The Vick's @ The Whitehouse '09

Here are The Vick's at the Whitehouse. It was rainy and cold. Not that you can tell by what eveyone is wearing. Tristen and I were the only ones who wore a jacket. It is very hard to get to the Whitehouse. You can't just pull up and hop out. Everything in DC was very confusing as to how to get to it. When we were at the Capital, we found a tour bus and we got on it and they can just pull up to everything. They have special privileges. We were sooooo glad to find them. There was a guy there with his little boy taking pics....... I was taking pics of my kids.......so we helped each other out and traded cameras and posed. It was actually really crowded. It isn't quite like you see it on TV. It wasn't what I expected at all. But now we can say that we have been to the Whitehouse. woo hoo!!!

SMITHSONIAN '09

During Spring Break this year we went to Gettysburg and DC. This is the Smithsonian Natual History museum. If you have seen the new Night of the Museum.....that is where we were. Me and the kids thought that was pretty cool. Anyways, they had all sorts of animals. They had huge dinosaurs all the way down to little butterflies. They had interactive exhibits also. The kids, mainly Brie, really enjoyed it. It was also free to get in, which was a big perk for us.

MEMORIAL DAY '09

On Memorial Day this year, my sister invited us over to swim. We were all too tired to cook, so we went to the Butcher Shop and ate. Then we went back to Gina's and swam. The kids had a really good time swimming. They were all splashing, jumping, doing flips, belly busting.....etc. Looked like lots of fun. Hate I had to miss out on it. Although I got a little more wet than planned.....lol.....I had an ear infection, so I didn't want to swim. Tommy was doing his thing in the house on e-bay. He did finally come out of the computer room and played spades with Adam. Sounded like they had fun. We had watermelon and cookies. Chris napped some, but he woke up and went out and swam a little while. Looks like he was having fun with all the kids. It is really nice and fun when we all get together.

BRIE ZOO SCHOOL TRIP '09

Well, this is my last year to go on a school zoo trip. 2nd grade is the last year to go now. So, I am glad that I was able to go with Brie. I rode down with Rebecca Patton. Then we split off with our classes and groups. I had Brie and 3 other girls from her class. They were good for me. They enjoyed seeing everything. It was like they have never been to the zoo. They were cute. They fed the birds, petted the sheep, talked to the birds, laughed at the monkeys, watched the penguins......and so on. I did happen to run into Spencer. I was hoping to see him. He seemed to have a good time, also. Then Rebecca and I met backup and took Matthew, Brie and Brody back to Gilmer. They were really quite on the way home. They must have been pooped. They also watched a movie, which kept them kinda quiet.

WILLY WONKA PLAY '09

On May 16,2009 our YM/YW group went to Longview to see the Willy Wonka play. We met at the church and all jumped in everyone's car. We went to Cici's pizza. The kids seemed to like that. They got all they could eat.....and they did. We made it a family night. Brie really enjoyed the play. She held her flowers and watched the whole thing. She never moved once it started. After it was over, She went around and got autographs and pics taken. She gave her flowers to one of the oompa loompas. Tristen gave it to one of the pretty girls. During the play, they are really close to you.....and they interact with you. Sara got a bag of candy from the candy man. Big Jimmy got quite a surprise. While Charlie was singing one of his songs, he sat in Big Jimmy's lap and put his arm around him. It was sooo funny. We had a really good time. It is a fun family activity. I hope to go and see some plays this summer.

EASTER'09 AT MEMAW'S

This is the 3rd and final Easter of this year. This is at my family's. We went to my mom's. Tommy was digging in Tristen's candy.... I was trying to catch that, but by the time the camera snapped, I somehow missed it.








Alex hunted eggs this year. He still likes getting the candy. He also likes hunting the hard to find eggs. Nea and Jessi helped hide the eggs this year. They each got to hunt for 45 eggs. So, we kept helping them count what they had, so when they reached 45, they were suppose to stop. Yeah, that is a lot of candy. That is just how we do it. We go all out. Who wants to just hunt for 12 eggs...... come on????

