the final four....

On Saturday the boys left for their weekend of basketball.

They had tickets...
... for the two final four games on Saturday and the championship game on Monday.

When they got to Indy, they decided to walk around a bit. That's when they noticed a whole bunch of people in Michigan State green congregated in one area. They decided to check it out...
Turns out that this group was in front of the hotel where the MSU team was staying.
They got to be there as the team loaded up onto the bus.
(Jeff says to look real close in the window on the passenger side and you'll see Tom Izzo)

And cheer with the crowd as the team headed for the stadium for the game.
Then they headed over to the stadium to find their seats...
They were a just a little "up there" in the stands :-)

They were a little disappointed in the outcome of the game (actually Jeff was a LOT disappointed) but Alex was okay since Duke won (his bracket had Duke winning the championship game).

The next day they had a whole day to fill... so at noon they headed over to...
Almost immediately someone approached Alex and asked if he would like to participate in a youth basketball clinic. He said yes...

His basketball skills leave a lot to be desired but he had a great time.

After that they got to try out some other sports.

And pose with the different cut-outs...



They got to see the trophy....
and have their picture taken with it...
They also spent some time at the pool at the hotel. The next day they got up and did it all over again until time for the championship game.

Yes... Alex has changed teams for this game....
... he had Duke to win it all in his bracket so he was a Duke fan that night.

Alex had a blast at the game!

Here is a shot of the trophy ceremony after the final game...
Such an amazing experience for the two of them!!! I'm glad they got to go... but I'm really glad to have them back home! :-)