NCAA Tournament

We had so much fun at the Big East Tournament that we thought we should try to catch some of the NCAA tournament as well. It helped that UL's success and some timely losses of some rivals allowed UL to be the overall #1 seed, and with that, some favorable locations. We couldn't go to the first (2nd according to NCAA) round game due to j's work, but we did go to UL's second game in nearby Lexington, KY.

Pregame meal at the Atomic Cafe. This was a standard haunt for us in college whenever we made the 75 mile trip to Lexington. It was also location of our dinner when we once kidnapped a friend on a school night (he had a test the next day). 

Wasn't quite everything I remembered, but still pretty good.

Our seats weren't all that great (pictures below). We were literally the top row in the end zone sections. The one nice thing about that was that because the upper level at Rupp has bench seating, the last row is the only seat that has a back (the wall).

UL won the game against Colorado State 82-56 and we had lots of fun.

Next, UL was in the Indianapolis region, which is only 117 miles away. Unfortunately, j was on call that weekend so she couldn't go and I couldn't figure out a way to go to the regional semifinal game against Oregon. Fortunately UL won and I was able to go to the regional final game against Duke. I was able to ride with my oldest brother to the game and my other brother drove down from Chicago to watch the game with me. Here is the view from our seats with SVT's uncle photobombing us.

The game was very memorable for the sickening injury that Kevin Ware suffered. Our seats weren't that close, but my angle perpendicular to how he was laying on the floor gave me a great view to see his leg bending unnaturally between his knee and ankle. I saw it pretty fast and I think I was the one who informed most of my section what I thought the problem was. I was hoping I was wrong, but the reaction of the other players lead me to suspect I was right. Text messages with j confirmed it.

I thought that UL had to just survive the rest of the half after the injury and regroup at half. I was shocked that they went to the half with a lead. Then, early in the 2nd half they took control of the game and went on to win 85-63. It was impressive, and we were trying to figure out how to get to Atlanta...

j had a connection for tickets and we didn't know how we could pass on an opportunity to watch UL play for a national championship, a mere 417 miles away. Plus this is the first time since 1986 that I felt that UL really had a strong chance to win. Previous trips in 2005 and 2012, UL had a distinct talent gap versus their opponents. This year we thought we had a chance. As a matter of logistics, we thought that we could bring mab (FYI she was required to have a ticket), but cmb stayed in Louisville with his cousins and grandparents. We might regret that decision when he's a teenager and gets mad about that decision.

Presemifinal party 

View from seats

The semifinal game versus Wichita State was excruciating. UL trailed for most of the first half and was down by as much as 12 in the second half. This is the game we felt we were 'expected' to win, so the fans were a ball of nervous energy. Cheers were quickly followed by nail-biting, until the final horn. After that, everyone was a lot better.

j with her college roommate/teammate 

 Post-Wichita State Jubilation

The Final game was on Monday night, we went to the Alumni Association's pep rally and then went to the dome a little early. There was some grass in front of the dome where we allowed mab to roam around a bit before we knew she would be largely confined for the game.

We found my brothers and their wives before the game and took some pictures. There was more excitement and less nervous energy for this game compared to the semifinal game.

brothers 

wives 

pregame photo from seats 

j nailed tipoff with this picture

The game was a high-tempo back and forth affair that was roundly hailed as a great finish to an otherwise forgettable season. UL truly displayed a team effort with several players contributing big plays. The 3's by Hancock to close a 12 point first half deficit. A thunderous dunk by Harell to actually take a brief 1st half lead. Blackshear with some great defense. Behanan owning the boards after halftime. Dieng breaking out a sky hook. Siva getting to the rim time after time. It was a lot of fun and UL prevailed in the end.

 Postgame confetti

 Postgame family photo

 Final Score

In the end, we had a great time. It helps when you win, but this team was fun to watch all year. Not bad for our first year with non-student season tickets (they're a lot more expensive this way). We had a blast, Cards won, mab held up great until she had a leaky diaper with 1:30 left in the game which required a change in the stands during a 30 sec timeout (no way we were going to the bathroom at that point).

Ware cutting the net (on the Jumbotron)

Big East Tournament

So while we were in Orlando, we realized that this was going to be the last year that the Big East basketball tournament (BET) would be a really big deal. So we decided, along with j's parents, to go to NYC for the final BET in this current form. j and I being a little crazy, naturally thought we would take the kids of course.

This first made for the challenge of logistics of getting and staying in Manhattan for 5 days with 4 adults and 2 small children. We looked into taking a train from Chicago, but this would involve an overnight train trip with children, so that was shot down. So we decided to fly.

Then finding 2 hotel rooms in Manhattan for a reasonable price was looking increasingly difficult. So I tried airbnb for the first time. Found a 2 BR apartment not far from Madison Square Garden (MSG) and booked it. I was a little worried having never used airbnb before, but it was actually quite painless, but I found out while I was there, it may actually be illegal in NYC (for the host, not really for us).

