Queen Anne's Lace and Lilacs

Jayhawks Lose

This game exhausted me.  If they had been blown out of the water, I could have handled that better, I think.  Instead, I'm just irritated that if they'd played smarter at the beginning, they could have won.  Oh, well.  Next year.  Hope springs eternal.  Yeah, that's what I always say.

Rock Chalk, Champions!

 

CHALK AND AWE!  Yeah, baby!  Please enjoy the sights and sounds of the Jayhawks' victory over Memphis for the 2008 NCAA Championship.   

KU Wins!

We were thrilled when KU made it to the Final Four.  It seemed that most folks assumed North Carolina would be the victorious team, though, and a trounce, at that.  Silly people.  I will admit, after starting the game ON FIRE, I began worrying about halfway through the first half.  It continued for a few minutes of the second half.  I was afraid it was going to be another one of those "they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory" games, for a while.  Tim, who had a wide-faced grin at the beginning, started looking a bit chagrined.  I didn't think of taking his "happy face" picture - but I managed to get his concerned look, and eventually, his victorious reaction.  Click photo for a larger view.

So, while things became tense here temporarily, I'm sure it was a walk on the beach compared to my parents' house - or Jerry Mark's.  When things start going south for the Jayhawks, those are two places best avoided!

I am celebrating this victory as though it were the championship, because even if they lose tomorrow night, I'm excited that they went further than they were supposed to.  Evan thinks I'm a horrible excuse of a fan giving them this out, but maybe I've just mellowed with age.  I am pretty sure I'll be screaming and hollering at them if they show up with their weak stuff, just like always.  I just won't be depressed if they lose.  Of course, they won't lose!  I mean, seriously!  (How's that, Evan?)

One of my favorite things about college sports is the excitement of the fans.  I don't know that there are any better fans than Husker fans (Go Big Red!), but KU fans are pretty good.  KU has one of the coolest chants in the world.  Look it up on Wikipedia - it's true.  Click on the arrow, below, so that you may share in the experience (the alma mater is first - which is, frankly, quite melancholy....oh, yet beautiful! - and then the chant begins about halfway through).

What's Happening

I was looking for a photo for another scraplift challenge layout and happened to see this one of the kids go by on my screen saver (click on photo for a larger view).  I've always thought it was cute, with Bethany and her little sleeping mask.  I worked on the page for a couple of days, and it started bugging me about why Evan and Brett were in Bethany's room when she had obviously been sleeping.  Even more, why were we taking a picture at this time.  I looked up the date of the picture:  January 3, 2002.  Evan was in high school still, so he was probably going back to Houston after Christmas break.  It happened to be the year that Brett had started school in the fall in Houston, also, but when he came back for Christmas, he decided to stay out here.  This photo is Evan telling Bethany good-bye before leaving for the airport and going back to Houston by himself.  The more I thought about all of this, the photo became less and less cute.  Now when I look at it, I feel sad.  It wasn't a good day.

On to other things.  Evan and Brett made it to Tahoe to go snowboarding.  Luckily, they came home safe and sound.  Evan said he had two goals:  1) Don't fall off of the mountain, and 2) Don't break anything.  He accomplished these, for which I'm very thankful.  I don't know if Brett had set any goals for himself, but he accomplished Evan's goals as well.  He did get a much more sunburned face than Evan, which was a bit surprising.

Evan and Bethany tried to go to the snowpark to build snowmen and throw snowballs, but before they even made it out of town, the car started leaking antifreeze (as it turns out).  This trip has been postponed and possibly canceled.  Bethany's hoping to get to a zoo somewhere, but this may not work out.  My plan for tomorrow is buying and planting flowers, often an all-day event.  I'll be making a very specific list (which is requested, to cut down on any confusion) and hoping that those items will be the ones making it home.  I'm seriously considering just making a list of the colors I want, but thought does have to be given as to the area in which the flowers will be planted (mostly shade plants are what I need).  We'll see how it goes.

March Madness has begun, and so far the #1 Jayhawks are winning (only one game so far against #16 Portland State, but sometimes with KU, you never know).  Tim didn't get his brackets turned in, but Evan has several scattered about.  We don't usually have a lot of luck with this, but I guess it's fun to take a few guesses and hope for the best.  The main thing is, Evan and Tim are in heaven with all these games on TV and online.  Brett doesn't get into college basketball, as he prefers the NBA (because it's "real" basketball....right).

This is the first Easter I'm considering not coloring eggs or having an egg hunt.  It depresses me that I don't have small children who really get into the Easter Bunny activities, but it's probably time I deal with it.  Maybe I'll ask Bethany what she wants to do.   This is the first Easter in five or six years that we've had Evan here at home.  That's always a happy thing, having Evan home!

UPDATE:  Due to an uprising, we apparently will be having an Easter egg hunt.  Please, no more yelling, insulting, or threats.