Miss Mississippi 2013...

The Miss Mississippi pageant was just a little special this year...our favorite, Chelsea Rick won!  It was her 5th year to compete and our 4th year to watch her compete.  I can remember the day Chelsea walked into my office at Millsaps as a freshman and it's students like her that I can remember the day they walk out as well as the day they walk in because I am going to miss them so much.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching her become the mature young lady she is today.  She deserves the honor of Miss Mississippi, and I think will represent our state so well.  

To my surprise, Chelsea walked into my office today just 5 days after being crowned Miss Mississippi!  Talk about a bunch of ladies squealing...we were so happy to see her and tell her face to face how proud we are of her.  She was so precious and talked to us for a good 30 minutes and answered ALL of our questions about Miss Mississippi and Miss America because you know we had some to ask her.

Anna Lauren was very excited to see Chelsea win, and we look forward to doing a couple things throughout the year where we can see her.  She encouraged us to come to her trunk show to model her clothes for Miss America so that may be first on the list...

Again, super proud of this young lady and it was so so fun to visit with her this afternoon!

Cow Appreciation Day...

Everyone knows that Matt is the fun parent...not me!  To everyone's surprise, I decided to get out of my "comfort" zone and have a little fun.  Friday was cow appreciation day at Chick-fil-A...if you had partial costume, you got a chicken sandwich...or...head to toe got you a combo meal.  We went all out and had a free dinner!  And yes, this was all my idea...believe it or not!

I let the kids color black spots on their legs with a washable marker...not a good idea, it smeared, but they thought it was great fun.  Especially Cooper who wanted to color his entire leg.

Thanks to the starter kit on the Chick-fil-A website, we printed everything we needed...we were all dressed just the same.

Matt and I just taped black spots on our legs and flip flops...

Of course Cooper refused to wear his shirt, but we took it in and they gave him a free meal...

No shirt, but he liked the nose and ears...silly kid!

And Cooper's favorite part of his cow costume...

Doctor Appointments...

On Monday, Anna Lauren and Cooper had a dentist appointment.  It was just a 6 month check-up for Anna Lauren and the first trip to the dentist for Cooper.  Anna Lauren was fine as she has somewhat overcome her fear.  Cooper on the other hand started saying, "I not gonna do it" from the time we walked in the door. Anna Lauren went first and as we watched her hoping he would see it wasn't a big deal, he said "I not gonna do it" every 10 seconds.  The dentist talked to him and Cooper quickly waved bye bye to him...we all agreed there was no need to hold him down.  We will continue going every 6 months and hopefully with time, he will let them look at his teeth.  If you ask him, he went to the dentist, he saw the dentist, and he got a new toothbrush/toothpaste, sticker, and bouncy ball.  And then his favorite part of his first trip to the dentist...the water puddles in the parking lot.  His shoes and socks were soaking wet, but he left with a smile on his face!

We did get some "not so great" news about Anna Lauren...she has 3 cavities, which meant she actually saw the dentist for the first time.  Until Monday, the dental hygienist had done her check-up trying to "warm" her up to the dentist.  There were a few tears shed, but for the most part, she was so big.  She truly has a fear. Dr. Cox said with her, we MUST have a good experience with the first cavity so we are going to start with one and then hopefully do the other two the following week.  Thankfully, he gave me some medicine to "calm" her before her appointment and then he'll give her some gas.  She is VERY concerned, but I'm hoping the medicine will work and she will be a big girl!  No telling what I will have to promise her!

Then on Wednesday, Anna Lauren had her 6 year old check-up with Dr. Joe.  We got all good news there, which was more exciting then Monday at the dentist.  Her tests all looked good, and she is still in the 90th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height...still projecting her to be tall.  If only he could prescribe medicine for sassy, hard headed, determined, strong willed, etc.  She is definitely a challenge and Matt and I are trying so hard to raise her as pretty on the inside as she is on the outside, but I'll admit...it is NOT easy!  But as challenging as she is, we love her to pieces and have so much fun watching her grow!

