Basketball and pinball pretty much summed up the month of March in the Adams household. As we do every year, we all filled out our college basketball brackets. Keaton and Matt laughed when I completed my sheet (in pink, of course) in under five minutes and they teased me about my lack of research. (Modern Family was coming on and there was no time to mess around!). Matt and Keaton, of course, spent time online researching and reading stats and carefully considering who would be the best logical choices. (Yeah, right...I pick teams from cities we've visited and then I pick by uniform color and shoes. Seriously.) Matt filled out a sheet for Cyrus and had Cy choose his own teams this year. Matt would hold a treat hidden in his hand and then ask Cyrus to pick a team. (I secretly think Matt rigged it a little and put the treat in the hand he wanted Cyrus to choose.) So, we watched a lot of basketball...and the boys watched me move up in the ranks past them...all the way to second place. Then, when Ohio State lost, I fell to fourth...and missed out on winning $300. Stupid Ohio State. As a Michigan fan, I'd never, ever bet on Ohio State...but it's just the way my bracket worked out. (Plus, we visited the campus one year during Keaton's college basketball tour. Plus, they wear red uniforms and since my favorite color is pink...well, you get the idea.) So, even though I correctly chose Kentucky to win it all, I lost by points. Stupid Ohio State. I planned to get a new TV for the living room with my winnings. Stupid Ohio State. With everything now being digital (even our cable), everything gets cut off on the edges and bottom of the TV screen. Stupid Ohio State. Not being able to read the news ticker or see the complete screen is driving me crazy. (It is hilarious to watch sports because we can't see the ball off to the side of the screen and we laugh while trying to guess where it's going to pop back in again.) Stupid Ohio State.
Matt's quest to be a pinball wizard is finally being realized. He's acquired three pinball machines in three weeks...after years of dreaming and months of searching online for pinball deals. Not only does he dream of playing pinball daily (probably hourly if he could), but he also has dreams of becoming a pinball repairman. All of our machines need some TLC and two of them need more repairs to get them in fully-playing order again. A friend came over to help Matt rig-up a moving system to take them in the basement. They put two boards on each side of the basement stairs (we have a staircase in the garage that leads directly to the basement...perfect for moving things!), wrapped straps around each machine and slid them down the stairs. Our friend was the first anchor and held the rope to keep the pinball machines from sliding down too fast and crushing Matt as he led them down the stairs. As a backup, the second anchor was me...sitting on the tractor with the brake applied and the rope looped through the hitch. I just sat on the tractor, hoping I didn't end up going down the stairs with them. All in all, it was pretty uneventful...which is a fabulous thing if you know Matt and his gift of creating some form of entertainment (drama) with everything he does.
Spring cleaning done...check. Windows and screens washed...check. Taxes filed and returned...check. Yard dethatched and raked...check. Lawn care business started up again...check. With our burst of warm weather last month (no, make that hot weather...we hit 87 here for a new record in March!), Matt has already begun mowing, trimming, and fertilizing. Matt's getting everything all ready for Keaton to take over this summer. I've been a cleaning machine and have washed and scrubbed everything in the house with basically a toothbrush. Matt moved out the washer and dryer last night and climbed behind them to clean the floor and vents. I'm so glad he joins me on my quest to have the cleanest house in America! (Does anyone else vacuum their garage?) All I have left to do is clean the carpet...but now I have to wait until our warm weather returns. Believe it or not, it's actually snowing here today. I think March and April got mixed up somehow.
Keaton enjoyed spring break at home this year...when he was home. He spent most of his break hanging out at friends' houses across the lower peninsula, going to the casino in Canada, and going to watch the Red Wings. He left the casino $14 richer and said he's going to study blackjack so he can make more money the next time he goes. I keep telling him to double-major in math AND computer science so he can be a bookie. Maybe now he will. He came home for Easter over the weekend (but will probably be re-thinking that decision for next year). We hid his Easter basket and then made him search for it. He was not as amused as we were. (He may be 20 years old, but he'll never be too old to play hot and cold!) I taped his search to add to the video archives of 'Keaton Adams: 1001 Ways My Parents Embarrass Me'. Matt and Keaton moved the ping pong table out of the basement and set it up in the garage so they could enjoy a tourney. He's been looking for houses to rent for next year with his roommates. I told him he could probably talk Matt into letting him take a pinball machine to their house and they could have the ping pong table if they have room. Keaton said they'll find room and can always put the table in the dining room. I'm hoping the table is used for playing ping pong and not beer pong.
We hope that you all are enjoying the spring weather...and don't have to get out those snow shovels until next winter. But, it is Michigan after all...
