Just When I Thought Winter Was Over

The trees are blossoming. The grass is greening. The flowers are burting. We are preparing our garden. Spring is nearly in full bloom. So guess what. We're supposed to get 6-8 inches of snow tomorrow! Gotta love the midwest.

*UPDATE*

Well, we didn't get near as much snow as they predicted, thank goodness. But we did get about 2 inches (plus ice) none the less. The other good news is that the temperatures will remain above freezing, so it won't last long. Then we will be able to see our pretty flowers once again (if the snow didn't kill them).

Cookout

Last night, Bryan grilled some steaks for dinner. Afterwards, we all sat around the grill & toasted marshmallows. Madison really enjoyed it! She kept telling us that the fire was "hot". She also liked looking up at all the stars in the sky. She like the marshmallows, too. She wanted "more, more". We didn't give her any of the toasted ones, just a couple mini-marshmallows.

P.S. I made the table lanterns at MOPS last week. I think they turned out quite nice and helped to add a little more light.

18 Months

Can you believe that my baby is 18 months old? She had her check-up last week: 31 inches tall, 25 lbs.

Here are a few pictures from her Sears Photo Shoot:

Enough Already

I know the bible says that God will never give us more than we can handle, but it sure feels that we're getting close. First we have to pay income taxes which nearly wipes out our savings. And last night, our sump pump crapped out and the basement flooded. Most things were off the floor, so very little was damaged. It was just the inconvenience of it all and one more thing to go wrong. When are things going to start going right?!?

What A Weekend

First, we got dumped with at least 6" of snow!


While it looks pretty & all, I'm still ready for spring. It's supposed to reach the 70s by Thursday which will melt everything (then it will be ugly brown & gray again).

But the real highlight of the weekend was Aunt Marlene's induction to the KU Athletics Hall of Fame. I believe I wrote last year about how she had started the women's athletic program at KU in 1968. The official induction took place during a dinner Saturday night. Bryan & I (and Madison) were unable to attend the dinner, but Bryan's dad got it all of video.

We did, however, go to the women's basketball game later that evening, where Marlene was honored at halftime as well as her presentation of the Marlene Mawson Female Athlete of the Year Award. Here are some pictures from the half-time presentation:



Former coaches & athletes were invited to join her on the court. Aunt Marlene is being called the "Mother of KU Women's Athletics". So I guess that means that all these female athletes are her "children."

Marlene's picture was already hung on the wall, as well as a little blurb about her coaching the first women's basketball team in one of the display cases.





Here are some pictures (and a short video) of Madison enjoying the game. She had a GREAT time. She loved the music and all the action. She hardly took her eyes off the entire game. She clapped & cheered right along with everyone else. P.S. Don't you just love Maddie's pigtails?

On Sunday, the family watched the KU men trample on Mizzou. Too bad we couldn't get tickets to that game (there was a similar presentation during the game - but of course it wasn't shown on TV). After the game, we all went out for dinner, then back to Bryan's parents' house for cake & storytime. It was very elightening to hear Marlene talk about the early days of women's athletics at KU. She had a budget of $2000 for all 6 sports to cover uniforms, travel expenses, equipment, etc. Marlene told us that she had been invited to go into the locker room after the game and say a little something to the current team. When Marlene told them about her annual budget (for all sports), the coach mentioned how they spend that much on just one meal! They didn't have a team bus, so the team had to drive their own cars & pack a sack meal. When they went to the National Championship Invitational in North Carolina, they were able to "lease" a couple station wagons from a local car dealership. They put some air mattresses in the back and took turns sitting and sleeping.

Marlene talked about how she didn't start the program for fame or glory. She did it because she had a passion. She never imagined she would receive such honor & recognition, but she deserves it.