Easter Weekend 2008 (part 2)

March 23, 2008---Sunday morning we had Easter breakfast with the family members still in town (Papa Gator and Lady had to leave before dawn). Dickie, Toni, Emma, Adam, and Memaw left shortly after breakfast. Then our children found their Easter baskets that the Easter Bunny had left and hunted the eggs that he had hidden in Kathy's backyard. As before, Anna Catherine was really into finding all of the eggs while Jackson only wanted to play with the walrus and polar bear that the bunny had given him. Chloe found a few with Rick's help. Anna Catherine loved the hat and sunglasses she received from the Easter bunny and wears them everyday.

















We enjoyed a marvelous Easter lunch with Don, Kathy, Andre, Heather, Jack, Wes, Presly, and Briley. The kids played and Jack and Briley hunted eggs in the backyard. Then it was nap time so we piled in the van and headed home. It was so good to see a majority of the Crawfords this Easter. We hate we missed Doug, Sherri, Stan, Paige, Carmen, and Jeremy. We hope you all had a wonderful Easter holiday. Thanks to Don and Kathy for allowing us to take over their poolhouse for the weekend. We always enjoy our trips to Zachary!!

Easter Weekend 2008 (Part 1)

March 21-23, 2008---Let me start by saying please ignore the dates on the pictures. The date was wrong on my camera. Now, for the blog---We spent Easter with the Crawford family in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We drove down on Friday and made it in six hours even though we stopped three times. I'd say that's good time considering we have three small children and I hate riding in the car for more than a couple of hours. Friday night we enjoyed a delicious "Homemade Uncle Don" dinner of chicken and sausage gumbo, garlic bread, and sandwiches. YUM YUM!!!! Then we socialized, watched come NCAA tournament basketball games, and played Wii. The guys really got into the Wii games. I think we may need to purchase one!!

After breakfast Saturday morning we had an Easter egg hunt. Emma, Adam, and several of the adults hid eggs so that Anna Catherine, Jackson, Briley, Jack, and Chloe could find them. Anna Catherine ran around the yard collecting as many eggs as possible, which was somewhat embarrassing. I told her to stop so the little kids could find eggs so she then horded eggs and put them in Chloe's basket. Jackson enjoyed hunting the eggs but he wanted to open each egg as he found it and eat the candy that was inside. This was Briley and Jack's first egg hunt and they did wonderfully. They didn't find a lot of eggs (primarily because of AC finding them first) but they seemed to have a good time trying. Emma and Adam also helped the little ones hunt eggs.

Later we enjoyed a poolside crawfish boil. Of course it was too cool to swim but it was a gorgeous day--sunny and 78 degrees. It was so nice to sit outside and visit with family. The afternoon was spent grazing on burgers, hot dogs, chips, crawfish, potatoes, onions, and corn on the cob. DELICIOUS!!!!!! We also watched more of the tournament, played Wii, and "pocked" eggs. It is a South Louisiana tradition that Presly does with her students. Each person has a hard boiled egg. Two people tap eggs (pointed ends) together. Only one of the eggs will crack. If you're egg cracks, you're out. The winner moves on to the next person and they "pock" eggs. The winner is the person whose egg never cracks. Then we toured Wes, Presly, and Briley's new house and Andre, Heather, and Jack's new house. Boy, did that give me house fever!!!! Both house are beautiful with lots of open space and magnificent yards. Then, it was back to Kathy and Don's house for more food and Wii. You couldn't ask more from a beautiful spring day in South Louisiana spent with family. Life is good!!

A Sunday Afternoon in Oxford

March 16, 2008---Sunday we spent the afternoon in what I believe is the most beautiful, charming, unique small town in the U.S. (and possibly the entire world)---Oxford, MS. The Crawfords LOVE everything about Oxford-----the big houses along tree-lined Lamar Avenue, the atmosphere of the Square and downtown area, Avent Park, and of course, the Ole Miss campus and the Grove to name a few! Although we are quite partial to the area, there has to be a reason celebrities such as Joey Lauren Adams, Ted Danson, and Mary Steenbergen now reside in the town of William Faulkner's old stomping grounds. Okay, so it's not Owen Wilson or Jennifer Anniston, but famous, non-college students none the less who have chosen to call this quaint small town in Mississippi home. If you've never been, you don't know what you're missing!!!! Have you ever seen the movie "What Dreams May Come" starring Robin Williams? Part of the storyline includes the fact that Heaven can appear as whatever you choose it to be. If this were the case, Oxford would be my Heaven. There's no place better than the Grove on a beautiful day, surrounded by friends and family!!!!



Anyway, we made the thirty minute drive to Oxford Sunday afternoon to hang out once again with our wonderful friends, the Bergerons. Today the weather was a beautiful, sunny 66 degree day. Very nice!! We attended the Oxford-University United Methodist Church's Easter Egg Hunt (the Bergerons attend there---we weren't crashing). The kids had lots of fun hunting eggs, eating snacks, and seeing the Easter Bunny. Well, Anna Catherine liked the Easter Bunny...the others, not so much. It took all of ten minutes to scavenge the Lamar Avenue lawn for candy-filled eggs.

We wanted to take advantage of the weather, so we spent the rest of the afternoon at Avent Park, the coolest park in north Mississippi. The kids always enjoy playing at Avent---the swings, slides, forts, bridges, etc. Then we had a delicious dinner at Newk's before coming home. A fun-filled spring (well, technically it's still winter) day was enjoyed by all!!!

