Women Appreciation Dinner

Jen and Jessi enjoyed the day's festivities also. Lots of good food and good speeches.

Ben planned a woman appreciation dinner for all the women in our family. He called all the men and made assignments. It was last Sunday. It was very sweet and thoughtful of him. Chris and Ben are grilling steak and chicken. It was seasoned real well and tasted very good.



All the men took turns telling their wives, sisters, daughters, mothers, nieces,....etc.... (all the women in the family) what they respected about them and loved about them. See, after 20 years, still smiling.....





Alex told Nea that he liked her because she drives him around and takes him to the track and places with her. He gets introduced to her friends and Nea puts him in his place....





Chelle is getting the tortillas ready. We are having fajitias. She wets the tortillas and then puts them on the grill. Corn and Flour.






Nea was missing in action the first 30 or 40 mins. We all kept looking for her..... and then I found her. She was sleeping. Looks quite cumfy, doesn't she. Well, it didn't last long, after I kinda woke her up , taking pics. But she was missing all the fun, and we couldn't have that.




This was actually after we had all eaten.... We are relaxing on the couch. And Tristen jumped in and wanted in the pic. A little bit squishy..... but after the pic, he was gone..





Chelle and Ben relaxing after all that hard work. They did a good job. These are a little our of order... but oh, well....






Gina was filling the cups with ice.... Then making kool-aid. One of the kids asked for kool-aid, so she had to make some. Mom told her ...Water would have been just fine, but Gina can't make a kid unhappy...lol Marc joined us for some food, then had to run to a meeting.



While the food was cooking and being preapred.... the little ones are entertaining themselves. Brie and Spencer are playing games. Having fun and most importantly, staying out of the way.





Alicia made some good refried beans. Alicia and the kids were doing cart-wheels in the yard after we ate. She was trying to teach Alex. It was fun to watch. Brie and Spencer and Tristen all joined in. Somehow, I missed getting pics of those. darn...




While some of the kids were being entertained by the TV, others were playing board games. They were playing The Simpson's Clue game. Waiting patiently for the food to get ready.





When we first got here, Brie went outside to ride her bike. Since she has learned how, she is always on it. She is so proud of herself. We actually dropped her off at memaw's and she rode the bike to Ginas. Then Spencer got there and they went inside to play games..




Tom was in charge of the pico and avocados. His pico was scrumptious. He is an exellent slicer....






Ken is loading up his food and heading to the door. We have all eaten and over stuffed ourselves. We had bean soup, refried beans, pico, avocados, steak, chicken, tortillas, rice and home made ice cream. It was all sooooo good. I could get use to being treated to dinner and being appreciated.



Alex said he liked his Aunt Gina for letting him come over and visit and feeding him. little toot. Alex told me and memaw that he loved us for taking care of him. Always trying to make sure he is doing what is right. Which is a full time job.....




Tommy stood up and said that what he loved about me is how I show that I love him and my family. Not just words, but actions. I take my short 30 mins for lunch and eat with the kids. I make sure they have clean clothes to wear to school every morning. .... and him too. I hug them and kiss on them, give them medicine..... buy what they need. He appreciates all the other women in our family for the good examples they show to our children and to me. We had a good time. It was a lot of fun. It is nice to know and nice to be shown that you are appreciated and loved.


And last, but not least...... baby Nea. She is sooo cute.

Ghost Walk

We went to Gettysburg for spring break (09). The had Ghost Tours. I found it on line and wanted to do it when we got there. There are a lot of them in the town. This one was suppose to be "G" rated. They had some that were for adults only or 12 and up. Me and Brie really found it fun and intersting. Tommy and the boys weren't as excited. The tour guide carried a lantern and took us around the town to different homes and buildings with ghost sightings and told us the stories of them.

There is a house in the background, but it is too dark to see it. There is a soldier that roamed thru the kitchen. That was the only room that he was ever seen in. They believed that he had severe wounds and had ran to that house for help and hid and probably died in the kitchen. The guests that always saw the ghost always thought he was just another one of the guys or a brother, then they would tell the renters who they saw in the kitchen, and they would explain to them that he was a soldier ghost.

The people that use to own this house, as you can see it is for sale now, had a soldier ghost that roamed thru their house all the time. They would hear the front door shut and go look and nothing was there. They would start looking around and there he would be. walking up the stairs or going into one of the rooms. And then he would just disappear. The owners could sometimes smell smoke, from a pipe. And none of them smoked, they assumed it must have been the ghost. A union soldier use to live in this house during the war, and they assume that is who the ghost is.

This is part of an old church, which during the war was used as a hospital for the soldiers. People have reported seeing soldiers walking in the yard and in the building. On both sides of the building, they would throw out the limbs and pieces of the soldiers thru the windows. Eventually the piles got sooo big , they had to start burying everything. They just dug big holes all around the building and across the street and buried it all.

This is the Farnsworth house. It is now a bed and breakfast and restaurant. It serves food from back then, and they dress authentic to that period also. We tried to eat there, but it was closed. The white spots on the wall (which is kinda hard to see) are all bullet holes. There were a lot of holes. I can't imagine being in that house while all of this was going on. A sniper was in the attic and shot thru that tiny window at the top. They say somtimes when you go up to the attic he is still just sitting there.

FHE

This is Family Home Evening at mom's last Sunday. Adam and Alicia are enjoying the food. If you read Gina's blog on FHE...... they look a lot more alert here. It is because we are here. Yall just needed the Vick's. Mom had the lesson. She showed a cartoon video about Jesus. It was good.