Staycation Day 1 ~ 4th of July...

Thursday, the 4th of July, was our first full day of staycation.  We started the day at the Shiloh Park Splash Pad with my friend Leah and her little girl Hadley.  We had never been so the kids had a great time playing at a "new" place and not to mention they were the only kids for most of the time we were there. For sure a fun place that we will visit again...

Best picture I got of Cooper...he doesn't stay still but a second...

After a yummy steak dinner (thanks to Nanna), we headed to the balloon glow, another first, to see the hot air balloons.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed watching the balloons being blown up as you can tell...they sat so still and watched.  I'll admit...I thought it was really cool too!

And we ended our super fun day by watching the firework show...the kids could care less about the fireworks, but we watched them anyway.

Staycation Day 2...

We really didn't have a plan for staycation day 2 so it was a little random.  After a lazy morning, we got dressed and headed to Learning Express Toy Store.  Anna Lauren got a rainbow loom for birthday and just a couple weeks ago figured out how to  make the bracelets on her own...she LOVES it now and makes bracelets, bracelets, and more bracelets.  Therefore...she needed some more bands, which is why we went to Learning Express.  And not to mention, it's just a fun store for the kids to play.

While Cooper napped, Nanna and I took Anna Lauren on a very unsuccessful shopping trip for some new school clothes.  Until this summer, Anna Lauren has only wanted to wear dresses...someone said her "shorts" under her dresses are panties and so now she doesn't want to wear dresses, which is all she has in her closet.  We didn't have much luck finding anything she liked or that fit right...we'll have to try another day.

Thanks to Nanna, her rainbow loom box has been refilled!

So proud of her new bands and her "organized" box...she has just a little of her mother in her!

As soon as Anna Lauren saw the firework stand go up, she started begging for pixie wands (sparklers).  We told her we would buy her some the day after the 4th of the July because she could get more for her money.  So...Daddy got her many pixie wands on Friday, and they could not even wait until dark to light them.  And yes, every kid needs to play in mom's t-shirt and just a diaper from time to time!

A little meltdown was had...the trampoline broke and it broke Anna Lauren's heart.  She really does jump on it almost every day...Matt and I are going to try to get her another one...not sure we can hold her off until Christmas.

They saved the "best" sparklers until it got dark...so after bath time, we headed out to do a few more sparklers.

It was another "fun" day...this staycation thing isn't such a bad idea!

Staycation Day 3...

As sad as it may be, the reality is that most things we do are centered around Anna Lauren.  So...we tried real hard to do some things we thought Cooper would enjoy on staycation day 3.

He had been asking to go fishing so Nanna took him to Wal-Mart and bought him a fishing pole.  When he woke up Saturday morning they headed to the reservoir for his first fishing trip.  I had no idea they would actually catch fish, but I was wrong...the boy came home with some fish, and he was so PROUD!

Showing off the fish he caught...Nanna said he would not let her put the bucket in the back of the car.  He held the bucket of fish in his lap on the way home. 

Nanna and Cooper after their very first fishing adventure...I'm sure there will be many more to come.  She will for sure take him as long as he wants to go!

Catch of the day...they caught 4 fish in an hour or so...not bad!

After everyone rested and we had dinner, we headed out to play putt putt golf.  Cooper is very into golf these days so we thought he would enjoy this activity, and we were right...he had fun!

Not real sure what sport he will pick, but I'm thinking he will do something...has just a little "athletic" in him!

He would hit his ball a few times and then he would go put it right at the edge of the hole and knock it in...love it!

Anna Lauren enjoyed herself too...think this is something we will for sure do again.

And that was the end to our fun-filled staycation activities.  Well, for me anyway...the kids are actually at the pool swimming as I type...I had to do a little work (boo) and now I'm off to finish laundry and re-group for the fast pace week we have ahead of us.  We all really enjoyed a few days of down time, doing some fun activities, and getting to visit with Nanna!