So we flew to Newark, took a train into Manhattan, stayed within walking distance of MSG all week, made all 7 sessions with 2 little kids (didn't necessarily stay for the whole time, unless UL was playing), did some touristy things, visited with some friends, took a van back to Newark, and flew home. Even though we spent the majority of the time watching basketball at MSG, cmb mostly remembers the plane, train, escalators, elevators, revolving doors, and van that we used to travel on our adventure. Luckily, he does know to cheer for the "Go Cards!" and he remembers 'the needle building' otherwise known as the Empire State Building.

during the layover, cmb likes planes

 mab's hair is finally getting long enough to put it in a bow... kinda

 On top of 'the needle building'

 We had good seats

 She did the hand thing on her own...

 ...no really, we're not posing her.

When we told cmb to put his arm around her, it quickly turned in to a headlock...

Dikembe. No, no, no.

All in all, the kids were incredible. They held up well even though we messed with nap/sleeping schedules, dragged them to a loud and increasingly rambunctious arena (especially with 'Cuse making it to the finals), and spent a lot of time walking around in some pretty cold and windy weather. In the end, UL won the tournament, which just made it that much more fun. Go Cards!

 before the final game

after the final game

Christmastime

NOTE: I wrote this post around the time of the Newtown shootings that I never published for some reason...

Up early, trying to avoid very depressing news broadcasts, so I thought I would blog a bit.

First, neighbors and friends were a fan of Stay Puft, so we decided to add to our Christmas display with a new inflatable Santa + reindeer.

Santa's pretty big, about 14 ft long, and the reindeer are probably a little over 3 ft tall at the antlers. One neighbor has already said that it makes it easy for her to give directions to her house, it's the one across the street from the inflatable decorations (be it Halloween or Christmas).

2. Finished teaching my first college course. It was strange because it was a capstone course (project class) without the standard lectures and tests and the like. It was all reports and presentations. So I can't say yet whether I'm really into teaching college classes. This one was a little weird, plus being a mid-semester reliever, made it a little less than ideal. I'd be willing to try it again, but I would prefer a lecture course.

3. Went to Orlando with the whole family after Thanksgiving and went to Disney World...

 

 

... and Sea World.

Phill(y)ing the Phridge

Living in Philly for 5 years, there was no shortage of ph-substituting-for-f puns. Since leaving, it is definitely not one of the things that I've missed about Philly. What I have missed, is the food (and drinks) that became a very common part of our diet.

So we recently purchased a 2nd fridge for storing a few things long term that we didn't want in the primary space. My first order of business, Philling the Phridge with my Philly Phavorites (I promise to quit):

So in the freezer we have assorted raviolis, sauces, and ready-to-bake pastas from Superior Pasta from Philly's Italian Market. Most importantly we have several meals worth of the goat cheese ravioli and port wine marinara combo that had me returning to this store every 3 weeks when we lived about 1.5 miles away.

In the fridge we have Yuengling. Yuengling is brewed just outside of Philadelphia and is billed as America's Oldest Brewery. I still don't drink, but the popularity of this beer spreads wherever it is introduced, so j and I like to have it on hand  whenever we have guests. In Philly, you can just ask for a lager, and will be given Yuengling.

Finally, we have assorted flavors of Hanks Gourmet Beverages. These are pure cane sugar sodas made just outside of Philly and have delicious varieties including root beer, vanilla cream, orange cream, and black cherry. The latter 2 we would buy by the case. We don't drink a lot of sodas (and these are super-sweet), but when we do, we go all out.

It just popped in there...

So I've been intending to restart blogging for a while now, you know since it has been over a year since my last post, but I've either been busy or uninspired. So it was put on the back burner for some sort of spark. It's not like anything has happened in the last year:

But still I just didn't feel the need/desire to blog.

And then it just popped in there.

I couldn't help it, it just popped up on my screen.

It was the most harmless thing. Something I loved from my childhood. Watching the movie he was in day after day. His picture was always on the VHS box. So I knew I had to buy it. It came in earlier this week and I just got it up tonight (on the roof):

It's the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

I think it's hysterical and so does j. Already got some laughs from some neighbors that walked by. I might play with the display a bit in the future, but I'm happy with just Stay Puft for now...

Anyway, I figure that I should go ahead and post more pics of the family:

cmb jammin on Uncle g's drum set.

mab in one of many cute summer dresses

cmb and cousin at the zoo.

mab looking precious.

mab in the bouncy

cmb falling asleep playing Nana's iPad.

cmb and I walking in Cherokee Park.

Nom Nom Nom

My lovely ladies.

cmb going into the Science Museum.

j and mab on the couch, we should really get a new couch.

mab on the rocking chair.

cmb and mab together in the playroom.

I have a couple more blogs in mind, so I hope it will help me post some more and get back into the habit. Hope everyone is doing well.