As soon as the closing prayer was said, they ran like vultures to the food. Nea is eating salad. She is a good poser.... I always catch good pics of her like this. She had a big fork full stuffing it into her mouth, that is what I was trying to catch, but missed it. This is what I got instead, which is still pretty good.... She is such a hoot... lol

Ben is getting his plate full too. He is talking to Alex. Probably asking him why he is wearing that hat...???? Alex thinks he is a beast...... but I don't get it. He must wear it for attention.....lol

Nea is back for 3rds???? Chelle is waiting patiently for her 1st turn.... lol I tried to get more pics, but my camera battery died. I will do better next time. We always a good time at home evening. The kids really like it. We are usually tired and it is hard to make myself get up every sunday to go, but it is worth it.

The Vick family

This is actually Thanksgiving of last year. But since I am starting so late, I have to catch up...lol. We went to Margaret Ann's to eat and have fun. This is Tristen and alex and their grandpa. Hopefully one day they will be taller then him.

Alex and Bo. Alex always goes around and pats Bo on the head, now that he is taller than her. But he still loves her.

Brie and Morgan got to eat at their own table without the mean boys bothering them. They did quite well all by themselves. And for some reason, they were eating spaghettios.... I can't imagine why. All of that good home cooked food, and they wanted canned spaghettios....

Tristen loves Bo too. We are sitting around the big people table eating. Everytime one of my kids came thru, I stopped them and made them pose with Bo.

Brie and Morgan had a good time in Margaret Ann's room. They loved the treadmill , especially. Margaret Ann had unplugged it so they wouldn't get hurt on it, but one of the boys helped them plug it back in and taught them how to turn it on. Aren't they helpful??? Brie did , of course, fall and skinned her arm. A really good burn....

Tom and his Vici. Looks like they are eating pie. yum. It was really good dessert. Tom really considers Vici his sister he never had. He grew up with her and has lots of great memories of them.

Here are the 4 boys. It took and arm and a leg to get them to sit long enough for me to take this picture. They are soooo rambuctious (not sure the spelling) and "all boy" They are within a year apart... Alex, Tristen, Andrew, and Caleb. I hope when they are all teens, they will hang out together and be really close. It is nice to have cousins your age and in your town...

Fianlly, I caught Brie. She came in for a piece of dessert. I made her pose first. Then Vici cut her a piece of cake, and Brie thought it was too small and wouldn't eat it. She pouted. Little toot. She finally changed her mind and ate it. Vici promised her if she would eat that piece first and she finished it, then she could have more..

The kids went outside to play. Work off some of that energy. Luke played football with them too. It was fun to watch. I know my boys really enjoyed it. I guess someone buried alex.... i missed this. Someone borrowed my camera and took this pic.

I was checking up on the girls. They were being really quiet in Margaret Ann's room. That can be a good or bad sign.

The 3 amigos..... lol. Margaret Ann, Luke, and Vici. Aren't they cute and sweet. I like this pic of them. It was luck that I actually got them all together in a pic. Of course it was at the dinner table. It seems I catch everyone at the dinner table...

Tristen and Andrew were playing games at the big people table. They are finally getting old enough to be included. The only games that Tom's family plays is Risk and Trivia Pursuit. Tom has never beat them at Trivia Pursuit. All these years....Finally this year, he won. He was soooo excited. Margaret Ann, Luke, and Vici were on the opposing team. His family are genuis'..... Margaret Ann always says....lol so, for Tom to beat a genius, he was beaming.

LYN & JUSTIN VISIT GILMER

About 2 weeks ago, Lyn and Justin came down to see us. We all got together and ate Swanners. It was very good. Then we all went back to mom's to play games and talk. Nea brought some of her games over . We are playing uno spin. It was really fun. And nea always got to go first...lol











This is my sister, Gina. She just got a new hair cut. It looks good. She's so pretty. She is my most favorite sister. She didn't play uno with us... she visited with the adults.










Lyndi and Justin look cumfy and happy. They didn't play uno with us kids either. But they were resting and talking. We dont get to see them often, so it is nice when we do get to visit with them. I wished they lived here in Gilmer with all of us. We miss them.










This is my dad, Lonnie. He didn't play uno either. But my dad only plays 42.













Tristen is sitting back relaxing. He just got here. He was at a b-day party. I think he partied too hard. But then, he finally joined in the games.











This is my mom, Lu. She went in to the kitchen to make brownies. Isn't she great?? The kids helped her stir them. I got to lick the spoon after they were done. Yum. I love to lick the bowl and spoon. That is my favorite part. Tristen got the bowl.








Alex lost at uno... can you tell? No, I'm just kidding. I dont' know why he looks sooo sad. We were waiting on Nea to get back with apples to apples. We love that game.










Alex loves his cousin Lyndi. While he takes his break from games, he goes over to love on Lyndi.













And Alex and Nea. Alex is finally taller than Nea. He always makes fun of her and me too for that matter. Nea and alex drove around in her truck. She went to pick up a friend and Alex runs and jumps in with her. She is so sweet to let him tag a long. Now that he is older, they do more together. It is nice to have an older cousin who can drive.






Finally Nea made it back with apples to apples. We started off with just me and my boys and nea and her friend. It is sooo fun. Finally we were sooo exciting, everyone joined us. and as you can see, the brownies are finally done. yum yum. I ate too many.







Lyndi is getting ready to leave. So, she comes to grab a brownie before they are all gone and head out the door.














See, Finally they all joined us. They didn't like missing out on all the fun we were having. If you haven't ever played it, you need to. It is a lot funner with a bigger crowd. We just laughed and had a great time. We are all so busy these days, it is nice when we can all get together. Family is the greatest. It is what it is all about.





Brie was too young still, to play apples to apples. She got mad and went and hid in memaw's closet and fell asleep. I couldn't find her. I looked all over the house and outside. She was under the sleeping bag all covered up. I thought I heard something and opened mom's closet and moved the sleeping bag and there she was.... out. Poor thing.