Friends at Notre Dame

Many of our friends came to celebrate Katarina's baptism with us. We had a wonderful time with everyone. I had planned for us to watch the Blue & Gold game (the final official scrimmage of spring football practice) on Saturday afternoon; however, on our way to the stadium, the rain started falling heavier. Gabi had been requesting to go to "the game" ever since our visit to ND last fall, but when it came time, she preferred our dry hotel to a wet stadium (even with umbrellas). So we all went back to the hotel with Bella, who needed a nap, and spent that rainy afternoon playing Die Siedler von Catan with our old college friends. Gabi used the pieces to build towers:

Gabi especially enjoyed playing with Maebh, the daughter of our friend Sarah. Maebh (an Irish name, pronounced "mave") is just two months younger than Gabi.

After Bella's nap, we headed back to campus for dinner and an evening walk, including a visit to the Grotto.

Here is Katarina with her godmother, Cathy:

Here's the crew (George, Michael, Caitlin, Kimba, and Cathy) in front of the Dome just before Katarina's baptism:

Cynthia, her boyfriend Jacob, and her parents all attended Katarina's baptism as well.

As previously mentioned, Fr. Jim, the chaplain of Michael's dorm, baptized Katarina. The rectors of each of our dorms (Sr. C of Farley Hall and Bro Jo of Knott Hall) also came to the baptism.

Our friends Tom and his wife, Kirstin, who currently live in South Bend (but not for much longer), joined us for the baptism and invited everyone to their house in the evenings.

Monday morning, we toured the new DPAC with the grandparents before they headed to the airport. Then Gabi and Daddy spent a gorgeous afternoon on campus while I took the two little girls back to the hotel for naptime.

On Tuesday, we spent our final morning on campus before starting the long drive home. We ran into a few old college friends along the way, including Danielle Rose (who lived next to Melissa in Farley Hall) and Steve (who was in the Glee Club with Michael).