Molly's 3rd Birthday

March 15, 2008---We were honored today to be the guests of Molly B. as she celebrated her third birthday at the Memphis Zoo. Although her actual birthday isn't until the 24th, her parents chose to celebrate early due to Easter weekend and the fact that the weather was supposed to be 74 and gorgeous on Saturday. Well, the weather was anything but pleasant----rain, thunderstorms, high winds, and maybe 60 degrees at the most---not at all what we were expecting. But the Crawfords didn't care!! It was actually kind of nice. We were one of five groups of people who ventured to the zoo Saturday morning. At times Rick joked that it felt like we had broken in. We would go into exhibits and be the only people there. It almost felt like we had a private tour of the zoo--kind of creepy and really cool all at the same time. Some of the animals weren't out due to the weather but the kids didn't seem to notice. I think Molly liked the monkeys best, Chloe the pandas, Jackson the polar bears, and Anna Catherine said she liked all of the animals. When the heavy rains came, we would duck into the animals of the night exhibit or the reptile house or the komodo dragon lair, etc. Everyone in the Crawford clan had on short sleeves and no jackets. Needless to say we looked like drowned rats by noon. Jackson managed to find every water puddle and mud puddle in the zoo. He had water up passed his knees. Luckily he had clothes to change into before we went to lunch. We had a blast!!!!

After leaving the zoo, we went to Steak and Shake in Southaven for Molly's birthday lunch. Mimi and Pop Pop (Julie's parents, Molly's grandparents) met us there for a scrumptious lunch of burgers, cheese fries, and milkshakes---yum yum!!! Molly had the cutest monkey cake from Emileigh's bakery in Oxford. Julie gets her cakes there every year and they get cuter and cuter each year. Everything was wonderful and we always have so much fun hanging out with the Bergerons. Thank you so much for inviting us to Molly's Monkey Party. We have such awesome

friends!!!

Snow Day 2008

March 8, 2008---We got our first, and hopefully only, snow of the year last night. It started around 5:30 p.m. and apparently went well into the night. The kids and I were driving home from a birthday party at 7:00 p.m. Friday night and I was only able to drive 30 in a 55 m.p.h. zone due to the "blizzard like conditions". Well, maybe it wasn't exactly a blizzard but it was probably as close as it's going to get in northeast Mississippi. I couldn't see the lanes of the highway. It was crazy!! We usually don't get snow here; just ice. And if it does snow, it is barely dust on the ground that quickly melts when the sun rises. The snow did melt rather quickly but we were lucky this time---3 inches of actual snow (no ice)!! Anna Catherine had spent the night with her cousin Ben at her grandparents' house. They had fun having snow ball fights and building the little snowman. Jackson, Rick, and Shadow played out in the powder for a while but Jackson isn't much for the cold. He refuses to wear a coat or hat so he was freezing!!! Snow is pretty but I could live without it! I'm not big on cold weather either. Those are two of the many reasons I live in the South.

Ballgames Galore

March 1, 2008---We have been waiting for Saturday, March 1 for two months now. We have highly anticipated the Ole Miss-Alabama basketball game for two reasons. First, we signed Anna Catherine up for the "Rebelette 4 A Day" program that was held today. Flash photography is not allowed inside the Tad Pad so I was not able to get any shots of her performance. However, the Rebelettes had photographers at the event and I have ordered pictures. I will post them as soon as I get them. I was able to video her performance. The second reason we were so excited for today's game is the mere fact that we love attending Ole Miss athletic events (football, basketball, and baseball only).

We took separate cars to Oxford because Anna Catherine and I were attending the SP pageants that evening. Rick and Jackson dropped Anna Catherine off at the indoor practice facility at 9:45 a.m. for practice. They then met Joe, Julie, and Molly at Square Books Jr. for a storytime and crafts event. Brady met up with them; then Chloe and I joined in for lunch at Old Venice around 11 o'clock. Rick dashed back to pick up AC at noon, and then back to the restaurant to finish lunch. Next it was off the the Tad Pad for the game. It was a close game (as has been a majority of this season's) but the Rebs pulled it out in the end. (I am posting some pics I took at the game but they are poor quality without flash---sorry.) We had looked so promising at the beginning of the season and even ranked in the teens for quite a while before losing our mojo. I'm not down on the team---we play in the SEC and it is a very competitive, yet unpredictable conference. I can't lie to you--I was hoping for a trip to the DANCE but maybe next year.

After the basketball game, Rick and Brady took Anna Catherine and Jackson to the Ole Miss vs. Southern Illinois baseball game. Joe joined them while Julie and Molly headed home for a nap. I would have loved to have taken a nap but, as I said before, AC and I headed back to Pontotoc for the pageant. Rick said the kids were well behaved at the game. It was a beautiful 71 degree afternoon in sunny Swayze Field. Ole Miss won and is ranked #2 in the nation. Way to go Rebs!! As they were leaving the baseball stadium Jackson asked if they were going to a football game. Poor fellow---I don't know if he was asking to go or wondering how much more he had to endure?!?

We had so much fun with the Bergerons and Uncle Eric!!! Anytime in Oxford is a fun time. We're looking forward to Red and Blue weekend in April---Grove time, football scrimmage, baseball versus LSU, and Oxford in the spring...life doesn't get much better than that (until football season!!!!!)!