Craig and Heather plus TWO: March 2015

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

2015 NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge

Today is the start of the NCAA Tournament with the first of the First Four games in Dayton. With the brackets out, it is our family tradition to all pick our brackets and have a contest to see who does the best. This year, the winner gets to choose dinner out one night.

Here are our Final Four picks:

Daddy:

Kentucky
Arizona
Virginia
Iowa State

Final - Kentucky over Virginia

Mommy:

Kentucky
Arizona
Oklahoma
Gonzaga

Final - Arizona over Gonzaga

Mark:

Kentucky
Arizona

NC State

Duke

Final - Kentucky over NC State

Jack:

Kentucky
Arkansas

NC State

Duke

Final - NC State over Kentucky

Really studying the bracket to pick the perfect bracket!

Whose bracket is best? Mine is! - Jack and Mark

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Rubber Match

The next day, we went to the rubber match of the NC State vs. Clemson baseball series. Clemson won on Friday and State won on Saturday. We were hoping that the Pack would come out and do the same thing they did yesterday and beat Clemson. When we got to the game, it was the first great day of spring. No clouds in the sky and temperatures soaring into the 60s. A beautiful day to watch a baseball game. Well, our hope for a quick start definitely happened. It was 11-1 after three innings and the Pack was rolling. We all enjoyed the game, as the lead expanded to 14-2 before the Tigers scored 4 runs in the top of the 9^th to make the final score 14-6. We all were happy the Pack won the series and then the boys could now run the bases. Just like last year, the boys love running the bases. This year, we noticed they are a little hesitant around the players, but it was just the first time on the field this year. They enjoyed running the bases, and Mark still slid into home plate. We all are hoping to have many more days like this, especially due to the temperature being nice, running the bases, and the Pack winning.

Here they are running the bases:

Getting ready to run the bases.

Mark with Mrs. Wuf!

Rounding first. Check me out Mommy!

Taking the shorter turn. Check me out Mommy!

Fun Saturday

Saturday morning we were up and going early. We had baseball practice at 10 AM. After the boys finished their Riverbandits batting practice, in which both Jack and Mark have improved over the past few months), we came home for a few minutes to change clothes and quickly get to Senior Day at the PNC Arena. Syracuse was coming to town and the Wolfpack needed a win. Jack and Mark told us they thought the Wolfpack would win. They do like one player on the Syracuse team. His name is Rakeem Christmas and he wears the jersey number 25. They thought it was so funny that a guy named Christmas would wear the number 25. The boys, but Mark especially, got into the game by screaming the whole time Syracuse had the ball. We believe that he personally made Syracuse miss a lot of shots as his screaming was so pointed and it threw the team off. Whether or not that is completely true, Mark was so proud when they missed shots and free throws. It was so cute. Jack told me before the game that the Pack would win 76-54. He wasn’t too far off. At one point late in the game, it was 71-51 before two late three pointers made the final score 71-57. Good job Jack. I need to take you to Vegas. Ha.

After the basketball game, we went to the NC State vs. Clemson baseball game. It was the second game we had gone to this year, although we didn’t stay too long for the other game. The early season has been dominated by snow, ice, and cold weather. The temperature was finally in the 50s, although it was a little windy. Jack and Mark had a great time at the game. And along with the temperature increasing, the Wolfpack bats heated up as well, hitting 3 home runs in leading to a 8-3 victory. All in all, a great day to be a Wolfpacker.

Here we are at the baseball game:

Back at one of our favorite places. - Jack and Mark

Enjoying seeing a 8-3 Wolfpack win!

Mommy’s birthday

Last Tuesday was Mommy’s birthday. But instead of taking her out for her birthday dinner, that night was also a fundraiser for Cardinal Charter Academy at Ruckus Pizza and Pasta. The fundraiser was scheduled for the previous week but the snowstorm moved it back one week. So we went to Ruckus to support the school. We had dinner with some of their friends, Drew and Alex, who will both be attending the school in Kindergarten next year. Jack and Mark were so excited to be eating dinner with their friends. Also, after we got there, their teachers showed up. The boys were a little shy around Ms. Robinson and Ms. Taugher, but that is expected nowadays.

Happy Birthday Mommy! We love you!

Here are a couple of photos from dinner:

Alex, Jack, Mark, and Drew

The happy family on Mommy's birthday!

Are we living in a forest?

Crazy question right. Well not really. While we definitely live in the city, Monday morning we looked out the window and saw 5 or 6 deer in the trees right across the street. They were so close we had to go to get the camera.

See what we mean?

One deer, two deer.

Hop along, deer.

Pretty seeing deer with snow on the ground.

From out in the open to going deeper in the woods.

Last chance to see them before they vanish.

