This is IU!

Guess it's no big secret that we're IU fans around here. Tony and I are both corn-fed Hoosier fans from birth. I remember watching IU play ball growing up and talking smack with my friends in middle and high school (some of the golden years). I even watched games religiously on t.v. while going to college in Lexington, the heart of UK country. Tony and I are proud of our IU degrees, even if they didn't come from B-town. There's nothing better than watching a game at Assembly Hall, particularly now that we've indoctrinated our children as well!
We're so excited about today's IU-UK rematch that Sophie's changed clothes twice. (Okay, it's really because she had an accident at naptime, but it doesn't matter. She's got lots of IU apparel).

To me, this is what IU really means:
No matter how much we laugh about being from Indiana, there's a pride to being a Hoosier that can't be duplicated. It's not just about basketball. It's a little bit of Mellencamp and corn fields. It's about supporting your team loyally even through the losing seasons - even when it costs you your bracket every March (hey, a girl can dream, right?). Being a Hoosier is about watching kids dream about playing for IU:
I know Andrew will grow up to make me proud. But I can honestly say nothing would make me prouder than to get to watch my gangly kiddo shooting hoops at Assembly. Just to get you in the mood for tonight's game, here are links to two of my favorite videos:

This is Indiana
Martha the Cleaning Lady

Win or lose, we'll be proud of our Hoosiers. But this is a rivalry, ya'll. I'd be lying if I said I didn't hope we run those Cats back home to Lexington with their tails dragging. The kids are so excited about staying up to watch the game, and we've got a couple friends coming over, too. So - go, IU!

On a related note, March Madness also means that spring has arrived. It's a little early this year. We've had 80-plus degrees for over a week. All the trees and flowers are blooming. I hope we don't get another cold snap. Here's my "baby tree" that we picked out with my grandpa when the boys were babies. It was literally a stick when we planted it. It's a redbud, but Sophie calls it a purple-bud, for obvious reasons.Here are my peonies - they've already got ants on them. If you don't know, the ants eat away at the covering so the flowers can bloom. It doesn't usually happen until May.
Here's my lucky charm all dressed up for St. Pat's. You can't see the best part of her outfit - a jean skirt with adorable striped tights.


Last weekend, our alma mater went to semi-state in basketball. I'm so proud of Providence, particularly since we kind of stunk at basketball when Tony and I were in school there. Tony and Andrew drove to Indy for the game. The Pioneers played hard and kept the score tied most of the game, but lost at the end. They were playing the number one high school in the state, so I think they held their own pretty well. By the way, Andrew's wearing MY shirt!
I couldn't go to the PHS game because I was the choreographer for our school play, Charlotte's Web. The kids did a great job, and even got me a pretty spring bouquet on closing night!
Happy Spring - and spring break for us!