NCAA TOURNEY ROUND FOUR

OK it is no longer march madness it is march INSANITY! Round 4 is over as is almost all our picks! Believe it or not there are only 2 people in the whole family to actually get a final four team right. Yes we all know one of them is the Gid man with his cinderella pick of VCU, but did you know the only other one is his baby bro the Jud man with his pick of Kentucky. The babies of the family get one right and the know-it-alls get none right ( "from the mouth of babies" ). Yes it is insane! The only person who has a chance to get any more points is Gideon. And I was making fun of Court and Kristine for their final four picks. OK they did stink but in the end so did mine.

With Kansas choking on their saliva and not advancing that eliminated me and any chance I had of winning. Gideon is the only one who can gain more points, but he is too far behind to catch our winner- drum roll please- KRISTI!!!!! Guys we just got beat by a girl and that makes 2 years in a row!! Can we go find a hole to crawl into? In all seriousness congrats to our winner!! That means in July when we are all together Kristi will get to pick one of the nights we go out. No help from her spouse please (yes knuckles I am talking about you Ryan). In all fairness I am also going to let Kristine pick one night because I pretty sure she did not get that chance yet either from last year. Yes dad will pick up the tab those nights as long as it's not too outrageous. And no help from her spouse either (yes knuckles #2 I am talking about you Andrew). By the way, Drew and Kristine are leaving tonight to drown out their sorrows on not winning by going on vacation to Mexico. Yea I know we all want to feel sorry for them-maybe it will rain in Mexico. OK here are the point totals and standings- the only change will be if VCU wins then Gid will move on up!

57 points (and the winner)- Kristi

53 points- Judah (unfortunately for him can get no more points- great showing for first year would be considered a front runner for next year- picks were made by setting two blocks in front of him in the school colors, which ever he picked first was his choice- the higher seed was always set at his right hand since he is right handed- let me be the first to say it, I am doing that next year- I mean how much worse can I do anyway? Beaten like a drum by my 9 month old grandson, Yikes!)

51 points- Andrew (any more bragging and trash talking son? Or are you still trying to get your foot out of your mouth?)

50 points- Courtney (early leader could not stand the heat- I know I never even got close to the heat)

48 points- Robin (good grief I got beat by my wife- oh the shame! I still think she is hot though!)

46 points- Berry (yes Ryan I know we tied but if you think I am listing you first you are crazy!)

46 points- Ryan (for his feelings see comments made after Robin- and I think he thinks his wife is hot too)

44 points- Kristine (2nd to last place- I think we now all know last year was a fluke- come on girl you got to do better than that if you want to be taken seriously as a contender)

44 points- Matthew (see comments after Ryan)

36 points- Gideon (has a potential of 11 points if VCU wins it all- could drop daddy and Kristine into last place with a little help from VCU- that is still amazing!}

Ok sports fans that's all for now! Have a great week I will blog one more time after it is all over. Love you all so much!!!!!!!

DAD

NCAA TOURNEY ROUND THREE

O how the mighty have fallen! The pretenders have been separated for the contenders. As far as I can figure the saying "it is down to you and down to me" now applies. Round three has narrowed the possible winners down to Kristi and yet again Dad. Oh how the trash talking younger son must be feeling now! Court's stock has fallen faster than the Dow Jones market and the Gid man's unbelievable pick of VCU is still alive and kicking. Our defending champ has been mathmatically eliminated and almost every one of us is trying to figure out how OSU did not make the final four (except Kristine and Gideon). Most of us are now saying "wait till next year" as round three trashed almost all our brackets. Ok enough of the intro here are all the standings and stats.

57 points- Kristi (she has clinched at least a tie for first- I know it is not fair since she didn't care or watch any BB all year until now- the madness strikes again!)

51 points- Andrew (can finish second depending on the Butler and Florida game- second place is for losers-sorry my son winning is everything, at least when it comes to our pool)

50 Points-Courtney (but the downward spiral will continue as she has no remaining teams left-ouch the Vandy, Texas and BYU picks have left their marks)

48 points- Mom (she is not only hot, but smart or maybe lucky as well-definately hot though)

46 points- Dad (and yes with a outside chance to tie with Kristi- needs Butler to win today and Kansas to win it all- it's not how you start, but how you finish that counts)

46 points- Ryan (yes he is tied with me but picked OSU to win it all-moron! OK not really, but again no non-hoosier has ever won)

44 points-Kristine (having a good showing and will move up if Kansas wins it all but will not gain enough to catch Kristi- I guess how you start and finish does count)

44 points-Matthew (for my comments ditto Kristine-will tie with her no matters what happens)

32 points- Gideon (VCU is alive- I think we are all cheering for his pick- GO RAMS!)

? points- Judah (will someone send me his picks please, thanks)

Ok, there you have them as they are and as I see them- what a fun and unpredictable year- I guess that is why we all love the tourney. Thanks for letting me poke fun at you all- I don't

mean it and I hope you all know it is only in fun! I love you all so much and wish you where all here with mom and I at Kristi and Ryan's- it is cakey saturday with bacon as well! Post again after round four.

