Tourney Time

It's Selection Sunday, so you know what that means....time to fill out your bracket. I am usually pretty lousy at filling mine out. My m.o. is to fill it out quickly, picking the first team that comes to mind. This year I deviated a little bit. On the picks I could have gone both ways with, I had a guest picker help me out - Isabella the Sage.

I had her pick all of the play-in games (the NCAA calls this the First Round, but we all know these are just play-in games). We picked Western Kentucky, Iona, Lamar, and California. I'm not too sure about the Cal pick. They were pretty inconsistent this year. We'll see.

The next step was the main bracket. My first tough call was Iowa St. vs. UConn. Grandpa Mike will be happy to know that his granddaughter picked the Cyclones. (Truth be told, I was tending toward them as well).

We ended up with Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio State, and Kansas (Isabella picked the Jayhawks over the Tar Heels) in the Final Four. Kentucky and Ohio State (Sorry Aunt Abby and Grandma Becky) in the championship game. I then chose Kentucky to win it, while the Sage picked Ohio State.

This is arguably the best time of the year for a sports fan, and possibly the most frustrating because by the time Friday evening rolls around, my bracket is shot. At least this year I can blame someone else for my poor picks.




And by the way: Go Buffs! Go Rams! Colorado is representing in the Big Dance!

Happy Birthday Catherine!

It was Catherine's 2nd birthday on Friday! Hard to believe that two years have already gone by. We had a party on Friday night, complete with cake,

presents,

(I love the reaction from her big sister)

and a great time.

The next morning, Isabella and I were awoken by this:

She had it as loud as it would go and Isabella and I, half sleeping, looked at each other as if to say, "Really Catherine? It's only 7:15 on Saturday morning!" She was carrying it around like it was a boombox, having a great time. Thank you Grandma Becky. We owe you one.

She was also making laps around the island with her new stroller and baby, with her new purse around the handle. Each time she passed, we'd have to make a lane so we wouldn't get run over.

Happy Birthday Catherine Marie! We love you very much!!

Thursday Nights in June

In June our local outdoor mall hosted Kid's Nights on Thursdays. Grandma Becky was a good sport and met up with us on two different Thursday evenings. The girls enjoyed the animals, music, and fun activities, and we enjoyed getting out for the evening.

Petting the turtle

Taking a little break with her movie popcorn

Not totally impressed

Yep. That's a skunk. And shortly after this picture was taken, Catherine ran up and screamed at it, proving that yes, the "stinker" had been removed

Petting the donkey because I made her

Showing some interest in the goat

Isabella was definitely more interested

Brushing the donkey

Nothing like brushing the dirty sheep

Trick-or-Treat!

Last Halloween, Isabella did not quite get into the mood. She didn't understand that there really was something in it for her. It didn't make sense that wearing a silly costume could help her out. This year was not like that at all!

The fact that she never minded putting her ladybug costume on should have clued us in that this Halloween would be a novel experience for us... Although she remained slightly shy, Isabella was excited about the candy at our church's Harvest Festival last weekend. She loved going from game to game, but just for the treat that would inevitably make its way into her bucket (and shortly thereafter, into her mouth).

On Friday afternoon, Isabella and I braved the once snow-packed roads and made our way to visit Grandma Becky and Daddy at work. We made the rounds at Grandma's office and even let Grandma put her antennas on her head. She tried to be shy, but couldn't resist the candy that everyone was waving her way, and by the end, she was entering the cubes, showing everyone her ladybug necklace in hopes that they might offer her a little something sweet!

At Anthony's office they had an actual event. Many of the employee's children were able to come up, dressed in their Halloween best, ready to trick-or-treat! Isabella really wanted nothing to do with Anthony's co-workers, just their bowls of candy. She is especially fond of Skittles, M&Ms, and 3 Musketeers! It was nice to reconnect with Anthony's friends at work and spend some time with Dad.

On the actual night, we ran over to Grandpa and Grandma's house for some tasty soup. There was a special Tinker Bell bag full of goodies from Grandma and Grandpa, and she knew it right away! By the time we left, it had cooled off, and since neither Anthony nor I are huge trick-or-treaters, we hit up the cul-de-sac and called it a night! We came home, turned our lights on, handed out candy to about 7 doorbell rings, ate our pumpkin pie, and watched a myriad of sporting events (Isabella and I wanted to watch Charlie Brown, but got outvoted somehow...).

But, I think that both of us can agree that the highlight of this Halloween was the costume party we went to on Friday night. Being 36+ weeks pregnant, we knew we were going to have to incorporate this into our costume. Mary and Joseph was our first choice, but we ended up going as a "Shotgun Wedding Couple!" The scariest part about our costumes is that the only thing we purchased was our wigs... I borrowed the hat and my shoes, but Anthony owned it all! He even grew a fu-man-chu just for the occasion!

Happy Halloween!

Christmas With Grandma Becky

I dropped Isabella off on Saturday for her annual "Tree Trimming" and "Cookie Decorating" day with Grandma Becky, but neglected to bring my camera. Lucky for me, Andrea came prepared. Click here to see all of the highlights from the special day with Grandma!

Race for the Cure

Sunday was my second favorite day of the year!

Our family walks in the Race for the Cure every year (except last year because of a brand new baby). Anthony's mother, Becky, is a 6 YEAR SURVIVOR, and we all love supporting her. My Grandma Fran is also a survivor, as well as many close friends of ours. I think the best part of the day is walking away feeling like I was a part of something so much bigger than myself! The signs that people carry are so inspiring. We walked with people who were supporting survivors like we were, and then we walked by people who were walking in memory of their loved ones. For me the day is filled with mixed emotions. One minute I'm laughing at the "Stop the War in MY-RACK" t-shirt, and then feeling my eyes fill with tears seeing that the big, tough man in front of me is walking for his mother who passed away. There are people from all walks of life, but we are all united for one reason. As we passed the START line, I heard the announcer say that we were walking with more than 62,000 people, and that the race was projected to earn more than $2.4 million. The amazing thing is that 75% of the proceeds stay in Colorado! We walked in the Co-Ed 5K. The very best part of the race is near the end when we round the on-ramp to I-25, and see thousands in front of and behind us. The on-ramp actually looks like the Breast Cancer Ribbon from the air when it's full of walkers!

It was an early morning, and Isabella was less than thrilled that we woke her up. Believe me, it was paybacks come Monday morning...
Anthony, Isabella, and I picked up Grandma, Grandpa, and Auntie Abby, and made our way to the Light Rail to meet the rest of the crew! You can see that Isabella was not impressed by the train, and was not too chipper for most of the pre-race excitement. Once we got going though, she remembered that it was right around naptime, and fell fast asleep. She slept til about mile marker 2, where she woke up and wanted to be carried. Luckily Auntie Abby has strong arms (which are now sore arms...I told Abby that she starts off weighing about 20 pounds, but gains a pound every minute!).


Anthony and I feel so blessed that we are able to walk for so many survivors! I walked "In Celebration Of" 10 ladies this year! I love that Isabella will be a part of Race for the Cure every year, and I hope that she learns to love the day as much as we do! Of course, our tradition now is to meet up at Mama Alvino's for a calzone and pizza after the race. Could we ask for a better end to a wonderful day?