intersted in band and music. He found his drum and has been marching around the house and occastionally singing the ND fight song too. Sometimes I play with him (I'm so proud of me for teaching myself how to play the fight song on the 8 key play piano the boys have). He loves to watch videos of the band and drumline. See, we aren't just brainwashing him about football. We're just trying to provide him with enriching experiences. We hope to encourage him to be a well-rounded kid.

Cincinnati Zoo Part 1

So, here's a cute picture of Joey from last Sunday when we were driving from South Bend to Cincinnati. He's quite the road warrior.

Monday, Mario wanted to get work done. I was being tired and cranky, so he wisely suggested I do something fun like take the boys to the zoo. MJ liked the idea, but then asked his daddy if he could go to the zoo, too. So, Mario found enough time to come hang out with us for a few hours. We definitely had more fun with all of us there as a family.

First we went to see the elephants. Then MJ checked out the map to help us decide what we wanted to see next. Behind him is Joey taking a nap for the first half of our zoo trip.

Joey just woke up from his nap so I tried to get a quick picture of us.

Family and Sunday

Sadly, my camera was being annoying and fuzzy so this is the best picture I could get of Kathy and Joey. I didn't get any of the boys and my dad.

And despite the loss, I enjoyed getting to watch the game with my dad.

Saturday after the game, the boys crashed (MJ hadn't napped). Thankfully, we had adjoining rooms with Dad Suarez and were able to hang out there for awhile. My parents joined us before heading back to St. Louis in their amazing van/house on wheels. Adjoining hotel rooms are the best things when you have kids!

Sunday I got to try out my cute new matching outfits that I bought for the boys. I really wanted to get pictures of them because the weather was so amazing. Again, these are the best I could get because my camera is being silly.

And here is where our trip plans changed. Instead of leaving early to make the long drive back to Virginia, we stayed longer and drove back to Cincinnati again. Mario would be working there again and wanted to get a head start.

Grandparents

My mom offered to watch the boys while I went into the game with my dad and Mario went in with his dad, Christian, and Michelle's dad.

Here are all 3 Marios (and Joey in the stroller) just before the band went by.

I knew I'd lose track of time and not take pictures of the boys with my mom. So I'm glad I at least got these. This is our way of trying to get a very tired MJ to look at the camera.

And this is the very tired Joey who I just took out of the stroller. The band is walking by behind them.

Tailgating and Band

Joey has a new friend. Moria is the daughter of one of our extended ND family, sometimes referred to as the Chicago boys. It's a cute story how we met up with these people... long story short, we met as tailgating ND friends over 10 years ago, and have been getting together for games ever since.

Moria is going in to 4th grade and really loves babies!

Other special people at the tailgate:

• Christian, Michelle, Natalie, and The Smiths (Michelle's parents)
• Anna Franzonello - Mario's cousin
• My aunt Brenda, Uncle Steve, cousin Jessica (Jr at ND) cousin Stephen and his wife Marisol, and Uncle Gene
• Dad Suarez, my Mom and Dad, and sister Kathy
• Kelly, Kate, Austin, Kristin ... and more ND friends or ours
• the Chicago boys and their family
  

Before every ND game the band has a concert and then marches into the stadium. The Marios headed over to catch the concert and then my mom and I took napping Joey to find a good spot for when the band marches by. Joey was bound to wake up for this event, which he did. He didn't cry at all, just kind of looked tired and out of it. So we took him out of his stroller so he could watch too.

MJ watched the band from Mario's shoulders. He was likes the band a lot but says its a little too noisy. We're proud because MJ can sing the fight song.

Tailgating

Saturday has arrived... NDs first football game of the year! We load the minivan and head over to ND at about 9am with Mario (my father-in-law) who came in for the weekend too. My parents and family and all parties involved hosted a terrific tailgate as usual. MJ started off a little shy. He was playing happily by himself when he heard "the fight song!" Actually, he just heard the band warming up, so all three Mario's and some others headed over.

MJ and Joey had a great time with Grandpa. Joey was a bit tired when we tried to take this picture. There were other cute ones, but this one was funny. It looks like Joey is saying, "Who's this guy?"

Joey had his own special chair for the tailgate (I used the stroller for so many things this trip). Here he is making a funny face at some friends who stopped by.

We tried to get a cute picture of the boys, but this is the best we could do.

First days of our trip

We left Wednesday August 29th and returned Tuesday September 4th. We had a great time, everyone was healthy, the weather was great, the car rides went smoothly... we just extended our trip 2 days longer than I planned and I ran out of clean clothes for me. All in all it was great.

Wednesday we drove from here to Cincinatti. (We've been spending so much time there lately). We stayed at a Residence Inn which Mario picked b/c he thought I'd like it for the boys, and it was great. If you haven't stayed there, they are set up like apartments, even the way you enter is like an apartment. And it has a full sized kitchen. It was nice b/c I don't think MJ felt like he was in a hotel there... except that he slept on what we call the transformer bed (aka sofa bed).

Thursday was a very cool day (too cold to swim) so we went to a park I found on google maps near our hotel. It was nice and we were the only kids there for a few minutes. A nice woman showed up with a little girl. I later learned she was the grandmother (she looked so young!). It was nice to hang out and relax like it was a normal day in our home town.

Here's MJ at the park...he's very good at finding dirt wherever we go. This was on the baseball field nearby.

And here's MJ and a very tired Joey in the rental car Mario had for the week. As you can see, we are in our pajamas.

Friday we drove from Cincinnati to South Bend, IN (about 6 hours). We took this crazy tiny country road (which was a short cut that worked out well) and it was a pretty drive. Both boys were sleeping so Mario and I were able to talk. He also did work on the drive thanks to the awesome aircard so he was able to be online. We got in later than we wanted. And of course the first thing we had to do was go shopping. Our favorite places to buy ND apparel are not the ND bookstore by the Walmart, Sams, and Meijer in South Bend. We found some good stuff for great prices. Then we checked into the hotel quickly and headed over to ND to pick up my sister Kathy and her friend Emily. We went out to dinner at Fridays and then it was off to bed to get a good sleep before the game on Saturday!