Hello, Everyone!

My name is Nicole Pettibon and last month I had the honor of being crowned the Texas Honey Queen for 2009. This article will tell a little bit about who I am.

I am the 17-year-old daughter of Patrick and Christie Pettibon. I have lived in Texas all my life, and I think it is one of the best places on the whole planet! When I turned 1 year old, we moved into the house my mom grew up in, which we like to call the mini ranch, and we have lived here ever since. I have a brother, Caleb, who is 14 months older than I, and I have 9 younger siblings. There are eleven kids total. Here are the names from the top: Caleb (18), Nicole (17), Joshua (15), Jacob (13), Hope (12), Megan (10), Abby (9), Anna (6), Luke (5), and Lilly (3), and Emma (4 months). Wow...

When I was 4 years old, I started piano lessons and music has been one of the delights of my life. In addition to piano, I now play the violin and some guitar. I have been home schooled from the beginning, and I absolutely love it! I also enjoy "roughin' it" outdoors, taking a dare, reading, competing with speech and debate, and, of course, beekeeping. Bees aren't the only, what some might consider, unusual pets we have out here on the ranch. My brother, Joshua, always has some sort of new pets in the house whether it's hedgehogs, racing pigeons, raccoons, squirrels, a scorpion, some kind of parrot(s), turtles, or something else. There is never a dull moment in the Pettibon family.

I really enjoyed the TBA convention, and I want to thank you all for supporting the Honey Queen program. I'll be keeping you all updated on the events going on in the program this year. It's going to be fantastic! I look forward to meeting all of you!

Until next time,
Nicole Pettibon
2009 Texas Honey Queen