Conway vs. LR Catholic

***UPDATE: Stacy has informed me that dad's doll was a Lee Jeans doll name Buddy Lee. My dad renamed him Roy Gene (no wonder I couldn't find "Roy Gene Levi's doll" on Google!!)...after Roy Rogers and Gene Autrey. Autrey? That sounds familiar. ;)

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We were super pumped about tonight's game became the Wampus Cats were taking on the LR Catholic High "R-O-C-K-E-T-S!!" (at least that's what the teenage girl behind me was yelling). The Rockets won the state championship last year so we knew we were in for a good game....that feeling was further stressed when we arrived at the gym and saw the girls were going in to overtime. I knew then we were in for a real treat with the guys game. Our Lady Cats pulled it out with a 59-56 finish.

As with last week, the gym was packed so we sat on the visitor's side...which always makes it interesting! (and roomy!)

Marc and Amber brought Ashlyn to her first Wampus Cats Basketball game....I was excited to see them. Raegen's other basketball buddy, Rebekah, has been very sick lately and unable to attend games. He's been needing someone to help him cheer on Colt!! Too bad they didn't tell me they were coming...just yesterday I picked up a little something (a little something "Conway" blue!!) for Ashlyn in hopes that she would make it to a game or two. Hopefully she'll come back. :)

Let's play some ball!

One minute my child is making friends with the opposing team's fans, and the next...

he's sweeping Cheerios off the floor!

My first chance I snatched Ashlyn for myself...isn't she a doll?! I love those big cheeks and all that hair!! That girl can really rock a bow! Raegen was upset because I was in his line of sight to watch the half-time dancers. ha.

Colt is a ball practin' fool! And it is really paying off...he's working hard and it shows.

Raegen insisted Taco hold his cup for him...makes him look like a calf, huh? :)

In the basket!! This was just the beginning...

As a side note...I learned in my camera class that when there is low light available and the flash is used often, the flash battery may take a sec or two to recharge. In an action packed sport such as basketball that could mean the difference in the ball going through the hoop and the ref picking it up from the floor. That said, I opted to use the sports/action mode with no flash. The result is I can take continuous pictures, but they are clearly not as crisp. Also, I dumb down the resolution so I can upload them quickly.

That said, this is brutal and you may want to skip the next few pictures. ;) Here's Colt going in for the kill...gonna dunk it! (that's him, #45 under the basket)

And in this picture, the ball is in the air along with Colt and a member from the opposing team. It was foul like I've never seen before...brutal! Colt is the white blur behind the guy in blue that has his leg positioned in a karate kick. He's really not visible, but a closer look reveals his leg sprouting from the guys hip. Foul dude landed on Colt and let's just say had I been the guy on bottom (a.k.a. Colt!) I would have probably come up swinging. Wouldn't that be a sight?!

He handled himself well and nailed his two free throws.

Check it out...we were neck and neck the entire game and started the last quarter with a near 20 point lead. Our Cats are fierce!! 64-46...game over!

This is Buddy...Raegen's buddy. He belonged to Billy's Grandma Stain. Billy acquired the doll after his grandma passed away a few years ago.

Earlier this week I cleaned up the doll and changed her clothes (yes, she was a she) to boy clothes. Where did I get this idea? Well, actually Griffin. He told Stacy a few weeks ago that all babies are boys...that's why we call them babies. And girl babies are girl babies. Makes sense to me. The minute Raegen saw Buddy I knew they would be good friends. His little eyes lit up and now he carries him everywhere. He puts Buddy in his highchair, at his table for tea time, in the rocker to watch tv, etc. I dressed Buddy in Conway blue today, but taking him to the game was out of the question...according to daddy...and of course I understand most people would frown on a boy carrying around a buddy. He was allowed to ride in the car to the game, but had to sit in the parking lot as we enjoyed possibly the best game of the season (so good I took 245 pictures!).
It's been a lot of fun to watch Raegen interact with Buddy...I think he thinks he's real! ha. He especially likes to "get his nose", but Raegen likes to get everybody's nose. :)

My dad had a doll when he was a little boy. It was Roy Jean (is that the right name??), the Levi's brand doll. Dad still has him, but the poor guy is falling apart. I think one arm is completely missing, but his Levi's are still intact!!

Where is Raegen? Where is Raegen?

You may have been wondering where that charming son of mine has been? Clearly he wasn't in any of our pics from the CO trip OR! the Hogs game. He enjoyed a week at his Pawpaw and Grandma Stain's house while we were on vacation. As for the Hogs game, he was with his Auntie Mari and fam (he generally takes turns staying with his Aunt Jenn or Auntie Mari). We are very fortunate to have such good family and friends that enjoy Raegen's company.

Here are some pics from his stay with Pawpaw and Grandma...

Aunt Bridget and cousin Sean came and stayed the week too!!

I think I can...

I think I can...

I know I can!!!

Even Cousin O got to visit for a few days! Grandma said they had a blast together. Owen would let Raegen "pin" him on the ground.

Uh-oh...stepping on toys...

An even bigger "uh-oh!"....Raegen and cats don't mix well.... :)

At last.....my love has come along...

Okay, so I already have "my love"....but here's another! Most of you know that when I purchased my armoire top, I placed it on my dresser...which meant the mirror had to go...with hopes to be placed on my chest of drawers...but really it's been leaning against a wall in our room for three months now...rambling, I know!

So today of all days, I was determined to get that thing up where it belongs. Originally I had planned to attach it to the chest, but I really didn't want to drill a hole in it...it is GORGEOUS!! people!! It was my Grandmother Richardson's and there's no telling how old it is...did I mention it is SOLID wood. We're talking heavy stuff here. My parents refinished it a few years back (the entire suite) and it is amazing. Okay, back to my story....my only other option was to hang it on the wall. Solid wood = need studs!! It took a lot of work, but I eventually succeeded (no, you should not try this by yourself!). I am very pleased with how it turned out...

You should def see it in person...come on by!! :)

Here's my other recent accomplishment (again, do not try this by yourself as I did!) I moved our mirror from the living room into the bedroom and turned it to hang vertically. I've been wanting to do this for some time as well and finally got around to it a few weeks ago. LOVE it!

Did you notice the Razorback bag? My sister made it for me as a diaper bag, but I tend to use it for everything! :) In fact, I carried it to the Hogs game last weekend to hold all my camera "stuff" and a lady stopped me and said, "That's the bag I wanted!!" ha...I told her, "my sister made it for me!" Yes, she should go in business!

How about the truck on top of the armoire? Notice that? It came home with Raegen from the church nursery a few months ago. When B and I have had all we can take, we discreetly confiscate it and park it in the garage. ;)

Are you ready for some "foot--ball"?!?!

The big game is this Sunday and I'm gearing up for my 7th Annual Super Bowl Party. If you're in the area, feel free to stop by for chili and a slice of football cake. We'll be partying Sunday afternoon between church services and again Sunday night after the evening service.

Here are some pictures from my party in '04.

Look at those babies!! Wow, they're all grown up now.

A look at me and the mister before we were "Mr. & Mrs."...hey, before we were even bf/gf!! haha

It truly is all about the cake!!

Wooooo! PIG! Soiee!

Billy and I took mom and dad to their first Razorback Basketball game this past Saturday (1/24/09). In fact, it was mom's first time to visit Fayetteville. The game was a disappointment, but we had fun regardless.

My first Razorback game was a football game on Sept. 11, 2004...Billy's treat.

Have we changed any?

Taking the court...

Mom was excited Billy's cousins, Robby & Michael, would be there. She thinks they're a lot of fun. Too bad our seats were far, far, far, far away!! We hoped we had scored some "good seats" when the man at the box office said, "yes, here are four in the lower level". Yes, they were in the lower level, but we were in the very top row of the lower level! Mom actually used my camera and zoom lens to watch part of the game!!

Robby and fam had some awesome seats...just four rows behind the Hogs. Locate the orange Gatorade cooler in the lower left hand of the picture and count up four rows...there they are.

Owen, Robby, Katie, April, & Mike

Shootin' for three.....cue music for Brick House

We were so close at one time, just a five point spread!

I forgot to take another picture of the scoreboard when the game was over....we lost.

Here's a challenge....locate my dad in the next few pictures. I think he thought it was a game of pop goes the weasel.

You find him? He's quick!!

Braum's...always makes the trip home a little sweeter. ;)

Tea Party

Amber and I learned how to make "stop motion movies" on our cameras...think Gumby.

Here's Raegen at tea time....a daily event!

Date Night

Let me start by saying this was not a typical date night.

1) It was not a date with my husband.

2) I went to school.

Despite the depressing statements above, I had so much fun. Let me explain. Amber (sometimes referred to as my cousin, sometimes my sister-in-law, sometimes as 'Aunt Amber'...for all intents and purposes, tonight she is Amber)...

Okay, Amber and I have twins, also known as the Nikon D60. We both admit we are unqualified to operate our cameras and need help! So we signed up for a camera course, specific to our cameras. Yay! A girls night out!!

We made quite the night of it...first we stopped by Gymboree to extinguish our Gymbucks. I am ecstatic over Raegen's Easter sweater...I'll save the pic for a rainy day. ;) I was jealous of all the great deals Amber found for Ashlyn....adorable dresses and pant sets, cutesy hairbows, and of course matching tights!! Girls are such fun to dress. We tried to spend money on ourselves, but came up empty handed...part of being in the mommy society, I guess. We did however snag a great give away at Dillard's, see here for the full story.

Next we had to feed our growling stomachs and then on to class we went. We both assumed there would be less than 20 present, but boy were we wrong. We guesstimate there were among 75-100 present. Here's Amber shortly before the presentation began...

and afterwards, excited over all the knowledge we'd gained!

But oops, that's a lousy picture so we snap another.

The highlight of the night was Amber winning a door prize...yippee!!! She is now the proud owner of a Nikon note pad/cube. Seriously though, the highlight of the night was receiving a $25 gift card to Bedford's. It's good for any Nikon product...basically we got reimbursed for the class. (Can you say "AWE-SOME"!)

We really learned a lot and laughed a lot...of course. Here I am practicing what I've learned...turn the dial to no flash, push the silver button, and viola!! Okay, seriously...it's all about the scarf. Did you notice it Kibbie?!?! I love me some scarfs/scarves (agh?!?!). Thanks to BigMama I've learned some new ways to tie one on. Kibness...let's see if you can bring it. I think you can.

No, we don't know the man in the background, but we have a pretty good idea he was hoping his picture wouldn't end up on my blog...sorry.

We also have a pretty good idea we are

1) the only ones that will remember anything from the seminar (we took notes AND followed along with our cameras!)

2) the only ones that took pictures of ourselves!

As I close, Kibs...I expect to see you in a scarf on Sunday!

Amber....you are a blogster wannabe and you know it...now show it!!