March Madness!

March Madness definitely sums up our month. This was the month that proves Carlie Ann does indeed exist. A while ago she asked me why I didn't ever blog about her. She joked that nobody will ever know she is part of our family. Part of the reason is she hates having pictures taken and I love posting pictures. This month she is allowing me to post pictures of her from basketball, prom, and just random shots. So this one's for you Carlie!

HAMILTON LADY BRONC DIVISIONAL CHAMPS!

Joe got to do the radio with Craig for the championship game of the Divisional tournament.  Kristen always gives a hug to Craig before he goes on air but since we couldn't be there this time, she sent these photos to Joe and Craig before the game!

As a rule, I don't usually go to any away games:(  However, our dear friends the Hayes' go to all the games to watch their daughter/Carlie's bestfriend Kali.  We joke that they are Carlie's adopted family at the away games;)  I really missed out!  It's not everyday your daughter's team is crowned Divisional Champs!

Invitation to Prom:

 Karill was a smart boy and waited until the night the girls became divisional champs to ask Carlie to Prom. Unfortunately, he texted her and that was definitely not acceptable. She told him he would have to do better than that if he really wanted her to go. So several nights later, he showed up with this candy gram poster. He asked, "How's this?" to which Carlie replied , "Mmm, chocolate. Yeah, ok!" I thought it was the weirdest conversation ever because I was unaware he had already asked her at Divisionals. Haha!  (More on Prom Later)




State Tournament!  Kristen and I sat at home listening to the games on the radio and when we found out Carlie's team would be in the championship game, there was no way I could stay at home any longer!  Kelly Rogers was gracious enough to give us a ride to Great Falls so we could be part of the fun.  But even despite the fun team spirit and signs, our girls came up short for the win:(  Very sad and emotional but it made it even that much more important for me to be there.  This was definitely one of those crossroads of life I always talk about!

What a ride Lady Broncs!  What a ride!  What an incredible group of young women!

St. Patrick's Day Nails:

The week after the season ended, Carlie was still right back at work...

along with coaching Will too!

Corvallis Blue Devils Basketball Awards Banquet:  We will miss our seniors!  Joe had Nicole laser engrave each of the boy's basketballs with the logo of the highschool, their last name, and jersey number.  Cool gift!

Prom: 

I was super excited to get Carlie ready for Prom but had my bubble popped when she informed me that she promised the girls basketball team that they could do her hair and makeup. Don't get me wrong, I am sure that they did a much better job than I ever could have but still, I wanted to be a part of it. I was thrilled when she called me to Jaylee's house to help her put her zipper-less dress on. I was able to capture the moment for posterity on camera;) Win! Win! She looked absolutely stunning!

And so my Carlie girl got ready to go to Prom. We ended up finding her dress among the many Christine Smith prom dresses. We all laughed that even her yellow Prom dress with silver shrug smacked of her Steelers obsession;) Karill's mom Heidi decided to make the corsage along with her friend Kathy Dickemore. Although they ended up taking the frills out of their original plan, they realized and were selfless in designing the perfect corsage for Carlie.

Is this my little Carlie girl? When did she grow up? She was a knock out! And Karill looked mighty handsome too! 

And after all the fuss about her wearing high heels...this is what her friends wore!  Don't worry though, Carlie got a brand new pair of Adidas Neos that matched her dress for the actual dance!

Girl Power!

 National Honor Society: Carlie received the honor of being inducted into the National Honor Society along with about 40 other class mates. Almost the entire girl's basketball team was also inducted...pretty cool to have such amazing academic scholars.

Choir Concerts: Lest you think that Carlie is the only child this month, Will had an incredible choir concert. He was also in the Honors Choir. Middle schools from all over the valley combined for one day of workshop and a final concert, I am so proud of his singing talent and enjoyed watching him perform. Sadly, I missed Carlie's concert but that's a different story. The last week of March was insane! Tuesday was National Honor Society Induction night. Wednesday was the Girls Basketball Awards Banquet. Carlie received a huge compliment from her coach. He said, "I don't know where Carlie is planning to go after high school, but I know she will be in a gym coaching somewhere." Wow! Carlie sure loves basketball and we were blessed to have an amazing coaching staff for her junior year. Thursday was Will's choir concert. Friday was Will's Honor Choir Concert.

March Madness: For only the third time in 20 years, I lost to Joe in our family March Madness Brackets:( Sad day!