Quotation Mark Mondays: Noses

Matt: "If Anne grows up and has a baby, then you would be an uncle."
Mark: "And I would be like Uncle Josh! Except I wouldn't get the noses. That's not my favorite thing that he does."
Matt: "Oh yeah? What is your favorite thing that Uncle Josh does?"
Mark: (thinks) "Regular size present in in a big box. He gets you with that every time."

Mark of Fridays: Aunt and Uncle

It's a bit early, but we thought you'd enjoy an Uncle Josh picture is honor of his 45th birthday.

Happy early birthday, Uncle Josh! You're old.

Super Bowl fever

Here's Mark's pick for the Super Bowl. Of course, he has to root for the Pack Attack, otherwise Uncle Josh will never forgive him. Go Packers!

Congrats Megan and Josh!

No pictures - yet - but what a fantastic day and fantastic new couple: Mr. and Mrs. Jankiewicz!

Meet the family

Meeting Aunt Megan and in an arms of an officer of the law.

Note: Same day, different outfits.

If the Hanley Family gets any more good news our heads will explode and we will be walking around like headless people who are very happy and excited

So, let's review some of the latest news.
In case you haven't heard Lynne is storked. (Turns out she's actually fond of that expression.)
And Matt's grandma turned 80! And had a great birthday party!
Lynne and Matt are having a baby!
And Matt's mom turned 29 and became younger than her own son!
It's true - a kid of their own for Lynne and Matt!
And Matt's cousin Michael graduated from college!
A new, not-yet-house trained roommate!
And Matt's sister Megan graduated from grad school!

And then, last week, Megan and Josh got engaged!
Yes, Josh made the leap that several other brave people have made and volunteered to be part of this wacky family. (Somehow, we know he'll fit right in.) Josh proposed by Lake Michigan. Of course, Megan said yes.
Matt was aware of Operation Big Question and had been waiting all day for a call from his sister. So when she finally calls she says, in a monotone voice: "Hey, what's up?"
"Nothing," Matt replies, unsteadily. He can't let on because he doesn't know yet if Operation Big Question has been launched.
"Cool, cool," she says, with a somewhat evil level of detachment. "Nothing much with me."
This went on for at least three more minutes before she finally fessed up. Cruel. Very cruel.

No matter. We are so proud and happy to have Josh join the family. He's very good to Megan, she really likes him and he's been around Matt with his shoes off but didn't flee, so this is a very good thing. We're also pleased to announce that Josh - in order to meet full approval of his future brother-in-law - has agreed to become an Illini fan. Smart move.

So, all in all, it's been insanely good around here, and we're not complaining.

Indiana still has a football team?

Ah, the Ultimate Football Weekend. Or, as it is sometimes known, the annual Josh and Megan Humiliation Game. Last year, Illinois did pretty well. Remember that?
But certainly Josh had learned his lesson. He couldn't really root for the team in red, could he?
He could. He did. Well how'd that work out?
Matt thinks it worked out pretty well. Like 55-13 well.
That's right, the Orange ran wild all over the Red again this year. It was a massacre, right from the beginning. You might think a result like that would deflate the visiting team, discourage them or - heck - just give them pause. But, nay, not the Indiana Hoosier band! Each time - each and every single time - Indiana got a first down, they'd launch into some sort of torturous fight song. Bwahaa be bah be bahhhhhh be BAHHHHHH. Merciless.
Even Megan and Josh had fun at the game, it is believed. Sadly, Lynne lost interest pretty quickly. Even from the second row, the blowout meant she was thinking about other things. Like practicing saying the name of Illini's massive tight end Michael Hoomanawanui. Uh-oh, ma now a noowie!!
But the weekend was about more than football. It was about realizing how old we were. It was about realizing how glad we were that the game started at 7 p.m., and how we all pretty wanted to go to bed immediately afterward. It was about realizing that Legends - Legends! - has a life-sized Chief inside. (Very sad, Matt'll never step foot in there again. Probably.) It was about seeing the Jazz and the Bulls play a game in...Champaign? (Odd, but cool.) It was about grillmaster Dave and stretching the babysitter's hours and Lynne abdicating the Oreo crown to...who remembers that sort of thing when you're this old?
Anyhow, it was another great weekend with great friends, including people who flew in from Colorado and Texas, and drove in from Iowa and Wisconsin. Matt was both thrilled and honored that everyone took time out of very busy schedules to visit. Yet another reminder this year how lucky Matt is to be surrounded by great friends.
But the fact is Matt should have written this post right after the game, as he intended to. Instead, Matt waited until after Illinois lost to Wisconsin and then WESTERN MICHIGAN. The Western Michigan Broncos?!? Ugh. From the Rose Bowl to losing to the MAC second place squad.
Butkus, Grange, Mendenhall vs. Jason Babin and John Harbaugh. Again with the torturing, I see.
Looks like it's back to the .commers for the Illini. Insight.com Bowl. GarbageRemoval.com Bowl. Com.com Bowl. The possibilities are .com less.

Where (and who) is Lynne?

Well, you had a week. Did you guess what Lynne was for Halloween?

That's right, she was...no, not a jailbird. Not the Hamburglar. Lynne was Waldo!

At left, Lynne. At right, not Lynne?

And the winner is...Josh! congratulations Josh, you've won a brand new...fanny pack! Retail value; $19.95. All rights reserved. Prize is non-transferable.

Matt had some doubts that anyone knew who Waldo was anymore, but apparently kids out there are still looking for him. Good for them. Although, perhaps they need something better to do with their time. Matt suggests looking for someone a little more famous. Like him. Or her.

Anyhow, kids were yelling "I found you" to Lynne all day and it didn't even annoy her. And, shockingly, there was a second Waldo teaching at Naperville Central that day. That's what happens when your colors are red and white. You're the home of the Fighting Waldos.

One story from Halloween because it's too odd not to share. But a warning: it starts out sad. So, there's one NCHS student who has an allergy to latex. A severe, terrible allergy. Like the stuff can't even be in the air of the building or it's dangerous to the kid. (That's the sad part.) So, the deal with the students was they had to prove their costume had no latex in it, otherwise it wasn't allowed in.

Flash forward to second period and there's an announcement.

"Excuse me teachers, we've called some manufacturers to check on costumes. If you have the following costumes in your class please send them to the principal's office. Cow with udders. Yellow banana. Man with two heads. Again, would the cow with udders, yellow banana and man with two heads report to the principal's office."

Now, that's not an announcement you can hear too often.

Oh, and what was Matt for Halloween? Scroogy McNofun. No costume required.

OK, so Matt and Lynne promised an update on where the ceremony and reception are going to be. And so you shall have it. Matt will get some pictures this weekend and post them here. So check back soon.
And maybe they'll have a few other surprises. Or maybe not. (It's a surprise!)