Chris helped hide this year too. Some of his were pretty hard for the kids. There were 4 eggs left that noone could find. So, we all had to re-trace our places that we hid our eggs and see if it was ours that were left. It happened to be all Chris' that were left. So, he must have hid better than the rest of us. We gave them some hints and they finally found them. Poor Tristen was the one who still needed all 4 of them.

Brie had a good time running around finding eggs. She got a new basket this year. They got some treats from the Easter bunny, too. So, I would say they had a good Easter this year. And this could be Alex's last year to hunt..... I don't know. He is getting older......he may think it is tooo lame to hunt next year. But he still likes getting the candy, so maybe I still have a few more years....

EASTER'09 AT MARGARET ANN'S

Brie is climbing a tree.....Riley and Morgan want to go up there too. The big boys are hunting eggs now, so the little ones are just playing around. I don't guess I will ever figure out how to download these pictures in order.








Andrew is hunting eggs with his one of a kind basket...lol. Luke and Janelle hid the eggs for the big boys. They did a really good job. They hid them really well.

They searched and searched for those eggs. They finally got down to 3 left..... It took them forever to find them. Luke told them all they had to do was give in and ask and he would tell them where they were.....but my boys wouldn't give in. They were determined to find them.

There was actually one spot that they had all looked in about 4 times, and there was an egg there, and they all missed it. Pretty funny. Luke finally had to give some clues so we could end the hunt and go home.

Andrew, Alex, Tristen, and Riley... posing for Vici. Of course you can tell which 2 boys are mine.....

The girls and Riley had a good time hunting their eggs too. The big boys were very helpful this year and hid them for us. Alex went a little crazy with his hiding.....he buried about 4 eggs in the flower garden all together. Needless to say he had to un-earth them and give them to the kids.

Riley found one in the tree. The kids were instructed to leave some for Riley. He was a little slower than the 3 girls.

I think Brie found one. They got about 14 eggs a piece. We had candy filled eggs and Vici had candy filled eggs and real ones. They always have real eggs all decorated cute. I don't think Brie has ever dyed an easter egg. We use to do that when my boys were little..... but just haven't in a long time. It is sooo messy.

Brie wanted to help out in the kitchen. So, she helped Bo put al the stuff on the relish trays. She did such a good job. We had lots of good food, as usual.

Tristen go to make the banana pudding. He was so proud of himself. He stirred and measured and whipped.... Then he decorated the top with a smiley face. If you look real hard you can see it.

EASTER '09 FOR PRIMARY

Brie and Andi are counting their eggs and checking out their candy they got. The primary had an easter egg hunt at Carl Jenkins house. He has a huge pasture. There were a lot of eggs. Each kid was suppose to find 12-15 eggs. Of course, some got way more and some had way less. But that is pretty normal. At the end, we made sure it was even for everyone.








Brie is emptying all of her candy into her basket and getting rid of the eggs.

She is finding eggs. Lots of kids, but lots of space. They weren't hidden very well, just kinda thrown every where......but that didn't spoil the fun.

The kids are lining up to get ready to take off. It is finally time to go find some eggs. Of course, the little ones got to get a head start. and the big kids had to also go further up the hill and leave the lower hill to the little ones.

Brie, Andi, and Jessica are eating hot dogs under the tree. There was home made root beer too......it was so yummy. There were some really good chocolate chip cookies there too.

MORGAN'S BEAUTY B-DAY PARTY (7)

MORGAN HAD A BEAUTY BIRTDAY PARTY. SHE TURNED 7. VICI MADE THE CAKE. IT IS REALLY PRETTY. SHE DID A GOOD JOB ON THE CAKE AND DECORATIONS.

THIS IS MORGAN. SHE HAS ALREADY GOT HER HAIR DONE AND NOW SHE IS PLAYING WITH A MANEQUINN'S HEAD THAT HAS A WIG ON IT.