Harlem Globetrotters

On March 1, we went to the PNC Arena to see the world famous Harlem Globetrotters play. We had gone several years ago and the boys did not have a good time. They were expecting a regular basketball game and did not get it. They were too young to understand the pranks and everything. We figured that this year they would like it more. They watched a little bit of the Globetrotters on ESPNU over the Christmas break and thought it was hilarious. They called it “funny basketball.” Therefore, we decided to take them this year.

They did enjoy it a lot more. Mark did ask a few more questions about the clock and certain aspects of the game, but overall they boys enjoyed it much more. They had a really good time and are looking forward to going to another game next year.

Here the boys are at the game:

Future Globetrotters maybe?

Monday, March 9, 2015

Sledding pictures

In the previous post, we mentioned how much Jack and Mark enjoy sledding. Just look at these pictures:

Time to go down the hill.

I love this! - Mark

I love this! - Jack

First one to the top gets to go down first.

Try not to get hurt Grandpa.

Time for run #25. - Jack

Hey, where did that tree come from? - Mark

Am I not the coolest kid ever? - Jack

I take the turn at a good speed, Watch me go! - Jack

I am about to crash and burn, but it is so worth it! - Mark

WIPEOUT!!!! - Mark

Uh oh. I think I just hit Mach 1! - Mark

How did you like that run, Mommy? - Jack

Daddy did you know what I put on the bottom of the sled? Here is what I put on it. "This is a new-non-caloric silicon-based kitchen lubricant my company has been working on. It creates a surface 500 times more slippery than any cooking oil. Ahhh! We're really going to fly down the hill with this stuff."

Do you work with Clark Griswold, Mark?

Big snow

We had some snow/ice on that Tuesday in which we were out of school. While Wake County wound up being out of school from Tuesday through the rest of the week, Cardinal Charter Academy went to school on a two hour delay on Wednesday. Late that night, it started snowing again. We got between 4 and 5 inches of snow. It was a very pretty snow. We wound up being home on both Thursday and Friday. The boys were so excited, as were we. After breakfast on Thursday morning, we went outside to play some football in the snow. After a few minutes of doing that, we saw the garbage truck coming down the street. Daddy quickly brought the trash can down to the street.

About 10 minutes later, we started wondering where the garbage truck was. We live in a cul-de-sac, in which end of the street is a little downhill. We walked down the street with our neighbor, and requisite shovels, as we had a feeling the garbage truck was stuck in the snow. We were right. It was stuck. So there were 3 or 4 of us that started shoveling snow out around the tires so that he could make it out of the cul-de-sac. After 5-10 minutes, we were happy to get the truck going again. The driver was most thankful.

After we got back to the house, we started sledding. The boys love sledding. Our driveway was not too long nor too steep and decent for beginning sledding. We needed a little more speed (not too much, but a little more) for more enjoyable sledding.

We found it on a hill that is next to Granna and Grandpa's garage. There is a sidewalk that goes down to their back yard. There isn't a lot of sun that hits that area either. It was a perfect place. The boys couldn't get enough of sledding. Mark said he could sled all day long. We love hearing how excited he was about sledding. Jack really liked it too, although he said he couldn't sled all day long.

When they took a break from sledding, they continued to clean off some driveways. On Thursday, between Daddy, Jack, and Mark, there were 6 driveways that we shoveled. Several driveways that were cleared were for older people. They really appreciated it.

All in all, it was a really fun day for all of us.

Here are some pictures:

Ready for some fun. - Jack and Mark

What a pretty house with snow all over it!

Over 17 inches of snow. That is almost a record!

Hurry up and get the trash down to the street, Daddy!

Look at the football. - Mark

Snow Angel time. - Mark

Snow Angel time. - Jack

Tackle Daddy! - Jack and Mark

There is a garbage truck stuck. Daddy is on the right helping the driver out.

I got hit by a snowball. It is on now! - Mark

Did I throw the snowball that hit Mark? Look at my face! - Jack

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Tuesday at home

The next Tuesday, there was more snow on the ground and the boys were out of school. It snowed basically all day. The boys were mesmerized. They loved looking out at it in the morning. They played in it some in the afternoon.

That night, we found out the boys were going to be going to school on a two hour delay. So, we let them stay up and watch the NC State at UNC-CHeat basketball game. And boy were they excited. The Wolfpack shockingly easily won 58-46. They were so pumped and so happy that they played in the snow as well as seeing State win at Carolina was truly a great day.

Here is a picture of the boys in the morning and then one in the evening.

Look at that snow, brother! This is awesome!

Go State! Beat Carolina!

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Last Upward Basketball game

That Saturday, the boys took part in the last Upward Basketball game of the season. Both Jack and Mark really improved over the year. Ballhandling skills, passing, shooting, and defense all improved drastically. They had a good time getting to know their teammates. They had a really good time this year. They are already looking forward to basketball season next year.

Here are some pictures from the last day: