Baseball Hats and High Heels

Angela's senior prom was this past weekend! Between her excitement about prom and my excitement about being home, Mom could barely stand all the energy we were terrible at containing.

When I got home on Friday (and before Mom and Dad had come home from work), Angela and I, both fascinated by the fact that we are GRADUATING at the same time, decided to partake in a little graduation photoshoot. (Photo credit to Christopher!) Mom laughed when she came home from the grocery store and found us both in our graduation gowns.

Before the prom preparations could ensue, we went to the baseball field to cheer Christopher on for his fifth little league game! He played catcher and I was so impressed at how much his skills have improved since joining the middle school team. It was like watching a major leaguer out there as the Oakland A's (coached by none other than Jimmy Watts) quickly took the lead. Angela and I tried hard to embarrass Christopher from the sideline with whistles and shouts, but he completely tuned us out and stayed focused on the game. When I asked him to smile for the camera as he was getting ready to bat, this is the expression I got:

...So I choose a more behind-the-scenes approach.

We even convinced Tyler to come out to the field, even though baseball isn't really his thing.

Though the Athletics were winning up to the last inning, the Rangers came back and tied the game. The umpire called time and everyone thought the game was over, but it turned out that they still had time left to play another inning, so the Athletics were up to bat with the score tied at 10. Dad was an absolute nervous wreck.

The first few batters for the Athletics hit the ball one after the other, stealing bases and scoring runs. The score continued to climb as we went through our entire batting line-up, with almost every team member getting on base! Once the Athletics had three outs, the score was an unbelievable 10-21, and the Rangers were unable to catch back up. The Athletics celebrated their win and went home with huge smiles on their faces.

After the game, it was time to get ready for the pre-prom party at our house. Mom set out snacks and refreshments and then Angela, Mom and I went upstairs to start getting her makeup and hair done as family began to arrive. Mom got started on her make up as I scrambled around the room taking pictures, alternating between visiting family and friends downstairs and helping Mom and Angela upstairs. Angela was patient with all my picture-taking, though at times I'm sure she was irritated with my uncontrollable enthusiasm. Here are some of the pictures I got from upstairs:

I got some really cute pictures of her date (and boyfriend of over a year) getting ready too!

Then, it was time for Angela to make her grand appearance to the 24 anxious people waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Getting ready for prom in Mom's room and then coming down the staircase has been a prom tradition in our home (and I like to think it's one of the reasons Dad spent so much time perfecting the staircase when he was building our house!) and I couldn't wait to get pictures of Angela coming down the stairs. In typical Angela style, however, she was down the stairs faster than my camera could focus, but I got her to stop at the bottom for a picture.

She looked absolutely stunning. She was breathtaking. I've never seen her look so happy. Everyone "ooh"ed and "aww"ed while she showed off her dress. She (aka Dad) put on Tyler's (her boyfriend is named Tyler too!) boutonniere and he put her corsage on her wrist, and then the pictures began.

Although Angela and I may look alike (or so we've been told), you would be hard-pressed to find sisters more different than we are. Prom was a perfect example of those differences. I went to prom in a classic gold Thunderbird convertible, Angela loved her pick-up truck chariot. I wanted every picture to look perfect, Angela found Tyler's trucker hat and insisted on taking pictures, her style...

(I would never admit it to her, but these are my favorite pictures of the whole night!)

After an amazing weekend at home, I was broken-hearted to have to leave for school again. I told the family goodbye and pulled out of the driveway on Monday morning, expecting to be in Chapel Hill in four long hours.

That didn't happen.

For those of you who don't know, I am every car's worst nightmare. I was given a beautiful white Jeep Grand Cherokee Larado for Christmas right before my 16th birthday. Unbeknownst to that poor vehicle, it would soon be destined for more visits to mechanics than I can count, and now it sits at home, unused and banished to the back of the driveway.

First came the shakes. In high school, I would constantly tell Dad that the car shook and decreased speed on its own randomly. Coincidentally, this only happened when I drove it. Eventually we replaced the fuel pump. Then the oxygen sensor. Then the alternator. Finally the shakes stopped and I continued driving the doomed Jeep.

Second came the engine. I thought Dad was just kidding when he told me to check the oil before coming home from Chapel Hill my freshman year of college. Turns out oil is an important part of a car's maintenance. I found this out when three friends and I were stranded on the side of the road in Knightdale, NC with three pistons blown through the engine. Dad was less than thrilled when we arrived three hours later in a tow truck. From Raleigh. The engine was replaced.

Next, the muffler fell off. Then, I went through a spell of locking all three sets of keys in my car. Multiple times. Then the car got broken into in Chapel Hill. Next, the engine started cutting off when I hit the brakes. We changed the PCM board, battery, crank sensor, ignition coil, and the car is still struggling.

Now I have Dad's Jeep. That car has run perfectly since the day Dad bought it. In the four months I've had it, I've gotten a flat tire, run the brake pads down to the rotors and overheated the engine. So you can imagine how tolerant Dad was when I called him from the side of the road in Rocky Mount with this:

That would be the front passenger tire. I had to call the Rocky Mount Police Department for assistance, and while waiting for them, a really nice man helped me change the tire. Because Jeeps come with a smaller spare tire, the officer was nervous about me driving all the way to Chapel Hill on it. He escorted me to the nearest tire shop where I got it replaced. Just another car mishap!

Hope you enjoyed the update!

Nicole