The initial reason for our NYC trip (except who needs a reason to visit NYC?) was the fact that our Illini boys would be traveling there to play in the Coaches vs. Cancer Sports Classic. Since we wanted to make it to a game this year anyway, Ryan made the suggestion, and I jumped right on board. And Sissy was happy about an official reason to wear her cheerleader uniform in public.
All week it was fun to pick out the others in bright orange, walking along the Manhattan streets. Ryan would always strike up a conversation with his fellow Illini fans; it was like they were all one big family.Ryan went to the first round of games on Thursday night by himself, but unfortunately Texas beat us in overtime. We played Maryland for 3rd place the next night.
The kids enjoyed seeing these guys they are so familiar with, while on vacation in New York. Dash really wanted to know how they got there.
You can't really tell, but Sissy was in serious dance mode. She wasn't even really smiling because she was so focused on her "moves." As usual, she sort of daydreamed through the game until the dancers or cheerleaders came out, then she stood up at full attention.
Brandon Paul and Tyler Griffey...Tyler (it doesn't really feel natural for me to call guys by their last names...it doesn't naturally roll off my tongue, but I'll try to work on that) has an entertaining blog; he's a funny guy.
This story may seem off topic, but I'll eventually bring it back around to basketball. I have not written about our pre-NYC visit to Gettysburg yet. This was sort of the way my kids were introduced to the Civil War. I checked out some basic books at the library to start the discussion, therefore they would have some background knowledge. They were very intrigued by the whole subject, and I'm sure they were also a little confused. It's hard to introduce your children to ideas of fighting and death. Anyway, I say all of that to say this: the Civil War is a new subject for my 5 year old, so to him, it's like we just won the war. (They were really into knowing which side won, which side we were on, and obviously, we told them we were on the North side because we would have been vehemently against slavery.)
The kids enjoyed seeing these guys they are so familiar with, while on vacation in New York. Dash really wanted to know how they got there.
The score at half-time...we had great seats because they were the first row of a new section (picked on purpose). The kids loved being able to lean against the half wall, and we loved that they weren't bumping into anyone in front of them.
You can't really tell, but Sissy was in serious dance mode. She wasn't even really smiling because she was so focused on her "moves." As usual, she sort of daydreamed through the game until the dancers or cheerleaders came out, then she stood up at full attention.
the adorable Demetri McCamey and 7'1" Mike Davis
Brandon Paul and Tyler Griffey...Tyler (it doesn't really feel natural for me to call guys by their last names...it doesn't naturally roll off my tongue, but I'll try to work on that) has an entertaining blog; he's a funny guy.
Coach Weber
We won! I think the final score was 80-76. This was the first real game we had attended as a family. Ryan said it was a life-long dream come true for him to be sitting with his family in orange, watching his favorite team.
This story may seem off topic, but I'll eventually bring it back around to basketball. I have not written about our pre-NYC visit to Gettysburg yet. This was sort of the way my kids were introduced to the Civil War. I checked out some basic books at the library to start the discussion, therefore they would have some background knowledge. They were very intrigued by the whole subject, and I'm sure they were also a little confused. It's hard to introduce your children to ideas of fighting and death. Anyway, I say all of that to say this: the Civil War is a new subject for my 5 year old, so to him, it's like we just won the war. (They were really into knowing which side won, which side we were on, and obviously, we told them we were on the North side because we would have been vehemently against slavery.)Well, a couple of days after the basketball game, I guess he'd been thinking about it all again. He said to me excitedly,
"Hey, Mom, this is great! Our side won the Civil War...and our side won in basketball...you know, the Illinois game!"
He was clearly feeling like a champion all around, with a bright smile on his face.
Wow. I'm impressed Sissy was able to do the game! I don't know what M would do.
ReplyDeleteI am certain Derek has a dream of us in blue and white in the stands, too...but PSU is never good at bball.