O-H!

I-O!

After Little Buddy's diagnosis, we sat and made a list of things we wanted to do with him or that we wanted him to experience.  Being big Ohio State fans, we wanted him to experience a game in the Shoe.  He loved watching the Buckeye on TV and was always excited for Brutus Buckeye to make an appearance.  We knew this one was a long shot, but we were hopeful.  What dad doesn't want to take his son to see their favorite team in action?

Well, this weekend, we got to make that dream come true thanks to some amazing supporters!

Hanging out at the airport... not to go to Minnesota for once!

Kisses for daddy from Little Sweetie before we fly!

She may not be as experienced a flyer as her brother, but Little Sweetie did great on the flight!

Because of flight prices and schedules, we actually flew into Cincinnati instead of Columbus.  That meant we got to spend the night with Aunt D, Uncle C, and J!  It was wonderful to see them!

      

Enjoying some basketball fun at Aunt D and Uncle C's!

     

     

More backyard shenanigans.  Such beautiful Ohio weather!

Daddy having fun with Little Sweetie and J!

Unfortunately, after a day of play, Little Buddy had a rough night.  We decided to rest in Cincinnati for the day to see if he felt up for the game that night.  The bright side was that Little Sweetie got to go to J's birthday party while the rest of us rested.

This moment captures about all of the sleep Little Buddy managed to get that night.  :(

This girl did sleep great, so she got to have lots of fun at J's party!

Thankfully, by 2 PM we were all feeling more energized so we headed up to Columbus and checked into our hotel.  We got to have dinner with Mimi and Pop-Pop and picked up our tickets from our dear friend and supporter, Ms. K, and her family.   

Hanging with Pop-Pop before leaving the hotel.

Tickets secured!  Here we go!  (Little Sweetie wasn't feeling the group picture, lol.)

And then it was time to go to the game!  Originally, when we had looked at this date as a game option, it was supposed to be an afternoon game.  It then got switched to a night game.  After Little Buddy's rough evening the night before, we weren't sure how much of the game we would make it through, but we were up for seeing what we could!

He was very excited and proud to walk with Daddy to get to the game!

Here we are!

Love that we got to see so many of our friends and WILLPower supporters!

Walking up to our seats.  I admit, I got pretty misty-eyed at this point.  It's such a natural thing for a father to want to enjoy a football game with his son as they cheer their favorite team, but this is a father-son moment we weren't sure that we would get to see.

He was entranced from the moment we arrived!  He loved watching the band, the players enter, and Brutus Buckeye!  Poor thing even cried each time that Brutus left the field!

Just a beautiful night!

     

Love these two!  (and Brutus too!)

We didn't stay the entire game, it was getting too late for the kids, but he loved every moment he was there.  We are so grateful for these memories together.

Actually fell asleep in his carseat on the way back to the hotel!  This never happens anymore, so you know he was SUPER tired!

 

Giving his new Brutus a hug before bedtime.  Good night, Columbus!

As we flew out this morning, the airpot had a board where you could leave a message about from where you were traveling.  I had to leave a little #WILLPower for people to find!

That's all for now, 

LSM

Little Sweetie's Momma