Notre Dame Football Freeze

So another reason Grandpa and Grandma came to see us was so that they could go to the Notre Dame/BYU football game.  Only problem, the game was on November 23rd and we knew it would be cold.  Little did we know how cold.  In fact, it wasn't cold it was bitter, frostbite, I can't feel my extremities cold.  The windchill factor had us at 9 degrees at the start of the game and it only colder from there.  We prepared the best we could, multiple layers, hand and feet warmers, gloves, hats, blankets, and boots (for some of us), but honestly it still wasn't enough.

After a long drive, made worse by a traffic jam and a 10 year old girl who was a complaining nightmare, we got to campus early which is always fun on game day.  Unfortunately, it was so cold no one really wanted to stand outside so we didn't even watch the team procession or listen to the band play.  We did eat a brat and then headed straight for the bookstore.  It was good to get out of the cold in the bookstore, but it was, as is always the case, packed.  Seriously, wall-to-wall bodies packed.  And honestly, the warm only felt good for about 5 minutes before you started to sweat.  I had to peel my coat, hat gloves, etc. off because I was starting to cook.  The good side, is that it is always fun to browse and shop in the bookstore so its worth the inconvenience of the crowds and having to undress and re-dress yourself!

After the bookstore, we headed to the stadium for the game.  It started out great, we got wrapped up in our blankets and watched ND score a touchdown, but then we started feeling pretty cold.  We braved it through the first half but decided to leave after the half-time show.  Grandma and Ashley couldn't feel their feet anymore.

Grandma (almost completely covered), Jenny and Paige

All smiles at the start of the game, the cold hadn't set in yet!
(Paige, Dave, Ashley, Sydney and Austin (friends from church))

Before leaving South Bend, we had one more thing to do.  GET SOME CHOCOLATE CHARLEY!  Every year, Kelley asks if we can get it in Chicago and the answer is no.  It's made by a South Bend company and they only ship by the case.  I'm pretty happy that we remembered to buy some while we were there!  At least one thing turned out good.