Nicole's Visit and Baseball

May 14-16, 2009---We were excited when Nicole called to ask if she and her boyfriend, Ben, could stay with us for the weekend. Their high school baseball team was competing in the championships that were being played in Jackson. Of course we said YES and prepared for their coming.

It was so good to see Nicole. I haven't seen her in two months!! I miss her so much. She is growing up way to fast (as I have blogged about many, many times). This was our first time meeting Ben even though they have dated for 1.5-2 years. And yes, we did live near her for over a year of this time period and she still never brought him over for me to approve!! But, that's another story...

She and Ben arrived on Thursday with just enough time to drop off their bags before heading to the Mississippi Braves stadium for game one of the high school class 3A baseball championships. The winner is the team who wins 2 out of 3 games in the series. I had Pokeno that night and Rick stayed home with the kids. Nicole texted me with updates and South lost 10-4.

We had a lazy Friday at the house. Rick had work, Anna Catherine had school, and the kids and I hung out with our guests (plus one--one of Ben's friends also spent the night on Thursday). While Chloe was napping the teens took Jackson to the neighborhood pool. They seemed to have had fun. Then it was time for AC to be picked up from school and the teens met up with some of their friends who were also in town for the game. Friday night we grilled and just lounged around. It was nice.

On Saturday, Anna Catherine, Jackson, and I went to the second game in the championship series. We sat with Nicole, Ben, and 30 other SPH students. The students got into the game, beating our rhythms using drums and tapping sticks on the seat backs while they chanted. They had about 6-8 different chants...very impressive!! It was quite entertaining. Wish I had a video :(

Unfortunately, the Cougars just couldn't keep up with the Bobcats and lost 11-1. Granted, Sumrall scored all of their runs in just two innings, South was not able to compete with the champs, Sumrall High School Bobcats, who ended the season 36-0.

South team members receiving individual runners-up medals:


South receiving the 2nd place trophy:


It was quite an accomplishment to get to the final game in the class 3A series and we are proud of the South Pontotoc Cougars!!!

Nicole's Prom

Nicole's prom was in mid-April but I am just now posting some casual pictures from it. The professional ones have not come in yet. Prom was held in the Johnson Commons Ballroom on the Ole Miss campus. She said it was a lot of fun. Isn't my baby beautiful?!? She is just growing up way too fast!!! She should still be a little girl, but she'll be 17 on her birthday. Where does the time go???


with her boyfriend Ben:

She has the most beautiful eyes!!!

South Pontotoc Most Beautiful 2008-2009

November 8, 2008---We loaded everyone into the family truckster and headed to the South Pontotoc Most Beautiful/Most Handsome pageant. Laken and Tyler competed in the 6th-8th grade division. I have no pictures of Tyler (SORRY!!) but he was very handsome in his black tux. It was his also his 13th birthday! Laken was absolutely gorgeous but didn't place :( --the judges must not have been paying attention the first hour!

Nicole won the 9th-10th grade division and several of her friends competed too:

Alysha was seond alternate:

Morgan was fourth alternate:

Kaylee didn't place but should have!!!!:

Jordyn won the 11th-12th grade division:

South Pontotoc Beauty Pageant 2008

February 29-March 1, 2008---We had loads of fun this weekend. Friday night was Mackinsey and Katie's beauty pageant. They both competed in the 2nd-3rd grade division. Both girls were absolutely beautiful! My cousin Mackinsey placed in the top 10 and "niece"Katie was crowned the winner. Mackinsey's best friend Layla was first alternate (sorry, I don't have a picture but she was adorable!!).


Mackinsey (with her mom):







Katie:








Saturday night was the middle school (6th-8th grade), 9th-10th grade, and 11th-12th grade divisions. My cousin Hannah was crowned winner of the middle school division. She was gorgeous and modeled perfectly!! Congrats Hannah!!!!








Nicole received second alternate in the 9th-10th grade competition. She was stunning but had a slight wardrobe malfunction on stage. She had complained to the store owner that her dress was too big up top and needed to be taken in. The "pageant dress expert" told her that it would fit just fine once she had on the undergarments she would be wearing for the pageant. The "expert" told her to pin her undergarment to the dress and it would keep it up. Well, she was wrong on all counts. The dress didn't fit, the pins and body glue didn't help. And with every step she took, the dress slipped a little more and a little more to the point that Nicole was adjusting it on stage. Had the dress fallen, everything would have been exposed to the crowd!! I spoke with the MC the next day and she told me that as she was trying to decide exactly what she was going to do when the dress fell because it was very noticeable on stage. But, none the less, she was beautiful as always, and as I said before, won second alternate.



















I have no pictures for the following contestants but I would like to acknowledge them as well: In the middle school category I'd like to congratulate Shelby (Tyler's girlfriend) who received first alternate and Laken's friend Catherine who was in the top ten. I would also like to tell Robin and Destiny (two of Laken's best friends) that they were beautiful, had gorgeous dresses, modeled wonderfully, and there is no reason they shouldn't have at least made the top ten or even placed. They were robbed!!! As for the 9th-10th grade division I will say congratulations to Nicole's friends Alysha who received first alternate and Jordyn who received fourth alternate. Nicole's friend Amanda won the 11th-12th grade division. Way to go girls!!!

Thanksgiving Ski Trip

November 16-24---We went on a family ski trip to Pagosa Springs, Colorado for Thanksgiving. We had been planning it for almost a year. Rick, the kids, Nicole, and I were driving out and meeting Rick's brother, his girlfriend, Rick's dad, and his wife there. On Friday we packed up the van, picked up Nicole, and hit the road around 2 p.m. for our 23 hour road trip. That's right--we only stopped for food, restroom, and gas. Rick will tell you the trip was easy but Nicole will tell you a very different story. Rick was driving and listening to a book on tape with headphones, so he didn't hear Chloe crying for hours and hours--literally!! She didn't sleep more than one hour at a time the entire drive there. Anna Catherine and Jackson were awesome travelers!! They watched movies, read books, played games, played with toys, and slept the whole time. We stopped in Santa Fe, NM to eat breakfast at Denny's. I had packed our toothbrushes in my purse so we could do a little personal hygiene improvement in the restroom. Two women were in the restroom stalls while Anna Catherine and I were brushing our teeth. Anna Catherine looked at me and said, "Mommy, do we have to sleep in the van again tonight?" I responded, "No." I know those women thought we were homeless people cleaning up in the restroom. I'm sure that's how we looked after being in the van for 18 hours with very little sleep! We arrived in Pagosa Springs around noon on Saturday, checked into our timeshare condo, unpacked, showered, ate, and were couch potatoes the rest of the day. The rest of the Crawfords arrived late Saturday night so we met up Sunday to tour the town.

Pagosa Springs is a nice little town located across the Continental Divide near the Colorado-New Mexico border. It is set on a natural spring so a lot of the town smells of sulfur. We had lunch at a local Mexican restaurant where we met some nice hunters from Cajun Country...South Louisiana. Small world! There was no snow but luckily Wolf Creek was one of the only resorts making their own snow at the time so those who wanted to ski were able to take advantage of the one run they had open. We chose Pagosa Springs/Wolf Creek because they get the most snow in Colorado each year and typically have 5+feet of snow in mid-November. Blame it on global warming I guess. It was perfect for us though, since it was Anna Catherine and Nicole's first time to ski. They were awesome skiers!!! Anna Catherine didn't have poles and skied the last run alone. Quite a feat, I think, for a novice four-year-old. Nicole even mastered talking on her cell phone and texting while skiing. I'm so proud of my girls!!! The week was spent skiing two days, hiking one day, and shopping two days. One day we drove to Durango and walked around their downtown area. On the way there (and back) we passed Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn's house. Nicole had no idea who they were. I quickly got Rick's blackberry and searched for pictures of them on the Internet. I explained that they were Kate Hudson's parents and were once Hollywood stars. I loved Goldie Hawn in "Laugh-In", "Private Benjamin", "Wildcats", and "First Wives Club". Boy, do I feel old!!

We ate a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at a nice little restaurant in Pagosa Springs called The Dogwood Cafe. It is owned and operated by an Ole Miss graduate originally from Georgia. Small world once again! We met her and exchanged Hotty Toddy's rather than hello's. She and her husband cook delicious homemade Southern and Cajun food. She had Ole Miss and Oxford prints on the walls. It was fabulous! There was five inches of snow on the ground Friday morning when we woke up. Of course, since I was the first one awake, I ran around the condo like a kid waking everyone up to see the snow. Rick took Anna Catherine and Jackson out to play. His dad and Cliff joined them. They made a snowman, snow alligator, and snow tiger (in honor of the LSU-Arkansas game). There was also a snowball fight. We kept up with a disastrous Ole Miss loss to State via the Internet on Rick's blackberry and text messages from Brady. Then we watched the Tigers lose in a disappointing 3-OT upset.

Saturday morning we packed up the van and headed back to Mississippi. It was a long 25 hours home. It took longer due to ice/snow in Colorado and New Mexico and nonstop rain from Oklahoma City to Pontotoc. We had a great time visiting with Papa Gator, Lady, Cliff, and Amanda but were so happy to be home. Nicole and I told Rick we would do it again but would insist on spending the night midway rather than driving directly from point A to point B.