BRIE NOW HAS HER HAIR DONE. MY PICS ARE KINDA OUT OF ORDER...SORRY. IT LOOKS SO PRETTY. WISH I KNEW HOW TO DO THAT. THE NEXT FEW PICS ARE OF BRIE'S HAIR. WE COULDN'T DECIDE ON OUR FAVORITE, SO WE JUST PUT THEM ALL ON HERE.

ISN'T SHE A DOLL???

MY LITTLE PRECIOUS. THE END RESULT LOOKS REALLY GREAT.... BUT IT WASN'T MUCH FUN MAKING HER BE STILL THAT LONG TO HAVE IT LOOK THIS GOOD.

SOME OF THE GIRLS CAME IN HERE TO TRY THEIR SKILLS. THEY HAD A GOOD TIME. THEY HAD SPRAY WATER BOTTLES, HAIR SPRAY, PICKS, BRUSHES, CLIPS.... EVERY THING YOU CAN IMAGINE.

THEY ARE POSING. THESE ARE THE ONES THAT WERE LEFT AFTER THE PARTY. THE OTHER GIRLS HAD ALREADY GONE. THEY PUT ON BOAS AND POSED. TOO CUTE. THEY WERE JUST A LITTLE PRISSY...

HERE WE ARE AT FLIP OUT. COURTNEY SHULER'S BEAUTY SHOP. SHE IS GREAT!!!!! IF YOU DON'T USE HER FOR YOUR HAIR, THEN YOU NEED TO GIVE HER A TRY....

BRIE, MORGAN, AND STAR. THE 3 GIRL COUSINS. THEY ARE SOOOO PRETTY. PERFECT POSE. THEY LIKED PLAYING WITH THE BOAS. THEY KEPT TRADING THE COLORS AND TAKING TURNS.

COURTNEY WORKING ON BRIE'S HAIR. BRIE WAS 2ND TO LAST. SHE LET THE OTHER GIRLS GO FIRST, SO THEY COULD BE READY WHEN THEIR PARENTS CAME TO GET THEM. AND SINCE I WAS THERE, WE COULD LEAVE AT ANY TIME.

SHE GOT LOTS OF BOBBY PINS IN HER HAIR. SHE DIDN'T LIKE THOSE. SHE KEPT SAYING THEY WERE POKING HER. BUT HER HAIR DIDN'T MOVE. WE WENT TO THE MOVIES, PLAYED IN THE RAIN... A LITTLE..... AND HER HAIR LASTED TILL ABOUT 7 THAT NIGHT. SHE DID GOOD TRYING TO KEEP IT PRETTY. SHE LIKED IT. AND EVERYTIME ONE OF THE BOYS TRIED TO TOUCH HER, SHE WOULD YELL. I WAS HOPING IT WOULD STAY PRETTY OVER NIGHT SO SHE COULD WEAR IT TO CHURCH... BUT THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN. WE WERE LUCKY IT LASTED TILL WE GOT HOME, I GUESS. NOW SHE WANTS TO HAVE HER HAIR FIXED REALLY PRETTY LIKE THIS FOR HER BIRTHDAY EVERY YEAR.

WE WENT TO BEALL'S TO CHECK OUT THEIR ONE DAY SALE AND BRIE SAW A BATHING SUIT AND RAN UP TO IT AND SAID "MOM , THIS IS SO MORGAN. WE HAVE TO GET IT FOR HER. IT IS PERFECT. SHE WILL LOVE IT." SO, THIS IS WHAT WE GOT HER FOR HER B-DAY. IT IS REALLY CUTE. NOT TO MENTION, IT DID MATCH HER PARTY THEME.