DAD

NCAA Tourney Round Two

The time is called March Madness and it is easy to see why. We have Drew and Kristi talking trash with their heads stuck so far up their butts they don't even know that they are wrong! Hello, you two knuckleheads, you are not in first place!!!! The madness continues because the leader is none other than Courtney and the usual front runner Dad is almost bringing up the rear! And yet more madness Gideon's pick to win it all, VCU, is still in the running! And our defending champ concludes the madness by correctly picking Richmond to advance to the sweet sixteen (makes up for her pick of Belmont to go the final four). All this is enough to make an old man go crazy! Or crazier! OK here are the standing after round 2

44 points- Courtney (but with an ugly pick of Vandy in the final game)

42 points- Andrew and Kristi (both looking foolish with misguided trash talking but looking good with their final fours intact and the same)

41 points- Kristine (our defending champ but with a lapse of focus, while eating a bag of chips, picking Belmont to go to the final four)

40 points- Ryan (not bad for a non-hoosier)

39 points- Mom (good grief my wife is kicking my butt- I'm choking on my pride)

38 points- Matthew (ya son I know what it's like to have your wife beat you)

37 points- Dad ( I'm already picking my brackets out for next year- just kidding Drew)

29 points- Gideon (but the VCU Rams are still in the running- thanks for letting Papa beat you and save me from last place- at least someone respects their elders, Drew)

? points- Judah (will someone get the stud's picks in please he might be winning- it is madness you know)

OK there you have it so far- still to close to call! Enjoy the third and fourth rounds this week as the point total get bigger and remember the lesson we've learned this week- if you are going to trash talk have your head out of your butt and get the facts right first! No one likes a trash talker that is wrong to begin with! Love you all so much!!!!!!!

Dad

Trash Talk

Wouldn't you know it, I am on top again. Couldn't let this moment pass without a little trash talk.

My siblings would agree, dad always used to brag about beating us in the bracket challenge, but we were just kids. Beating a 10 year old that loved the idea of a 16 beating a 1 seed isn't something to take pride in. I am now a college graduate and officially an adult. Since that time I have won the bracket challenge, inspired my wife to do the same last year, and now am in first place again. I even correctly picked Butler to beat Pittsburgh. Dad, I am grown up and am obviously capable in kicking your butt. Prepare to be destroyed forever!

As for the rest of the family, I don't take as much enjoyment out of beating you down but I still take a lot. If I win, the restaurant I pick will be unbelievable. I will take suggestions though...

I love you all. Hope March is treating you all well. Kristine and I today have now been married for 33 months. Quite a long time. We are getting geared up for Mexico next Thursday. Secret Silversands is the resort. Look it up! That's all for now, I will respond again soon giving plenty of excuses of why I lost my lead....

Andrew

NCAA TOURNEY ROUND ONE

It is officially in the books-round one is over! The leaders are as follows:

24 points-Andrew, Matthew, and our surprise so far Courtney

23 points-Berry and our defending champ Kristine

22 points-Kristi and her lover Ryan (nice job Michigan State-NOT!!!!)

21 points-Robin

17 points-Gideon

? points-Judah (picks are yet pending)

Just some obsvervations-Congrats to Gideon the only one in the family to correctly pick the Morehead State upset of Louisville. In the not looking good category Court with the pick of Vandy to reach the final game and Kristine with her pick of Belmont to reach the final four. Sorry ladies no soup for you! Gideon also not good with a final game showdown of VCU and Northern Colorado ( although VCU is still alive). Still to close to call otherwise- love you all and I am having a ball watching all your brackets as well as mine! Will keep you all posted!

Dad

Great Song

Hi all! I was on my way to work when this song came on my Ipod. Although I've heard quite a few songs from Muford & Sons, I hadn't heard this one and the lyrics really hit home with me. It is quite a moving song--about how we are never alone in anything we are going through. It speaks of family and I'd love for you all to watch the video!

I am hoping the video works--I don't have speakers at work, so I'm not really sure what the sound quality is. If it's not good, look up Mumford & Sons, Timshel.

I love you all and am so glad we have each other amongst all the changes occuring in each of our lives!

Love,
Kristi

Thank you to Matthew and Courtney for sharing a little bit about their lives with us and we always love photos! We are experiencing a dreary rainy March day today. The good news is that it will keep us in doors and we do not have any big plans. That means I can spend the day with my best friend. We will probably do very little. Exercise, snuggle, (after Berry showers of course) and relax together. It would seem that many of us are going through some transitional times as we look at new opportunities that God brings into our lives. Some are big exciting changes, and others are those that are taking place in the quiet places of our hearts and minds. Let's make sure that we are lifting eachother up in prayer that God would have His way with each of us. I miss you all and can't wait to spend time with some of you next weekend and some other's of you in a few weeks. Have a good weekend everyone!
Mom