Apr 18, 2011

And the Winner Is ... Well, Sorta!

Yeah, yeah ... I know that the men's college basketball tournament has been over for quite a while now, but I forgot to post who won the 2011 Burley Bracket Battle's coveted trophy! But first, a few facts:

1. Camryn has filled out a bracket every year since she was one year old. We read her the mascots, and she picks the one she likes best. This year was a not a good year for her. Maybe next year we need to have a discussion that a #16 seed will probably never beat a #1 seed no matter how cute their mascot may be.

2. Jason was still watching basketball at 12:30 am the first day of the tournament. The ESPN announcers said that after the first day, out of over 5 million brackets filled out, there were roughly 300 perfect brackets and only 5 brackets that didn't get a single pick correct. One of those 5 brackets without a single correct pick happened to be my mother-in-law's! (I can post this because she had a good laugh about it, too!) In her defense, she did have a few other really good brackets that had a shot of winning it all for our group!

3. Before the tournament, I read an article about the Vegas odds on certain upsets and favorites. I was so serious about filling out a good bracket, I let this guide some of my choices. Did no good. Moral of the story: Making your picks based on cute mascots is probably a better strategy than following lame articles about Vegas odds.

So who was the final winner? Let's just say the Burley Bracket Battle did not end without its share of controversy this year. I filled out a total of 4 brackets. When the tournament began on Thursday, I realized my #3 bracket somehow did not make it into our group. I thought, "Oh well, no big deal. I picked too many upsets in that one anyway." WRONG! That bracket ended up being the WINNING bracket although no one could see it because I didn't get it into the group! Out of the entries that actually were in the group, Jason's was the "winner" but overall had less points than my bracket that no one could see. So, for the rest of the year, Jason and I get to fight about who the real winner is! Either way the trophy stays at our house for a year. Now to decide which closet I can stuff that trophy into until next year's tournament challenge ...

Apr 8, 2011

Ella's First Zoo Trip

We decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and headed to the zoo today. This was Ella's first zoo trip!








Not a great picture, but the only picture of Mommy (the photographer) and her girls






Mar 21, 2011

Hello Spring!










Mar 17, 2011

Let the Battle Begin

This year ... it's not just about bragging rights


This year ... it gets serious


That's right ...


This year ... there 's a trophy



BURLEY BRACKET BATTLE 2011

Mar 16, 2011

My New Song

Camryn spent almost all evening working on "a surprise" for me. This is what she finally presented to me:


At the bottom was a song she wrote:


Just in case you can't read it:

My Mommy's the best
Mommy's the best
I love my Mommy
because she cooks good food for us and
that's why I love my Mommy

Love that girl!