It’s more fun when they win

Azula ...

and Spud were ready for the U of I vs. Connecticut game yesterday. I made these scarves for the dogs awhile ago and asked E to put them on and send a pic. At least she humored me.

Andy and I did some grocery shoppping then went to O'Sullivan's to watch the Illini play. The bat was pretty packed with Illini fans ... most of them sitting behind where we were.

I wanted to get a picture when the Illini were winning but the best I could do was a tie.

We left during the second half and the Illini were getting trounced. Cool cloud on the ride home.

Final score. Sad for the Illini but I have U Conn winning in my basketball pool so, go U Conn!

Spring poking through

I noticed spring flowers coming up through the bricks in front of the museum yesterday.

Album release party

Andy and I met our friend Leslie and her husband at Fitzgerald's last for Rachel Drew's album release party.

This was the opening act, The Famous Brothers. They had funny songs.

Then Rachel Drew took the stage.

We've seen her perform several times at Leslie's house, most recently in January playing several of the songs on the new album, "Old New Sky."

It was great show and a good party. I haven't stayed out that late in a long time.

Easy puzzle

We finished a small puzzle last week but still had a few days before Easter preparations have to begin so I bought this 500-piece puzzle on Monday. I liked it because of the concession stand ad. B finished it Wednesday while I was at work.

He couldn't even save me the last piece because it's mising two pieces. Boo. It's going in the recylcing bin.

We did the puzzle so fast August barely had time to bother us. Instead, he napped in the bread basket I had ready for Easter dinner. Guess I'll have to put a new napkin in the basket before Sunday.

Pretty invitation

We received the invitation to our nephew's wedding the other day. It was tied so nicely I had to take a picture. I knew once it was opened, I'd never get it to look right again.

August immediately had fun gnawing on the string until I took it away from him.

My furry sweetheart

August has been very affectionate lately.

Here he is sleeping on me while I was on the sofa watching TV.

Family Bingo

Our latest family outing was Family Bingo at One Lake Brewing yesterday - Julie's b-day week and special guest L!

L won the first Bingo of the day!

The family. Photo by L.

And she won again. The Bingo caller joked that she qualified for the finals in Peoria.

Julie's pic. L was the first person to win twice. Lucky day for her.

The birthday girl was a winner too! Winners got their choice of candy or a half-pour of beer.

Pat was a two-time winner too.

Allison brought us all palm crosses to put in pur cars. It was Palm Sunday after all.

I-L-L …

It's fun to watch Illinois play when they win. Second win of the NCAA tourney last night and now they're in the Sweet 16.

Squishmallow addict

L came in for the weekend for a friend's b-day party. She rode the train up early Thursday morning. That afternoon she put many of her Squishmallows on the local free, Facebook page and listed some shoes and hoodies for sale. She said she's a "recovering Squishmallow addict." She limited takers to two each and they were claimed in no time. This was what was left by time I got home from work. The pile was larger to begin with.

She spent a lot of the day searching for summer jobs. I'm hoping she'll be home for summer. Friday she spent the day shopping with Allison then went out with her friend,T.

B-day gift she put together for her friend J's 23rd birthday.

New sitting spot

After all these years, August found a new, interesting place to sit - on our cases of Coke.

L’s cats

L has been sending pics of her cats recently. I think Marshmallow likes her.

He's almost camouflaged here.

And Vader loves sleeping on her bed.

Another cat puzzle

This box doesn't seem big enough for August to comfortably sit in, but he's giving it a good try.

We picked a 750-piece puzzle this time so we'd be sure to have it finished in time for Easter dinner. I thought B would have finished it while we were in Disney but he didn't work on it much. When I came home from work yesterday B had it completed except for the piece he saved for me. Aw!

Completed with all of the pieces accounted for! This was a fun puzzle of cats watching fish in an aquarium.

Glad it was free

Picked this up as a free "Saturday Sampler" at Jewel recently. L and her friend tried some when they visited and Andy and I tasted it later. Thumbs down from all of us.

It’s officially spring

Returned from Florida to find the daffodils blooming ...

and our hyacinths are starting to bloom. Hope the daffodils last through Easter.

Bye Disney, hello First Class

Figures the day we're leaving Disney the weather is slightly overcast and perfect for being in the park. Andy got into Group 29 for Tron so we packed, loaded the rental car (after opening the trunk of an identical car in the parking lot and realizing it had jackets in it that weren't ours - oops) and went to Magic Kingdom. Right as we walked into Magic Kingdom there were special trolleys to take guests to the castle so we hopped on.

We rode right down Main Street with everyone wondering why we were special and they were walking.

How cute is this contraption?

Took this picture when we got off at the castle.

Crowds were really slow so we rode the Runaway Train roller coaster twice (five minute wait), the Barnstormer, Tron and the Snow White roller coaster (in the picture). While we were waiting for dinner Sunday night we were notified that United upgraded us to First/Business Class on the flight home. My ticket was upgraded first and let's just say Andy was very concerned why he wasn't upgraded as soon as I was. Eventually his upgrade came through, thank goodness. Gelato, a gin and tonic and some little turkey sandwiches in the United Club as we waited for our flight and Andy took work calls ... again.

First class is pretty nice. We'd never pay for it on a two-hour domestic flight but it's a welcomed free upgrade.

Andy was in the seat right behind me. He said he was going to ask people to switch seats so we could be together but once on the plane he decided they seemed too comfortable in their seats to be bothered. Hmmm.

I had a Coke before the plane even took off. Then they brought us a warm towel to wipe our hands and face, I had a glass of wine and they gave us a cup of warm mixed nuts.

Andy and I both had the Thai-inspired meatballs. Kind of odd to get a meal on such a short flight but we ate it. Our bags were among the first off the plane and Allison picked us up. B and the cats were glad to see us.