THE GIRLS SPLIT UP INTO 2'S AND 3'S. SOME SAT IN FRONT OF A BIG MIRROR AND GO TO PUT ON MAKE UP. ALL COLORS OF EYE SHADOWS, ALL SORTS OF LIP STICKS AND GLOSS , AND ONE BLUSH. WHILE THEY WERE PRIMPING IN FRONT OF THE MIRRORS, SOME OF THE OTHER GIRLS WERE PAINTING FINGER AND TOE NAILS. THEY WOULD TAKE TURNS PAINTING EACH OTHER. AND SOMEONE WAS IN THE CHAIR GETTING HER HAIR FIXED. BRIE REALLY ENJOYED PAINTING EVERYONES NAILS. SHE SAT IN THE LITTLE ROLLER CHAIR,... PUT THE TOWEL ON HER KNEES , ... TOLD THEM HOW TO BEND THEIR KNEES SO THEIR FEET WOULD BE FLAT ON HER LEG,.... AND PLACED THEIR HANDS ON HER KNEES. SHE DID A REALLY GOOD JOB. SOME GIRLS GOT THEIR TIPS DIFFERENT COLORS. THE GIRLS KEPT ASKING HER HOW SHE KNEW HOW TO DO THAT AND BRIE WOULD SAY "MY MOM TAUGHT ME HOW TO DO THIS. WE ALWAYS DO THIS TOGETHER. SHE TEACHES ME EVERYTHING." SHE IS SOOOO CUTE. BRIE MAY HAVE FOUND HER TALENT....

JUST ANOTHER PIC OF THEM PUTTING ON THEIR MAKEUP. BRIE'S MAKE UP LOOKED REALLY GOOD TOO. SHE USED A PURPLE EYE SHADOW, BUT PUT IT IN THE CREASE JUST RIGHT. IT WASN'T BLOTTY OR GAUDY. IT WASN'T MESSY ON HER FACE EITHER. I'M SURE I TAUGHT HER HOW TO PUT ON MAKE UP CORRECTLY TOO....
WELL, BRIE KEEPS SAYING THAT THIS IS WHAT SHE IS DOING FOR HER B-DAY PARTY. IT WAS A LOT OF FUN. THE GIRLS JUST LOVED IT. WHAT A GREAT IDEA.

Addie

Alex, Allison, and Tristen went outside and listened to their I-pods and visited. They were in the swing out in the Gazebo. It was quite chilly, but they didn't seem to care. They don't get to see each other much. They do myspace each other alot, though. Alex and Allison have been friends for years....since they were little.

Natalie has grown up since the last time they were here. She was running around in diapers, not talking very much, but she still had her silky. She is so cute. Tristen liked playing with her. He held her and tickled her. She wouldn't ever smile for me. She didn't like me taking her pic. I had to sneak up on her for this one.

Brie snuck up on Tom and gave him a big hug. We are at Laura lea's house in Longview. Tom is entering everyone's number into his phone.

They are all entering numbers and playing with their phones. Taking pic's... They did make fun of Tom's phone. Bless his heart. We kept telling them that Etex only has 2 phones to choose from. They all had the nice touch screen phones with an antenna so you can watch TV on them.

This is Dustin. He and Brie are the same age. They always have a good time together. They play games and go outside and play with the dogs....etc. They don't fight.... He is such a cutie.

Me and Addie have been friends since high school. We were on drill team together. She was a grade ahead of me. But we still stuck together. She didn't really like Tom in high school. She thought he was mean to me. How funny, huh??? We have stayed in contact by e-mail and cell phones. She has moved around a lot, her hubbie is in the military. Now, they are in California. Which my kids are dying to go there. Her grandparents live in Longview. They are really good friends of ours also. Can't wait till her and her family are back in Gilmer......

One year they were here, many year ago. Brie and Dustin were little...... We met at the park in Longview and let them all play. Brie kept trying to kiss Dustin.... little toot. Back then it was kinda cute and funny.... not so much now. lol They like to play the piano....everytime we are here.... lovely music fills the house.

Tristen wanted to take a picture of us. We are getting ready to go eat fish in ore city. It was really good. Every time Addie and Kevin come down, there are certain foods they have to eat while they are here. And fish is one of those. We always go there when they are here. Bodacious and Doc's is usually 2 more that we try to catch with them.... We have really enjoyed seeing them again. We always have a good time together. It is nice to have friends that have kids your kids ages.