That’s right.  The kids and SweetGuy and I have been participating in filling out brackets for the NCAA basketball tournament for at least 10 years, maybe more.  DustMeister joined in a few years ago, then Magoo’s boyfriend last year, and Bud’s girlfriend this year joined the fun.  (These people need NAMES.  Help?)

Oh, and Bud’s dog, Tali, signed up as well.  She picked winners of each game by chasing after two tennis balls.  Based on which tennis ball she chose each time, a specific team was declared the winner on her bracket.  I only had a single goal for this competition:  beat the dog.  Do NOT lose to the dog.  At one point, I seriously thought I might.

The brackets are a good bit of free fun for everyone with a chance to win a few dollars.  Well, it’s not exactly free for SweetGuy because he is always forced to pay everyone’s entry fee.  There’s never been a question or debate about who would pay.  It’s him.  Seems like a reasonable plan to the rest of us.  We did change it up just a little this year and participated in a “just the family” tournament so at least SweetGuy’s money was staying in the family.  We offered prizes for first, second, and last place.

Check out how we fared:

Uh huh.  That’s right.  Check it out.  Who da woman?  That would be ME.

Seeing as SweetGuy and I finished first and second, he isn’t going to have to dole out any cash.  But, he does still owe the dog a prize for last place.  So, let me get this right, seven adults and one dog competed in this thing, and the only one who effectively legitimately wins a prize is the dog.  I suppose I could say I’m impressed by the dog.  In reality, it seems to point more to the intelligence level of the adults.

I’m shooting for last place next year.

Saturday was the kind of day that would have never worked out if we had actually tried to plan it well in advance.  Never.

Somehow, relatively spontaneously, we managed to gather a dozen family folk and four dogs for a hike and lunch at Starved Park.  Not only did most of our schedules cooperate, but the weather did as well at about 50 degrees and Sunny.

Singing Sally and Magoo chose to use the venue to express their displeasure with the lack of Wonderfultoday posts.  I probably shouldn’t reward the whiners with a post, but here goes.

So, off I go with a few pictures from the day.

Bud’s dog, Tali, is an awesome rescue pup who possesses a number of areas of anxiety.  One of which proved to be the first huge set of descending stairs at Starved Rock.  Bud solved the problem eventually.

Crisis averted.  On with the walk.  Believe it or not, navigating with eleven humans and four dogs is not such a quick process.

And, or course, it was important we stop and admire the views and snap a photo or two.  Here we managed to set the camera timer and capture the whole crew:

It’s about time I introduce Bud’s girlfriend on this blog.  I have SO MUCH to say about her, and it’s all beyond good.  But, that post will have to wait.  For starters, I don’t have a blog name for her yet, so I will cleverly label her for now Bud’s Girlfriend:

And, then there are these ridiculously cute cousins:

The elusive creature, Dave, stood still for a photo by me for the second time in the last six months.  I sorta feel honored.  He’s like me, and doesn’t like having his picture snapped.  I’m not sure why.  He always looks better than his other half.

His dog, Bosco, is not so shy about posing:

Nor is AUBS’ dog, Sasha:

Speaking of dogs, I mentioned earlier that Bud’s dog has some anxiety issues.  One of which is that she loves Bud with the burning passion of an irrational imbalanced stalker.  Here she is tensely staring at him nervously waiting for him to take her leash again.

Also, here’s the other dogs hanging out in TheFavorite’s truck after our hike:

I have no suitable explanation for the last picture.

Except to say, I love this family. Very, very much.

I’m so proud of who all these people are, and what they hold dear, including the simple act of just choosing to have a blast wherever you are.  Nanni was near us during this hike.  We not only had memories of meeting up with Nanni and Bampi here at Starved Rock, they still managed to snatch the bill and paid for our lunch.

They are missed so very, very much.  Yet, at times such as this, they are most definitely present.